Exclusive World-class Education: 18 Of The Best Boarding Schools Worldwide

An investment in your child’s school is really like any other investment—you put in now for a payoff in the future. The payoff in the case of a boarding school is your child having an education and connections that will lead them to have a happy and productive life.

As with any kind of investment, you’re going to want to take a good, hard look at the people who are going to be helping shape your children into young adults. If your child is getting to the appropriate age, it’s time to ask the big questions: How many boarding schools are there in the world? Are the most expensive boarding schools in the world really that good? And, of course, what are the best boarding schools in the world?

Today we’re going to give you some insight into the world of international boarding schools. You spent time researching your luxury yacht, and you certainly didn’t stumble all willy-nilly into purchasing your dream home. So it stands to reason you wouldn’t dare jump blindly into making the most significant investment of your life… the future of your children. This list was compiled by comparing international school rankings offered by reputable educational sites. We analyzed each ranking to identify the absolute best boarding schools in the world. Read on to find out about the 18 best boarding schools in the world.

A quick note: The prices per year listed below are the tuition and boarding fees. You’re likely to come across additional fees that can add a significant amount on top of the tuition each year. For example, when your child first joins a school, you may be charged an additional enrollment fee on top of the tuition.

The 18 best boarding schools in the world

Here are the 18 schools in our ranking, counting down to number one.

18. The Hotchkiss School, Connecticut, United States

Maria Hotchkiss founded The Hotchkiss School in 1891 with the fortune her husband made from armaments, on the advice of Yale’s president, who wanted a school that would prepare boys for New Haven. The intake today looks nothing like the original one. Chinese students have attended since 1912, women since 1974, and roughly a quarter of all American ambassadors to China passed through the place.

The campus is the argument for boarding here. Hotchkiss sits on 827 acres of woods and farmland in the Litchfield Hills, and its own Fairfield Farm grows about 30% of what the dining hall serves in the autumn term. With 599 students and more than 150 teachers, your child works in groups small enough that nobody hides at the back.

Country	United States
Price per year	$80,800 (boarding), $68,700 (day)
Year founded	1891
Number of students	599
Student-to-teacher ratio	4:1
Notable alumni	Henry Luce, Potter Stewart, MacKenzie Scott
Website	hotchkiss.org

17. Choate Rosemary Hall, Connecticut, United States

Few American prep schools carry a roll call quite like Choate Rosemary Hall. John F. Kennedy walked its halls before the White House, and the school has been shaping the children of the American establishment ever since. Set across a 458-acre Connecticut campus—complete with an arts center designed by I.M. Pei—it pairs Ivy-feeder academics with a genuine sense of grandeur.

What sets Choate apart is the breadth of what it offers beyond the classroom: signature programs in the arts, sciences, and environmental immersion, plus terms abroad that send students to study in places like China, Spain, and Italy. With a 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio, your child is never just a face in the crowd.

Country	United States
Price per year	$74,530 (boarding), $57,610 (day), 2026-27, including the technology fee
Year founded	1890
Number of students	860
Student-to-teacher ratio	7:1
Notable alumni	John F. Kennedy, Glenn Close, Edward Albee
Website	choate.edu

16. Phillips Academy Andover, Massachusetts, United States

If you think you have the potential for genius in your gene pool—don’t we all?—Phillips Academy Andover is well worth checking out. Founded on the principle that excellent education should be accessible to all, the high-end boarding school accepts children on merit rather than the parents’ financial position. They are also committed to aiding all students who can’t afford the full tuition, and nearly half of the private boarding school’s 1,167 students receive grants.

So what does it take to earn your place? A standout interview and talent in spades. And with an alumni archive that includes President George Bush and Desperate Housewives actress Dana Delaney, we know they must be doing something right.

Country	United States
Price per year	$79,800 (boarding), $63,840 (day), 2026-27
Year founded	1778
Number of students	1,167
Student-to-teacher ratio	5:1
Notable alumni	George Bush, Dana Delaney, Bill Belichick
Website	andover.edu/

15. Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire, United States

Counting Mark Zuckerberg amongst its impressive list of Alumni, you could say that Phillips Exeter Academy played a key role in the development of Facebook. But even more noteworthy than that is the private boarding school’s need-blind admissions policy. Like all Phillips Academies, it is accessible to all highly talented youth—regardless of financial position.

Founded in 1781, Phillips Exeter Academy is dedicated to empowering the next generation through inclusive, excellent education. Although it hosts over a thousand students at any given time, it employs a teacher for every six students, meaning that each child receives individual attention in order to reach their full potential.

