Good to know
Good to Know
- Antigua International School (AIS) is the most established international option based in the Antigua area, but it sits in neighboring Ciudad Vieja rather than inside Antigua's historic center — worth factoring into commute planning.
- Seats at AIS can be limited, and waitlists are a real issue for some grades, especially at the start of the school year, since the expat/international family market is small relative to demand.
- Detailed, current tuition figures for Colegio Boston, Antigua Green School, and The Antigua Expat School were not available in public sources — families should request fee schedules directly from each school.
- Families wanting a wider range of internationally accredited school options (including schools with long AP programs, IB offerings, or large expat communities) generally need to commute to Guatemala City, roughly 45 minutes to just over an hour away depending on traffic.
- Before applying to any Antigua bilingual/international school, call or email the admissions office directly to confirm a seat is actually open in your child's grade — schools themselves flag this as the first step, ahead of any paperwork.
- Have your child's birth certificate, passport, vaccination record, and most recent report card/transcripts ready and possibly apostilled/translated in advance, since these are the standard documents schools ask for.
- If you're an international family, double check which admissions 'track' you're applying under (e.g. AIS separates a Guatemalan Program from an International Program) — the wrong track can mean the wrong curriculum path.
- Homeschooling isn't explicitly legal or illegal in Guatemala — it's simply not addressed in the law — and expat families do it without documented legal trouble, but a parent-issued diploma generally won't be recognized for Guatemalan university admission; plan on an accredited online/umbrella program if your child may need a recognized credential.
- We could not confirm an actual Antigua-based homeschool co-op or meetup group exists — if this matters to you, it's worth asking directly in expat parent circles once you arrive rather than assuming one is already there.
Schools And Curricula
Antigua International School (AIS)
- Location
- Ciudad Vieja, adjacent to Antigua (a short drive, roughly 10-15 minutes from the historic center)
- Curriculum
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) with an American college-preparatory framework including Advanced Placement (AP) coursework; the Early Childhood Center uses The Creative Curriculum. Dual accreditation with NEASC and Guatemala's Ministry of Education.
- Grade Levels
- Ages 1 to 17 (Early Childhood through Secondary/Grade 12 equivalent)
- Accreditation
- NEASC-accredited; recognized by the Guatemalan Ministry of Education
Tuition
- Application Fee
- GTQ 400
- Notes
- Figures cited as approximate annual tuition; does not include registration fees and extras. An older third-party listing cited monthly rates of roughly $470–$715, which is roughly consistent with the annualized range.
Annual Range
- Low
- GTQ 46,000
- High
- GTQ 92,000
Colegio Boston
- Location
- Antigua, Guatemala
- Curriculum
- Bilingual (English/Spanish); follows the Guatemalan National Curriculum with incorporated elements of the American curriculum.
- Grade Levels
- Pre-primary through secondary level
- Accreditation
- Not confirmed in available sources
Tuition
- Notes
- No publicly published tuition figures found; the school asks prospective families to inquire directly.
Antigua Green School
- Location
- Finca La Azotea, a working coffee farm and cultural center in Antigua
- Curriculum
- Bilingual, dual-immersion English/Spanish; integrates the Guatemalan CNB (national curriculum) standards with the Cambridge International framework, offering Cambridge Checkpoint and IGCSE assessments alongside the Guatemalan diploma. Described as the only Cambridge-recognized international school in Guatemala.
- Grade Levels
- Ages 1 to 18, structured in secondary as two-year cycles (Pioneer, Voyager, Phoenix)
- Accreditation
- Cambridge International School recognition
Tuition
- Notes
- No publicly published tuition figures found in available sources; contact the school directly for current fees.
The Antigua Expat School
- Location
- Antigua, Guatemala
- Curriculum
- Small, private bilingual (English/Spanish) school following a British curriculum.
- Grade Levels
- Pre-primary through secondary level
- Accreditation
- Not confirmed in available sources
Tuition
- Notes
- No publicly published tuition figures found; this appears to be a small operation, so contacting the school directly is recommended.
Enrollment And Homeschooling
Homeschooling Guatemala
- Credential Caveat
- Because homeschooling isn't formally recognized outside specific routes like the Hebron School, a parent-issued diploma alone is unlikely to be accepted for Guatemalan university admission — this mainly matters for families planning to send a child into the Guatemalan (not international) higher-education system.
- Legal Status Summary
- Guatemalan education law does not explicitly address homeschooling one way or the other — it is neither formally legalized nor formally criminalized. Multiple independent sources describe this as a legal gray area rather than a clear yes/no, and note that education law simply does not mention it.
- Enforcement In Practice
- No sources found describe expat families facing legal consequences for homeschooling in Antigua or Guatemala generally; the consistent picture across sources is that authorities do not pursue or penalize expat homeschoolers, since it simply isn't addressed by statute.
- Practical Reality For Expats
- According to HSLDA's country-specific guidance, homeschooling is still widely unheard of in Guatemala and not explicitly addressed in national education law, though it notes that families can homeschool through the Hebron School and obtain government-recognized diplomas under Act 2116 of 2005, whereas diplomas issued directly by a parent are not recognized by the government or academic institutions.
- Antigua Specific Homeschool Community
- We could not find a documented, specifically Antigua-based homeschool co-op, learning pod, or in-person support group with a verifiable public presence (e.g., a named organization, regular meetup, or registered group). General Central-America-wide homeschooling Facebook groups exist and are referenced by expat-focused sites, but none of these are confirmed to be Antigua-specific or to run an actual local co-op. We are not asserting a local co-op exists because we could not verify one.
International Bilingual School Enrollment
- Overview
- Antigua's main bilingual/international options for foreign families are Antigua International School (AIS, in nearby Ciudad Vieja), Antigua Green School (on Finca La Azotea), Colegio Boston, and The Antigua Expat School, plus Guatemala City options some Antigua-based families commute to or relocate near.
- Waitlist And Timing Reality
- None of the schools researched publish a formal waitlist policy or a hard 'apply X months ahead' rule online. The main academic year runs an August start, and schools explicitly support mid-year entry (November–February) with a transition grading period, suggesting rolling admissions rather than a single annual deadline. In practice, popular grade levels at the smaller schools (AIS, Antigua Green School) can fill for the August intake, so contacting admissions 3–6 months before an intended start date to confirm seat availability is a reasonable, if not officially mandated, precaution — this is our own inference from the 'confirm space before applying' step schools recommend, not a published waitlist figure.
- Program Note
- At AIS specifically, Guatemalan families select the Guatemalan Program track and international families select the International Program track during application — these are administratively distinct enrollment paths within the same school.
Fees
- Ais Application Fee
- GTQ 400
- Green School Materials Fee
- GTQ 3,661
- Green School Enrollment Fee
- GTQ 3,204
Ais Estimated First Year Total Range
- Low
- GTQ 87,449
- High
- GTQ 103,112
Typical Process Steps
- Contact the school's Admissions Office directly before submitting a formal application to confirm there is space in the target grade — schools recommend this as step one rather than assuming a seat is available.
- Submit the application along with required documents; the Admissions Office then schedules the child's admission assessment.
- The Admissions Committee reviews academic records, confidential recommendations, and the results of the admission assessment before making a decision.
- Grade placement is based on age and prior academic history. If a family is transferring from a school on a different academic calendar, the practice at AIS is to place the child in the equivalent grade for an August start, or to place them in the grade just completed with a transition period if enrolling between November and February.
Commonly Requested Documents
- Recent digital/passport-style photo of the child
- Birth certificate
- Parent's DPI (Guatemalan ID) or passport
- Vaccination record
- Most recent report card and prior transcripts
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.