The British International School of New York vs Kennedy International School
🇺🇸 New York · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Which should you choose?
Curriculum is the first split: The British International School of New York runs British, IB while Kennedy International School runs IB, Blended, Japanese. The choice comes down to target curriculum, whether you need boarding, and budget — verify fees against each school's own figures.
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.
More Comparisons
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 →