Country	United States
Price per year	$71,797 (boarding), $56,077 (day), 2026-27
Year founded	1781
Number of students	1,096
Student-to-teacher ratio	6:1
Notable alumni	Franklin Pierce, Robert Lincoln, Mark Zuckerberg
Website	exeter.edu/

14. Bromsgrove International School, Thailand

One of the best boarding schools in Asia, Bromsgrove International School is associated with their namesake school in the UK, giving this school over 460 years of experience to draw from. Bromsgrove accepts boarding students aged 9 through 18 and uses the British Boarding School Association Standards for their procedures. What makes Bromsgrove really stand out is that the main campus is nestled next to a 36-hole golf course, allowing the school to integrate the healthy activity into its curriculum.

Country	Thailand
Price per year	Day tuition from THB 373,800 (Pre-Nursery) to THB 777,300 (Years 10 to 13), plus THB 346,340 (weekly boarding) or THB 472,360 (full boarding), 2026-27
Year founded	2002
Number of students	Over 520
Student-to-teacher ratio	6:1
Notable alumni	Chanittha Vajrasthira (Nuna), Mr Piya Yodmani
Website	bromsgrove.ac.th/

13. Harrow School, United Kingdom

If Eton has a natural rival, it is Harrow School. One of England’s original nine “Great Schools,” this full-boarding boys’ institution has educated seven British prime ministers—Winston Churchill chief among them—along with kings, poets, and the first prime minister of India. The straw boater hats and the hilltop chapel are as much a part of British cultural iconography as the school itself.

Tradition here is not for show. Boys live in one of twelve boarding houses for their entire Harrow career, forging the kind of lifelong networks that have long defined the British establishment. With an average of just five pupils per teacher, the academic attention is as serious as the pedigree.

Country	United Kingdom
Price per year	£21,990 a term, about £65,970 a year (2026-27, including VAT)
Year founded	1572
Number of students	830
Student-to-teacher ratio	5:1
Notable alumni	Winston Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sir Robert Peel
Website	harrowschool.org.uk

12. Eton College, United Kingdom

Eton College is one of the best boarding schools in Europe, and one of the most famous schools in the world. It has been dubbed “the chief nurse of England’s statesmen” because of the number of future world leaders that have passed through its hallowed halls. In addition to politicians and business leaders, Prince William and Prince Harry attended Eton for their advanced education. This is one of the top schools in the world where the young forge connections that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Country	UK
Price per year	£21,891 a term, about £65,673 a year (2026-27, including VAT)
Year founded	1440
Number of students	1,300
Student-to-teacher ratio	8:1
Notable alumni	George Orwell, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Website	https://www.etoncollege.com/

11. St. Andrew’s College, Aurora, Canada

Situated on 126 beautiful acres, the campus of St. Andrew’s College, one of the largest all-boys boarding schools in Canada, is an absolute eye-catcher with greenery everywhere. The school boasts a 100% university placement rate for its graduating classes, and more than 7,000 alumni provide worldwide connections. With alumni like actors Kiefer Sutherland and Stephen Amell, lawyer, and diplomat Vincent Massey, and multiple prominent business leaders on their rolls, St. Andrew’s manages to empower young men who reach success in a wide variety of fields.

Country	Canada
Price per year	CAD 46,395 (Day Student) CAD 79,880 (Boarding Student) CAD 50,210 (International Day Student Requiring a Study Permit) CAD 88,660 (International Boarding Student Requiring a Study Permit), 2026-27
Year founded	1899
Number of students	650
Student-to-teacher ratio	5:1
Notable alumni	Vincent Massey, Roy McMurtry, Frank Moores
Website	https://www.sac.on.ca/

10. Amadeus International School Vienna, Austria

If your child has a real affinity for music or the arts, you should seriously consider looking into Amadeus International School Vienna. A unique day and first-class boarding IB World School with an integrated Music and Arts Academy. With more than 50 nationalities, the school is a distinctive blend of rigorous academics with an IB Career-Related Programme. This very unique program provides students with the perfect pathway to focus on a music career while receiving a top international academic education.

