Good to know
Good to Know
- Cedar International School in Road Town is the only full IB World School (PYP, MYP, and DP) in the British Virgin Islands, making it the default choice for families wanting an internationally transferable curriculum.
- St. George's School follows the British GCSE/CSEC track rather than IB, and is generally considered a more budget-friendly private option than Cedar.
- Non-Belonger (non-BVIslander) children age 5 and up need permission from the BVI Education Department, coordinated with Immigration, before they can enroll — plan for this paperwork well ahead of a school year start.
- Tuition at BVI private schools is billed and paid in US dollars, since the US dollar is the territory's official currency — no currency conversion is needed for USD-holding families.
- The BVI's official currency is the US Dollar, so there is no currency conversion to worry about for any school fee here — local and USD figures are identical.
- Because the Ministry of Education permission for your child normally comes only after your work permit is approved, build extra lead time into your relocation timeline beyond just the school's own admissions decision.
- Cedar International School explicitly encourages families to apply as early as possible due to limited space, rather than relying on any fixed application window.
- If you're considering homeschooling instead of enrolling in a school, plan at least three months ahead: BVI law requires the educational plan to be submitted to the Chief Education Officer three months before you start, and officials have publicly confirmed that last-minute homeschool switches are not legally permitted mid-cycle.
Sector Context
- Education System Basis
- The BVI education system is modeled on the British system, with compulsory schooling from age 5 to 17 under the Education Ordinance.
- Note On Exclusions
- Schools located outside the immediate Road Town area (e.g., Sea Cows Bay, Virgin Gorda) are noted for context but not detailed with tuition figures here, in keeping with a Road Town-proximity focus.
Other Named Schools Further Afield Not Detailed Here
- BVI Seventh-day Adventist School (Sea Cows Bay, Tortola) — CSEC-based curriculum with an Adventist religious component
- Ciboney School (Virgin Gorda) — noted by families located on Virgin Gorda rather than Tortola
Schools And Curricula
Cedar International School
- Founded
- 1990
- Location
- Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
- Age Range
- Pre-school (age 3) through DP2 (age 18)
- School Type
- Private, international, non-denominational
- Accreditation
- Council of International Schools (CoIS) and Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (US); authorized IB World School
- Approx Enrollment
- Around 250 students
Tuition Annual
- Low
- $23,000
- High
- $23,220
- Period
- per school year (not per month)
- Notes
- Additional charges apply on top of base tuition: registration, supplies, a school development contribution, and IB Diploma Programme exam fees.
Curricula Offered
- International Baccalaureate (IB) — full continuum: Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP)
St. George's School (BVI)
- Location
- Road Town and the Palestina estate, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
- Age Range
- Reception through secondary (approximately ages 16–17)
- School Type
- Private, faith-based (Anglican identity)
Tuition Annual
- Currency Local
- USD
- Notes
- Reported as positioned as more affordable than Cedar International School; a specific published tuition figure for this school could not be independently confirmed via its own site at the time of research. Sector-wide BVI private-school annual tuition is cited as ranging roughly from $6,000 to $23,220 USD per year, with Cedar at the top of that range.
Curricula Offered
- British-model curriculum leading to GCSE / CSEC qualifications
Enrollment And Homeschooling
Homeschooling
- Process
- Homeschooling in the BVI is legal but requires prior approval from the Ministry of Education; parents must submit an educational plan and receive consent from the Chief Education Officer before starting, and children must follow a registered programme with national assessments.
- Legal Basis
- Homeschooling is legal in the British Virgin Islands but is a regulated, permission-based process, not a simple opt-out. It is governed by Section 89 of the BVI's Education Act of 2004, administered by the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports.
- Legal Status
- Fully legal and regulated
- Timing Requirement
- Prior to the commencement of a home education programme, it has to be registered with the ministry. The process includes providing an educational plan for each student to the Chief Education Officer three months prior to the home education programme starting — meaning a family cannot decide mid-year or last-minute to pull a child into homeschooling; the request must be made and approved well ahead of the school year.
- Official Application Channel
- Home Schooling Application, Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports, Road Town, Tortola (via bvi.gov.vg).
- Local Homeschool Community Or Coop
- No genuinely documented homeschooling co-op, meetup group, or organized nomad/expat homeschool community specific to Road Town or the wider BVI was found in available sourcing. We are not asserting one exists — families interested in homeschooling here should expect to navigate the Ministry's registration process largely on their own or via direct outreach once resident.
International School Enrollment
- Application Fee
- $300
- Age Cutoffs Example
- Age cutoffs are set as of August 31 of the admission year (e.g. a child must be 3 by Aug 31 for the earliest pre-K class, 5 by Aug 31 for the first primary-years class); exact grade placement is ultimately decided by the Head of School based on age, academic skill, and social maturity.
- Primary Option In Road Town
- Cedar International School (Road Town, Tortola) — the only IB World School in the BVI, offering PYP/MYP/DP from pre-K through Grade 12. Other fee-paying options mentioned locally (e.g. Century House Montessori, St. George's School) exist but detailed foreign-family admissions procedures for them were not found.
- Application Timing And Waitlist Reality
- Cedar's own guidance is to apply as soon as possible rather than wait for a fixed window, since space is limited at a small school (roughly 250 students total across all grades). Separately, the BVI's general Department of Education process for placement into public and private schools accepts applications between January and April for the following school year — foreign families should treat this as the realistic outer planning window, while also confirming directly with Cedar since school-specific rolling admissions can differ from the government-wide placement calendar.
- Foreign Family Specific Notes
- A child's permission to attend school in the BVI is legally tied to a parent's work permit being approved first — the Ministry of Education and Culture application for the child cannot be completed until that permit is in hand, which can add real lead time beyond the school's own admissions decision. It is also a legal requirement that non-Belonger children not attend school without the appropriate Education/Immigration permissions in place.
Process Steps
- Tour the campus if already in the BVI, and meet the relevant IB programme coordinator (PYP/MYP/DP).
- Meet with the school's Admissions Administrator to understand the private-school enrollment process in the BVI.
- Submit the required application forms and supporting documents.
- Application is reviewed; family is notified of the school's decision.
- On acceptance, sign an Enrolment Contract.
- Separately, apply for permission from the BVI Ministry of Education and Culture for the child to attend school — this step is done AFTER the parent's work permit is approved, so it is sequential, not parallel.
- Purchase required school uniforms.
- Head of School sends a welcome letter with first-day details.
Required Documents
- Copy of academic transcripts and report cards
- Passport page
- Birth certificate
- BVI Belonger Card (if applicable)
- Immunisation / health record
- Completed Teacher/Principal Evaluation Form from the child's previous school
- For children born outside the BVI or to non-Belonger parents: separate permission from the BVI Education and Immigration Departments before the child can be officially enrolled
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.