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Costa Rica, San Jose
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Uniforms are required for all students. Tops are light grey polo shirts with the CDS logo (or white CDS-logo T-shirts for some grades); bottoms are navy blue, with red shorts worn for physical education. Seniors in Grade 12 may wear an approved polo in the Nord Anglia color palette outside the dress code; outerwear with the CDS logo is permitted over the uniform.
Primary students bring a snack from home. Cafeteria service is optional and paid separately; hot and cold lunches, drinks, desserts, and a vegetarian menu are available; students may also bring lunch from home. Microwaves are provided for heating food, and water filling stations are available; breakable containers are not allowed for safety.
Country Day School is organized into four Houses: Early Learning (EC), Elementary School (ES), Middle School (MS), and High School (HS). Each division has its own principal, assistant principal, and dedicated administrative staff; the school day is structured around the four educational levels within the House system.
Country Day School is a proprietary institution. It was owned and operated by the Woodson Brown family from 1975 to 2018, and joined Nord Anglia Education in 2018.
Country Day School, Costa Rica (CDS) is a US-accredited private day school serving an international community from ages 1 to 18. Founded in 1963, it joined Nord Anglia Education in 2018, strengthening its offerings through collaborations with Juilliard, MIT, and UNICEF. The curriculum follows US frameworks: Elementary and Middle School use Common Core standards; High School leads to the US high school diploma alongside the Costa Rican Bachillerato, with more than 25 AP courses and the AP Capstone Diploma. Students prepare for university with mathematics built on Harvard Pure Math, Harvard Engineering, and MIT curricula, and Mandarin is available as a high school elective. The campus in San Rafael de Alajuela is LEED-certified, solar powered, and designed to save water and energy. It features 81 classrooms, seven STEAM spaces, arts and athletic facilities, and outdoor areas. Global Campus connects students with peers, enabling field experiences, international trips, and cross-cultural collaboration.
