Kigali - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
There are some options. International school of Kigali is the one supported by the embassy. Reviews are different. Most people say it is ok for lower grade levels but not recommended for high school. Other popular options are Belgian Ecole and Greenhills Academy. Lot of Montessori choices for little ones - Oct 2023
There are several schools that cater to international families, including ISK, KICKs, The Earth School. I have heard good things about all of them. We have been very happy with The Earth School, which is a Montessori school. - Aug 2023
There are several schools that embassy children attend. The two most common are ISK and KICS (religious based). Then there’s Green Hills (French immersion I believe) and The Earth School (Montessori). I send my preschooler to Happy Hearts (Montessori) and couldn’t have been more pleased with it. - Jan 2022
Decent variety of small elementary schools teaching to international standards. The small sizes can become a problem in high school, where you grade probably won't be able to pull together a basketball team between you all, pushing some of your peers to avoid this post or go to boarding school, ensuring the problem continues. - Sep 2019
ISK, KICS, and Green Hills. I haven't had any experience with them, though many expats send their kids there. There are not many good senior high options. - Jun 2018
ISKR is the accredited school (PreK-12) and is pretty good, especially for the younger kids. Starting around middle school the number of students dwindles a bit, but the numbers have picked up more and more since we arrived. They are trying to expand and they do after school activities including soccer, swimming, art, gymnastics, etc. It is all very amateur but the kids enjoy it!
Other families send their kids to the Belgian School, Kigali International Community School (Christian), or the Earth School (Montessori based) - Dec 2017
There is an American school, which most families use. Also a Belgian school, and an English-based Christian school, both of which are used by a couple of families. - Jan 2017
The two main international schools are ISK and KICS, both of which are great and at which people seem to have had good experiences. It mostly depends on whether or not you are looking for the Christian aspect of the education. However, there are Muslims and other faiths at KICS which have not had any issues that I know of. - Apr 2016
There are about four or five schools that are most commonly used including a Montessori option. We do not have kids so my knowledge on this is limited. High schools do not have much too offer for AP courses other than online offerings, although Green Hills Academy offers an IB Program. This is continually being improved so talk to the CLO as things will likely change! - Oct 2014
There are several international schools but I don't have children so I am not well versed in the schools. - Jul 2014
There are several international schools in Kigali, with variable quality. - May 2012
There are quite a few schools available, however most children attend the same schools. - Apr 2012
There are (2) shcools I can remember. They have programs for all ages, but cater mainly to mid-school and younger. Teens will have adequate schooling here. - Oct 2010
The two American Curriculum Schools are International School of Kigali and Kigali International Community School. ISK is fairly new but is growing and working on becoming a part of the greater international school community. www.isk-rwanda.org. KICS is a Christian School, that targets Rwandan and missionary families. www.kicsrw.org . Green Hills Academy is a British Curriculum school. There is also Ecole Belge which is a French speaking school following Belgian Curriculum. We chose to pull our children out of KICS after two years because they were not actively pursuing accreditation and because of their required religion classes. We are happy with ISK, a secular private school, and are happy to see ISK strive towards accreditation and quality education. However, we know people who are happily enrolled in KICS. - Jan 2010
Expat options for their children include the Belgium school (French language), Green Hills Academy (English and French language, Bristish System), and Kigali International Community School (KICS) a missionary school. (English, US curriculum). My three children attended KICS. It should be noted that the school started up 1 1/2 years prior to our arrival. Math and Science curriculum was inadequate for our primary school children. - Aug 2008