Country	Austria
Price per year	EUR 34,425 – EUR 40,465 (Secondary Day School Fee) EUR 62,925 – EUR 69,865 (Full Boarding), 2026-27
Year founded	2012
Number of students	450
Student-to-teacher ratio	6:1
Notable alumni	N/A
Website	amadeus-vienna.com

9. Institut Auf Dem Rosenberg, Switzerland

Welcome to one of the most expensive schools in the world, Institut Auf Dem Rosenberg. Also one of the most exclusive schools, the Institut only hosts around 230 students at any given time, aged 6 to 18 years. With such high exclusivity and low student numbers, your child is guaranteed a hands-on education with their teachers in a teacher-student ratio of 1:2. Alumni include the likes of German billionaire Gunter Sachs and Mexican chemist Mario Molina who won the Nobel Prize in 1995.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	About CHF 165,000 on average (CHF 100,000 base fee plus individual fees)
Year founded	1889
Number of students	230
Student-to-teacher ratio	2:1
Notable alumni	Bernhard Gademann, Mario Molina
Website	instrosenberg.ch

8. TASIS – The American School in Switzerland

Perched on the Collina d’Oro—the “Hill of Gold”—above Lake Lugano, TASIS lays fair claim to the most beautiful campus on this list. The oldest American boarding school in Europe is built around a restored 17th-century villa, framed by terraced gardens, cypress trees, and a view that runs across the lake to the Italian Alps.

The education is as considered as the setting. TASIS blends an American college-prep curriculum with the International Baccalaureate, woven through with the arts and weekend travel across the continent. Your child graduates as at home in a Florentine gallery as in the science lab—fluent, well-traveled, and genuinely worldly.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 106,500 (full boarding, 2026-27)
Year founded	1956
Number of students	750
Student-to-teacher ratio	6:1
Notable alumni	Billy Zane, Jack Savoretti, Isaac Tigrett
Website	tasis.ch

7. Leysin American School in Switzerland (LAS)

The Leysin American School in Switzerland (LAS) strives to not only educate students, but specifically to create future world leaders in their respective disciplines with their Leadership Program. Naturally, the school recognizes that a student’s life can’t be all academics, so it offers weekend trips to other European countries, as well as ski and mountaineering trips in the Alps. Don’t be surprised when, a few years from now, your LAS child ends up picking you up in a world-class automobile or flies you out for a visit in a private jet.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 128,000 (tuition, room and board)
Year founded	1961
Number of students	280
Student-to-teacher ratio	4:1
Notable alumni	Charles Odell, William Carney, Jordan Whitaker
Website	las.ch

6. Le Rosey, Switzerland

Le Rosey has played host to the children of famous actors like Roger Moore, David Niven, and Elizabeth Taylor, musicians like John Lennon and Diana Ross, and captains of industry like the Rothschilds, Benettons, du Ponts, and Rockefellers. Le Rosey features a strong leaning towards bilingual education, leading to a French Baccalaureate or International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. From January to March, the whole school packs up for its winter campus in Gstaad.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	About CHF 105,900 (Juniors) to CHF 159,600 (Cadets and Seniors) for 2026-27, according to Doris; the school doesn’t publish its fees
Year founded	1880
Number of students	450
Student-to-teacher ratio	5:1
Notable alumni	King Albert II of Belgium, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
Website	https://www.rosey.ch/

5. Aiglon College, Switzerland

What do Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark and actor Abhishek Bachchan have in common? They are both alumni of beautiful Aiglon College. One of the unique features of the school is that they recognize that burn-out is a real thing, even amongst the young, and with that in mind, they set aside a 20-minute morning slot for meditation on Mondays and Fridays, and every other Thursday, for the sake of mental health and community-building.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 49,700 to CHF 99,400 (day), CHF 100,800 to CHF 168,000 (boarding), 2026-27, according to Swiss Private Education; the school’s fee document can’t be read online
Year founded	1949
Number of students	500
Student-to-teacher ratio	5:1
Notable alumni	Shaun Ellis Agar, Abhishek Bachchan, Shashi Batra
Website	aiglon.ch/

4. Brillantmont International School, Switzerland

One of the oldest boarding schools in Switzerland, Brillantmont International School has been owned and guided by the same family for five generations now. After 9th Grade, students are given personalized timetables specifically designed to work on their strengths and to help them prepare for applying to the universities of their choice. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the school’s location is a stunner, overlooking the Swiss Alps and Lac Léman (Lake Geneva).

