Accreditation and Membership
IBSB was first accredited as a member of COBIS, ECIS, and CEESA, in 2002, and since this time has undertaken regular school inspections confirming our commitment to maintaining a high standard of teaching and learning and strategic development.
IBSB was inspected as a British School Overseas in September 2022, by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), a body approved by the British Government for the purpose of inspecting independent schools in England and overseas. The inspection report is divided into two sections.
Section 1 (pp 1-8) provides general information about the school, and reviews the standards for British Schools Overseas.
Headline judgements against the Standards for British Schools Overseas indicate that the standards have been ‘met’ or ‘not met’ for accreditation:
Key findings (p. 6)
“The school meets all the Standards for British Schools Overseas and no further action is required as a result of this inspection.” (p. 6)
Section 2 (pp 9-14) refers to the ‘Inspection of Educational Quality’, reviewing two key outcomes for pupils:
1. Quality of pupils’ learning and achievement
2. Quality of the pupils’ personal development
Headline judgements on educational quality include one of the following ISI descriptors: ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sound’, or ‘unsatisfactory’.
Key findings (p. 9)
3.1 The quality of the pupils learning and achievement is excellent
3.2 The quality of the pupils’ personal development is excellent
In addition to these overriding judgements, the report also identifies the impact of the curriculum, teaching, pastoral care, and leadership and management on the outcomes of pupils. Here are just a few of the findings included within the report:
“Pupils of all ages have excellent skills and knowledge in almost all areas of the curriculum. Evidence from lessons is that the level of their understanding progresses rapidly as a result of the attitudes encouraged by the school learning initiative”
“The attainment of primary pupils is mathematics, English, and science is consistently above average compared to those taking the same tests worldwide”
“Secondary school pupils are attaining grades in most subjects well in excess of those gained by pupils of the same ability in the same examinations worldwide”
“Almost all students succeed in achieving places at their first choice of university or college, many with demanding entrance requirements”
This inspection report can be found on the UK Department for Education website:
British schools overseas: accredited schools inspection reports – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The report can also be found on the website of the Independent Schools Inspectorate:
International British School of Bucharest :: Independent Schools Inspectorate (isi.net)
IBSB is a fully accredited High Performance Learning (HPL) School and a member of the World Class Schools Fellowship, having received the World Class School Award in June 2022, which identifies IBSB as a leading school in international education.
As a High Performance Learning (HPL) School, parents can be confident that students enrolled at IBSB receive an exceptional level of education that is both supportive and challenging, enabling our students to achieve unparalleled learning outcomes, well above the UK national standard.
In 2021, 100% of the graduating class received an offer to study at a reputable, highly ranked university, including 74% receiving an offer to study at a university ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide, and 95% receiving an offer to study at a university ranked in the top 5% of universities worldwide.
Engendered within the High Performance Learning philosophy and framework, is the fundamental belief that all students have the capacity to be high performers. Students educated in schools committed to the High Performance Learning philosophy and approach not only achieve higher academic results, but also develop the characteristics of high performance that enable them to succeed later in life.
As a parents, we are not taught how to raise our children as high performance learners. For this reason, we run ‘Parents as Partners Workshops’ to enable our parents to develop a home environment that nurtures the cognitive skills, values, attitudes, and attributes our children need to become successful lifelong learners.
To learn more about High Performance Learning, please visit the HPL section of our school website, or www.highperformancelearning.co.uk.
IBSB is a fully accredited member of the ‘Association of British Schools Overseas’ (AoBSO), having officially passed our most recent BSO Inspection in March 2018, and as such we are registered on the DfE Website as a school that meets all UK statutory requirements- to see the full inspection report click on this link or visit the ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) website.
Only schools which have passed a ‘British School Overseas’ inspection are invited to join AoBSO, an association connecting the leading international British schools worldwide to facilitate the sharing of best practice and support members schools in achieving and maintaining the highest educational outcomes for every pupil.
Why attend an AoBSO School?
British education has a strong reputation internationally, with parents choosing British schools for the broad, balanced curriculum offered and for the quality of education that equips pupils with the skills and qualifications to enter, or re-enter the UK education system at school or college level, or study at any university worldwide (including Romania) with the internationally recognised ‘A Level’ qualification.
What is a BSO Inspection?
BSO stands for British Schools Overseas, an accreditation that schools receive after they have passed their BSO inspection. This inspection provides British Schools Overseas accreditation to indicate that they adhere to the same standards as schools in the UK.
How often must a school be inspected?
Under the new BSO Inspection requirements, inspections must currently be carried out by schools abroad every three years.
What are the main areas that the inspection time will focus on?
