Tirana - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
Our four kids are at Tirana International School, a QSI school and we have been very happy there. The campus is beautiful and the teachers and staff are all very friendly. They have great student-teacher ratios and the director listens to parents concerns and is open to changes. All of our kids have thrived at this school. - Apr 2018
There are several choices for pre-school and kindergarten. - Aug 2016
The majority of kids go to the international school, which is adequate. The campus is new and very nice. There's also a Montessori school, which some have been happy with. That said, I've heard that some of our kids have had trouble, as the majority of the kids there are non-native English speakers. - Aug 2015
Embassy children go to Tirana International School, World Academy of Tirana, and Viktor Hygo (the French school). Parents report that they are generally pleased with all of these options. We do have a few high school-aged children at post, but the population is mostly children under age 13. - Aug 2014
The Tirana International School has been just okay with our elementary-school children. We have two children that attend, and the oldest is in second grade this year. We have loved the teachers. Administration has been okay, not the best (nor the worst) that we've experienced. The facilities are bad, but a new school campus is already under construction, and this issue should be resolved by next summer, 2014. Classes are small, which we love for our young kids, but we would not be thrilled for high-school children. Available extra curricular activities are limited by the number of students It's hard to have a high-school orchestra if you only have 25 students. On the other hand, some families have said they really enjoy the smaller classes, and their children get a lot more attention. Other than TIS, there are a couple of other options. Embassy families in the past have used GDQ, a local school run by missionaries, but there are no embassy children attending there currently. Embassy kids have also attended the French School. TIS is halfway between the embassy and the Ridge housing compound, about a three-to-four block in from either direction. - May 2013
All of the kids I know of go to Tirana International School, which is right behind the Ridge. For younger kids it's fine. As kids get older, it is harder for them because there are smaller classes of higher grades, and the curriculum isn't what it should be, or so I've heard. - Dec 2012
We were very please with Tirana International School, but some families with high school aged children were not. A few people sent their children to GDQ run by the missionary community and were happy with it. There is also a Montessori school. - Oct 2011