Good to know
Good to Know
- Neither Arcadia Academy nor KSI Montenegro is actually located in Kotor town — both sit near Tivat Airport, roughly 15-25 minutes' drive away, so factor a daily commute (or basing your rental near Tivat/Dobrota) into any decision.
- KSI Montenegro is the only IB World School in the entire country, while Arcadia Academy is the only Cambridge/COBIS-accredited British school — so for Kotor-area families, the real curriculum choice is essentially IB vs. British/Cambridge, not a wide field of options.
- Online parent/student reviews of Arcadia Academy are mixed; at least one detailed recent review flagged reduced subject offerings (e.g. dropped A-Level chemistry/physics in some years) due to teacher shortages — worth asking the school directly about current subject availability and staffing before committing.
- Both schools' fee structures include extra one-off charges (registration, capital levy/registration fees, re-enrolment fees) on top of headline tuition — budget for these separately.
- Space at the handful of international/bilingual schools serving the Kotor area is genuinely limited, and admission processes typically include a two-week wait for an interview slot plus, for secondary-age kids, a short academic assessment — build in lead time rather than expecting instant placement.
- Arcadia Academy is the main international school physically in Kotor; the other well-known option, Knightsbridge (KSI), is in Tivat, about 20-25 minutes away by car, so factor in that commute if considering it.
- Required documents commonly requested include the child's birth certificate, health/medical records, and proof of residence permit status — confirm the exact list directly with the school since requirements vary.
- Homeschooling's legal status in Montenegro is genuinely disputed across sources — some describe it as illegal, others describe a notify-the-school regulated pathway. Don't assume either answer; verify directly with the Ministry of Education or a Montenegrin education lawyer before relying on homeschooling here.
- We could not find any established local homeschooling community, co-op, or support group in Kotor — if one exists, it appears to be informal and undocumented rather than a visible, organized network.
Schools And Curricula
- Summary
- There is no international or bilingual school physically inside Kotor Old Town or the immediate Kotor waterfront. The two schools commonly marketed as 'Kotor' international schools are actually sited in the Ljesevici/Tivat Airport area and in Tivat itself — both roughly a 15-25 minute drive from central Kotor, not walking distance. Families relocating with school-age kids often base themselves closer to Tivat, Dobrota, or Muo to shorten the commute.
Schools
Arcadia Academy
- Location
- Ljesevici bb, postal code 85330 (Kotor municipal address), sited immediately next to Tivat Airport — roughly a 15-20 minute drive from Kotor's Old Town
- Age Range
- 3-18 years
- Curriculum
- British / Cambridge International (Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, IGCSE, AS and A Levels)
- School Type
- Day school
- Accreditation
- Only Cambridge International School and COBIS (Council of British International Schools) full member in Montenegro; licensed by the Montenegrin Ministry of Education
- Tuition Notes
- Published range runs from roughly €7,000/year at preschool level up to €14,000/year for A-Level students; fees typically include food, uniform, and books.
Tuition Annual
- A Level High End
- €14,000
- Preschool Low End
- €7,000
KSI Montenegro (Knightsbridge Schools International)
- Location
- Seljanovo bb, Porto Montenegro, Tivat — roughly a 20-25 minute drive from Kotor's Old Town, about 8 minutes from Tivat Airport
- Age Range
- 3-18 years
- Curriculum
- International Baccalaureate — Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP)
- School Type
- Day and boarding school (boarding available for ages 11-18, offered as 5-day or 7-day options)
- Accreditation
- Montenegro's only authorised IB World School; licensed by the Montenegrin Ministry of Education; member of CEESA and CIS
- Tuition Notes
- Tuition is billed annually; a monthly direct-debit payment plan exists but adds roughly 4% for admin/banking costs, while paying the full year upfront gets a 7.5% discount. Boarding fees are separate from tuition and cover accommodation, meals, supervision, and laundry.
Tuition Annual
- Diploma Programme High End
- €17,220
- Half Day Kindergarten Low End
- €7,440
Additional Fees
- Capital Levy Fee
- €3,200
- Registration Fee
- €800
- Annual Re Enrolment Fee
- €2,000
Not Included But Nearby Region
- Boka School International (nursery-primary, IB PYP candidate) is located at Portonovi Resort, Kumbor, Herceg Novi — too far from Kotor to count as a Kotor-area option under a 10-minute proximity standard.
- QSI International School of Montenegro, United Kids International (UKIM), and Adriatic College are based in Podgorica or Budva, not within reach of Kotor.
Enrollment And Homeschooling
Homeschooling
- Practical Takeaway
- Given the conflicting characterizations, foreign families should not assume homeschooling is either freely legal or flatly banned in Montenegro — treat it as a grey area requiring direct confirmation with a local school and, ideally, Montenegro's Ministry of Education before committing to it.
- Regulated Mechanism If Used
- According to that academic source, a parent can organise home-schooling for their child in Montenegro but is obliged to notify the school in which the child remains enrolled, at least two months before starting home education — meaning the child stays formally enrolled in a local (public or private) school of record while being taught at home.
- Local Homeschooling Community Kotor
- No documented homeschooling co-op, support group, or meetup specific to Kotor or the Bay of Kotor was found in available sources. This should not be assumed to exist; families interested in homeschooling in this area would likely be relying on informal, undocumented expat networks rather than an established co-op.
- Legal Status Note
- Sources disagree on how to characterize Montenegro's rules. Several homeschool-law comparison sites (e.g. education-blog roundups) list Montenegro among European countries where homeschooling is illegal. However, a more specific academic education-policy resource (Education Profiles / GEM Report network) describes an actual regulated home-education mechanism in Montenegro rather than an outright ban.
International Bilingual Schools
- Required Documents
- Common requirements flagged by relocation guides include the child's birth certificate, health/medical records, and proof of the family's residence permit status, with schools recommending direct contact well in advance since admission requirements differ by institution.
- Application Process
- Admission and enrolment procedures vary from school to school, and space is often limited with preference sometimes given based on nationality. For Arcadia and similarly-run schools in the area, processing of an application takes about two weeks, after which the applicant is invited to an interview, and students entering Secondary School (ages 11-16) are required to complete a short assessment. Non-English-speaking applicants are typically given a separate language proficiency test.
- Timing And Waitlist Reality
- Several schools in the wider area (e.g. Arcadia, per relocation guides) accept applications and enroll students throughout the calendar year rather than on one fixed intake date, but because these are small schools with limited total capacity, popular year-groups (especially early primary and mid-secondary) can fill up — applying several months before the intended start (ideally by spring for a September start) is the realistic safe margin rather than a guarantee, since exact seat availability isn't published and must be confirmed directly with the school.
Options Within Kotor Proximity
Arcadia Academy
- Type
- British/Cambridge curriculum, ages 3-18
- Location
- Ljesevici bb, Kotor (within the Kotor area)
- Notes
- Arcadia Academy is a full member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and the first and only Cambridge International School in Montenegro, located in Kotor.
Knightsbridge Schools International (KSI)
- Type
- IB World School (PYP/MYP/DP), ages 3-18, day and boarding
- Location
- Porto Montenegro, Tivat — roughly a 20-25 minute drive from central Kotor, so not strictly 'in town' but the option most Bay-of-Kotor expat families also consider
- Notes
- KSI is Montenegro's only IB World School and is fully certified by the Montenegrin Ministry of Education.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.