The inspectors will be looking for evidence to support standards across 8 key areas:
- The quality of education provided by the school
- The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils
- The welfare, health and safety of the pupils
- The suitability of the proprietor and staff
- The premises and facilities provided
- The provision of information for parents, carers and others
- The school’s procedures for handling complaints
- Leadership and management of the school
What is the final outcome?
At the end of the inspection process the school is sent a report outlining the strengths of the school and areas for future development.
We are pleased to inform our current and prospective parents that IBSB were successfully inspected by ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) in March, 2018, meeting all statutory requirements.
To read the full BSO Inspection report from 2018 please follow this link.
ISI is monitored by Ofsted and approved to conduct inspections and produce inspection reports which are made available to the current and prospective parents of pupils attending British Schools Overseas.
IBSB was the first international school in Bucharest to receive Romanian Ministry of Education (ARACIP) accreditation, which ensures our graduating students are eligible to enrol in Romanian Universities and higher learning institutions.
ARACIP accreditation reflects that the quality, reliability, and comprehensive curriculum found at our institution meets or exceeds the standards required by the Romanian Ministry of Education.
IBSB has been an accredited Cambridge Assessment International Examination Centre since 2001, with the vast majority of our students completing their A Levels going on to study at one of the top universities around the world.
In 2020, 87% of our students were offered places in the top 5% of universities worldwide.
Click here to see the full list of universities where our students have gone to study.
COBIS is recognised internationally as a Membership Association of British Schools of quality.
It is important for parents to understand that there are different levels of COBIS membership, including most importantly:
1. COBIS ‘Accredited’ Member Schools
2. COBIS Member Schools
Only COBIS ‘Accredited’ Member Schools have undertaken a BSO inspection by a UK inspectorate, recognising the high quality of UK Education offered. Please refer to AoBSO Accreditation/Membership.
COBIS ‘Accredited’ Member Schools provide a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities, a strong programme focused on supporting and maintaining student wellbeing, and a variety of continuing professional development programmes for teaching and administrative staff, whilst promoting an understanding of modern British values.
Formal education is vital in helping young people to arm themselves with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the world of tomorrow. But not all learning happens in the classroom. Formal education alone is not enough to ensure they have the skills to tackle life’s many challenges head on. Young people also need experiences outside the classroom to become committed, responsible and fulfilled citizens of the world.
Non-formal education and learning plays a role in the development of skills such as resilience, confidence, and communication and can help young people find their purpose, passion, and place in the world.
The Award is a non-formal education and learning framework through which young people’s achievements outside of academia are recognised and celebrated. The Award focuses on allowing young people to step outside of their comfort zone; to try, test, and reassess new ways of doing things, encouraging young people to explore new frontiers, to push their limits, and to learn from both their successes and their mistakes.
IBSB became an accredited Edexcel Centre in June, 2012.
Edexcel is one of the major exam boards for Key Stage exams, including IGCSE and A Level exams.
As a school focused on maintaining the highest standards in student achievement, we are committed to providing the necessary challenge to extend all students, including students performing at the higher level of the curriculum.
Our strategic partnership with NACE helps us to maintain a high standard of teaching and learning for our more able learners, driving whole-school improvement and raising achievement for all.
Core Principles
NACE member schools are guided by the following principles:
- The education of more able learners is a whole-school endeavour to be embraced by all school leaders
- Addressing the needs of more able learners will raise achievement for a much wider group of learners in a school
- Providing for more able learners is not about labelling, but about creating a curriculum and learning opportunities which allow all children to flourish
- Ability can be revealed across a range of specific domains or more generally, and not only in traditional academic subjects
- An ethos of high expectations and aspirations for all students, including the more able learners
- Teachers are central to providing challenging and enriching learning experiences, and their professional development is paramount
- Student ability can be developed with opportunity, challenge, and a growing sense of self-belief
IBSB is an active member of the UK Mathematics Trust, which aims to advance the education of young people in mathematics.
Our students take part in the regional, national, and international competitions each year, with our students regularly receiving Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.
IBSB is one of the original members of the Black Sea Schools Association, establish in 2018 to support student engagement, continuing professional development and teacher collaboration, and a deeper understanding of leading educational reform. There are currently 25 member schools in the group, with an annual face to face conference and regular online meetings taking place each year to ensure the delivery of a colourful calendar of interschool events and activities.
IBSB was the first international school in Romania to become a member of the National Association for Special Educational Needs – a leading charitable membership organisation in the UK that exists to support and champion those working with, and for, children and young people with SEND and learning differences.
Is for the educational experience for learners with SEND in our school community to consistently be as good as it is for learners without SEND (equity of educational experience for all learners). We will fulfil this by:
- Providing information, training, and resources to develop SEND provision
- Delivering programmes/initiatives/services that support the development of SEND provision
- Acting as a champion, friend, and protector for the provision of SEND