The British School of Costa Rica

Costa Rica, San Jose

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Fee Table

All the fees for The British School of Costa Rica

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Annual Fees

Name	Age	Fee	Track	Conditions
Admission quota (one-time)	0	610,000 CRC	—	paid by family; plus 13% VAT
Student medical insurance (annual)	0	22,000 CRC	—	per year per student; accident cover
Early Years 1 (annual total)	3	4,354,022 CRC	Infant	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026
Early Years 2 (annual total)	4	6,300,480 CRC	Infant	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026
Textbooks and equipment deposit (Primary)	4	100,000 CRC	Infant/Primary	per student; Primary (Years 1–5)
Early Years 3 (annual total)	5	6,417,210 CRC	Infant	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026
Years 1–2 (annual total)	6	7,120,590 CRC	Primary	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026
Years 3–5 (annual total)	9	7,225,350 CRC	Primary	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026
Textbooks and equipment deposit (Secondary)	11	120,000 CRC	Secondary	per student; Secondary (Years 6–12)
Years 6–8 (annual total)	12	8,500,410 CRC	Secondary	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026
Years 9–12 (annual total)	15	9,176,850 CRC	Secondary	Annual tuition + matriculation for 2026

Application Fees

Name	Fee	Conditions
Application Fee	610,000 CRC	Admission quota fee already listed above as one-time entry

Enrollment Fees

Name	Fee
Enrollment Fee	0 CRC

Additional Fees

Name	Fee
Annual matriculation by year group (for 2026 period 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Oct 2026)	0 CRC

Fee Breakdown

Fees

Application / Admission fees

- Admission quota (one-time, paid by the family): CRC 610,000 (plus 13% VAT).
- Annual matriculation (matrícula) fee (applies per student) for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 October 2026, by year group:
- Early Years 1: CRC 350,000.
- Early Years 2: CRC 507,000.
- Early Years 3: CRC 516,000.
- Years 1–2: CRC 573,000.
- Years 3–5: CRC 582,000.
- Years 6–8: CRC 684,000.
- Years 9–12: CRC 738,000.

Tuition fees (by year group and payment frequency) — academic year 2026

- Annual tuition (single payment) by year group:
- Early Years 1: CRC 4,004,022.
- Early Years 2: CRC 5,793,480.
- Early Years 3: CRC 5,901,210.
- Years 1–2: CRC 6,547,590.
- Years 3–5: CRC 6,643,350 (level marked with includes a Chromebook).
- Years 6–8: CRC 7,816,410.
- Years 9–12: CRC 8,438,850.

- Semester tuition (two payments per year; 2% service charge included in the amounts listed) by year group:
- Early Years 1: CRC 2,042,050.
- Early Years 2: CRC 2,954,675.
- Early Years 3: CRC 3,009,615.
- Years 1–2: CRC 3,339,270.
- Years 3–5: CRC 3,388,110.
- Years 6–8: CRC 3,986,370.
- Years 9–12: CRC 4,303,815.

- Monthly tuition (paid over 12 months) by year group (monthly amounts shown):
- Early Years 1: CRC 350,000 per month.
- Early Years 2: CRC 507,000 per month.
- Early Years 3: CRC 516,000 per month.
- Years 1–2: CRC 573,000 per month.
- Years 3–5: CRC 582,000 per month.
- Years 6–8: CRC 684,000 per month.
- Years 9–12: CRC 738,000 per month.

- Surcharges and notes on payment frequency:
- The school publishes that tuition can be paid annually, by semester (2% surcharge) or by month (5% surcharge). Semester figures shown include the 2% service charge. Monthly payment detail on the fees page also shows a fixed surcharge statement of CRC 12,000 per month for the monthly option.
- Annual tuition payments cover, where appropriate by level, official trips and excursions, most external exams, school photos, a yearbook (e-book), textbooks and most workbooks, equipment and materials; Chromebook is provided at specified levels.

Billing schedule and payment terms

- Payment frequency options: annual (single payment), semester (two payments per year), or monthly (12 equal monthly payments). Semester and monthly options are subject to the surcharges noted above. Monthly payments are shown as paid over 12 months.
- When a place is offered, parents have a short reservation period to pay the reservation fee (admissions process states parents have two weeks to pay the reservation fee after admission is confirmed).

Boarding fees

- Boarding is not applicable: the school operates as an independent day school. No boarding fees are published.

Other costs and recurring charges

- Textbooks and equipment deposit (per student):
- Primary (Years 1–5): CRC 100,000.
- Secondary: CRC 120,000.
- Student medical insurance (accident cover): approximately CRC 22,000 per year per student.
- After School Care / special classes: the school may charge for special classes and After School Care at CRC 2,500 per hour.
- School bus: school bus service pricing is managed by a separate, independent company (Tranosys); bus fees and routes are handled by that company rather than in-school billing.
- Uniform: a 2026 uniform guide is provided for primary and secondary students (uniform items are defined in the published uniform guide). Costs for uniform items are set out in the uniform guide.

Refund information

- The school's published fees and the Terms and Conditions pages do not set out a specific, detailed refund policy for tuition, matriculation, reservation or other fees. No separate, explicit refund schedule is published on those fee and terms pages. For matters requiring an exception or clarification, direct contact with the school's admissions or finance office is the operational route.

Fee payment options (methods accepted)

- Online payment platform: the school uses Placetopay to process online payments. Placetopay accepts Visa and MasterCard credit cards and also allows payment via debit accounts (savings and current accounts) through the electronic payment flow; online payments may be made 24/7 through the payment platform.

- Additional notes on payment processing:
- The school's published materials indicate electronic payments are processed through the virtual store and the Placetopay gateway, which issues transaction receipts to the payer's email address. For questions about payment confirmations the school lists specific contacts.

(End of fees overview.)

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The school at a glance

Instructs in English, Spanish

Fees Unlisted

Ages 3 - 18 years

Pupil numbers 715

Type Co-educational

Opened 1981

Bus Service No

The British School of Costa Rica is an independent day school for students aged 3 to 18, delivering IEYC and IPC in the primary years, a bespoke middle-years curriculum, Cambridge IGCSE in Years 9–10, and the IB Diploma Programme in Years 11–12. The Diploma is a bilingual English/Spanish two-year programme. The school is bilingual throughout, with most classes in English and the remainder in Spanish (or French), and aims for bilingual proficiency before Year 3. Founded in 1981, it is NEASC-accredited, recognized by the Costa Rican Ministry of Education, and authorised as an IB World School and Cambridge assessment centre. The 2.2-hectare campus includes an Early Years block, 46 general classrooms, five senior science labs, two Makerspaces, an Art Salon, and a 300-seat Auditorium/Theatre plus a 1,200 m2 gym and on-site sports fields. Extracurriculars feature Model United Nations and the Duke of Edinburgh Award, alongside broad arts and sports offerings.

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