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 99,600 to CHF 116,000 (boarding), CHF 34,000 to CHF 38,000 (day), 2027-28
Year founded	1882
Number of students	About 90
Student-to-teacher ratio	4:1
Notable alumni	Maria Eitel
Website	brillantmont.ch

3. Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, Switzerland

Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz goes out of its way to offer multiple academic programs: two in English, one in German, and two bilingual programs (German/English and Italian/German). The multilingual atmosphere, shared by students from over 45 different countries, is going to enrich your child’s grasp of the world and his or her ability to operate within it. And with its beautiful location near St. Moritz, your parents are going to be happy to visit as much as you can.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 101,100 to CHF 104,900 (boarding, double room, 2026-27)
Year founded	1904
Number of students	330
Student-to-teacher ratio	5:1
Notable alumni	Ernie Blake, Chris von Rohr, Thomas Gold
Website	lyceum-alpinum.ch/en/

2. Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil, Switzerland

Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil prides itself on challenging its students as much outside of the classrooms as within them. Their expeditions program leads students to locations such as Cambodia, Iceland, Japan, and Antarctica in order to tackle such problem-solving adventures as climbing Kilimanjaro or going whitewater rafting. With notable alumni like Princess Marie of Denmark and Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg representing the caliber of students, your child stands a good chance of making some amazing connections that will help build their future.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 137,040 to CHF 148,440 (boarding and tuition), plus CHF 26,460 in other fees, 2026-27
Year founded	1910
Number of students	300
Student-to-teacher ratio	4:1
Notable alumni	Jacques Villeneuve, Princess Marie of Denmark, Guillaume, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Website	beausoleil.ch

1. St. George’s International School, Switzerland

Founded by Lorna Southwell in 1927, St. George’s International School started life as a girls-only establishment, with boys not being admitted until 1993. The school’s International Baccalaureate results are reliably spectacular, with a recent 100% pass rate. But life at St. George’s isn’t all nose-to-the-books; the school offers a wide array of extracurricular activities like art, music, dance, drama, multiple athletics, IT, languages, and more.

Country	Switzerland
Price per year	CHF 103,900 to CHF 132,400 (full boarding), CHF 31,900 to CHF 49,250 (day), 2026-27
Year founded	1927
Number of students	480
Student-to-teacher ratio	10:1
Notable alumni	Glenn Close, Christina Onassis, Jill Hyem
Website	stgeorges.ch

The best boarding schools compared

The four American schools charge between $71,797 and $80,800 a year to board, and Eton and Harrow both come to about £66,000. Most of the Swiss schools ask more than CHF 100,000, before enrollment and other fees.

What are the elite 8 boarding schools?

The “elite 8” are the members of the Eight Schools Association: Choate Rosemary Hall, Deerfield Academy, The Hotchkiss School, The Lawrenceville School, Northfield Mount Hermon, Phillips Academy Andover, Phillips Exeter Academy and St. Paul’s School. Four of them, Hotchkiss, Choate, Andover and Exeter, are already in our ranking. These are the other four.

The names are just as strong. King Abdullah II of Jordan went to Deerfield, John Kerry to St. Paul’s and Uma Thurman to Northfield Mount Hermon, while Lawrenceville counts Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai among its graduates.

The sticker price is not what every family pays. At Andover, 47% of students receive financial aid, and at Exeter the figure is 49%. At St. Paul’s it is 37%, so ask each admissions office what your own household would be offered.

The best girls’ boarding schools

None of the 18 schools in our ranking is a girls’ school. If your daughter wants one, these three are where to start, two in England and one in Connecticut.

Wycombe Abbey counts CNN’s Clarissa Ward among its old girls. Cheltenham Ladies’ College has about 820 students, four in five of them boarders, and taught Kristin Scott Thomas. Miss Porter’s is the smallest of the three, with about 340 girls, and counts Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis among its graduates.

Best boarding schools in the world: Conclusion

Choosing your child’s school is a big decision, and we understand that it can be daunting. Don’t be afraid to shop around and really dig into what the schools offer in terms of academics and other life-building experiences. The right school can make all the difference in helping your child grow into a confident young person who is unafraid of taking on challenges.

We would recommend one piece of advice: don’t choose a school for your child, instead select a school with him or her. Your child’s excitement (or lack thereof) should play a part in your decision. Your child is much more likely to embrace their education if they had a say in the choosing of their school.

Here’s a recap of the 18 best boarding schools in the world:

• 18. The Hotchkiss School, USA
• 17. Choate Rosemary Hall, USA
• 16. Phillips Academy Andover, USA
• 15. Phillips Exeter Academy, USA
• 14. Bromsgrove International School, Thailand
• 13. Harrow School, United Kingdom
• 12. Eton College, United Kingdom
• 11. St. Andrew’s College, Aurora, Canada
• 10. Amadeus International School Vienna, Austria
• 9. Institut Auf Dem Rosenberg, Switzerland
• 8. TASIS – The American School in Switzerland
• 7. Leysin American School in Switzerland (LAS)
• 6. Le Rosey, Switzerland
• 5. Aiglon College, Switzerland
• 4. Brillantmont International School, Switzerland
• 3. Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, Switzerland
• 2. Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil, Switzerland
• 1. St. George’s International School, Switzerland