The British International School of New York vs Kennedy International School
🇺🇸 New York · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither The British International School of New York nor Kennedy International School sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. Curriculum is the core differentiator: The British International School of New York offers British, IB while Kennedy International School offers IB, Blended, Japanese — the choice should follow the family's target qualification system. On cost, Kennedy International School has the noticeably lower entry fee — a material difference for budget-conscious families. See the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| The British International School of New York | Kennedy International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | British / IB | IB / Blended / Japanese |
| Ages | 3–18 | 3–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English, French, Japanese |
| Annual fees | USD 45,600–67,800 | USD 24,000–45,000 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | COBIS, ISI | French Ministry of Education, AEFE, NYSED-recognized |
Strengths
- ✓Established since 2006 with a genuine British/Cambridge identity in the heart of Manhattan (Kips Bay, on the East River)
- ✓Accredited by COBIS and authorized as an IB World School (PYP + MYP), plus a Good Schools Guide International listing
- ✓Documented EAL/English-language support from Nursery through Year 9 (small-group pull-out and in-class) — strong fit for non-native English families
- ✓Small, personal scale: school-reported ~1:7 ratio and classes of roughly 14–18, students 'known by name'
- ✓Full continuous 3-to-18 pathway on one campus, with rolling/mid-year admissions
- ✓Long heritage (founded 1964) as one of New York's established bilingual international schools
- ✓Genuine dual-immersion model — two full bilingual tracks (French-English and Japanese-English), not token language classes
- ✓Accredited by the French Ministry of Education and in the AEFE network, enabling seamless transfer into the French school system
- ✓Authorized IB Diploma Programme school since 2014, offering a rare bilingual French/English IB Diploma with Spanish as a second language
- ✓Continuous pathway from nursery (age 3) through grade 12 on two Midtown Manhattan campuses
Trade-offs
- !Does NOT offer the IB Diploma — IB authorization covers PYP and MYP only, and the Upper School switches to Cambridge A Levels, so the 'IB' framing is a lower/middle-years method, not a Diploma outcome
- !No published IGCSE or A-Level results — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- !The ISI inspection on file dates to 2010 and no graded verdict is quoted; COBIS/IB give accreditation but not a public quality band
- !Relatively young Upper School (first Year 10 in 2018, first graduates 2021) — limited senior-school track record
- !No financial aid or scholarships are advertised, against premium fees (up to ~$67,800/year plus one-time enrollment and deposit costs)
- !Holds no US regional accreditation (WASC, MSA, NEASC, or CIS) — its quality assurance runs through the French Ministry and NYSED recognition instead
- !Publishes no current total enrollment, student-teacher ratio, or class-size data on public pages
- !Does NOT publish IB Diploma score averages or pass rates — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- !Does NOT publish university-placement or matriculation data
- !No published, structured EAL/ESL program on public pages, despite an immersion intake (over 50% of elementary students were reported as non-French-speakers prior to enrolling)
Best Fit For
- • Families in or relocating to New York wanting a British/Cambridge (English National Curriculum → IGCSE → A-Level) pathway
- • Internationally mobile or non-native-English families who need structured EAL support in the early and middle years
- • Families valuing a small, personal school with a continuous 3-to-18 pathway on a single campus
- • Households comfortable with premium fees who don't require financial aid
- • Francophone or francophile families wanting an authentic French-immersion education with transferability into the French system
- • Japanese expatriate and internationally-mobile families seeking a Japanese-English bilingual track in Manhattan
- • Families targeting a bilingual IB Diploma pathway (French/English) for grades 11–12
- • Diplomatic and UN-affiliated families based in Midtown (UN-staff discount available for the youngest grades)
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: BIS-NY publishes a university-destinations list (updated April 2025) spanning graduates since its first class in 2021, including UK (Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh, Bristol, Warwick), US (Cornell, NYU, Northwestern, UC system, CUNY/SUNY), Canada (McGill, McMaster) and Europe (Leiden, Maastricht) institutions, and states the Class of 2025 amassed 'over $2,000,000' in merit scholarships. No exam pass rates or A-Level score distributions are published; treat all placement and scholarship claims as school-reported.
School-reported, unverified: Kennedy International School does not publish IB Diploma score averages, pass rates, or a university-placement/matriculation list on its public pages, so senior-school outcomes cannot be independently verified. Its French Ministry accreditation supports transfer into the French school system, but specific university destinations are not disclosed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose The British International School of New York or Kennedy International School?
The British International School of New York is best for: Families in or relocating to New York wanting a British/Cambridge (English National Curriculum → IGCSE → A-Level) pathway. Kennedy International School is best for: Francophone or francophile families wanting an authentic French-immersion education with transferability into the French system. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between The British International School of New York and Kennedy International School?
The British International School of New York: USD 45,600–67,800. Kennedy International School: USD 24,000–45,000. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do The British International School of New York and Kennedy International School offer?
The British International School of New York: British, IB. Kennedy International School: IB, Blended, Japanese.
Do The British International School of New York or Kennedy International School offer boarding?
The British International School of New York: day school only. Kennedy International School: day school only.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →