Schools in Tel Aviv: the English-curriculum school in Jaffa, the American school up the road and the free local option

Compared with Dubai or Singapore, Tel Aviv has very few English-language schools. Most British families end up choosing between one long-established English-curriculum school, one American school and the free local system in Hebrew.

The short version

• Tel Aviv's municipal schools are free, apart from parent fees for extras, and children are placed by address [2].
• Registration for kindergarten and first grade, and for children entering the city's schools for the first time, opens in January [2][3].
• Tabeetha School in Jaffa teaches the English curriculum in English, with IGCSE, GCSE and A level qualifications [7].
• The Walworth Barbour American International School, about 20 km (12 miles) north in Even Yehuda, charges ILS 130,200 to ILS 152,700 a year in tuition (about £30,200 to £35,400) for 2026/27 [5][6].
• UK university fees depend on where you've lived, not your passport, so check home fee status early [9].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = ILS 4.3162).

Local school or English-language school?

Back home, private school is the exception. In Tel Aviv, the local system is the default for most families, Israeli and immigrant alike, and the English-language options are few and far between.

As a rule of thumb, young children tend to pick up Hebrew quickly and settle well locally. Teenagers arriving with no Hebrew, or anyone planning to come back to the UK for sixth form or university, often do better in English. New immigrant pupils get extra Hebrew help in local schools, and the municipality asks for the teudat oleh (immigrant certificate) at registration for exactly that reason [2]. Our guide to ulpan and learning Hebrew in Tel Aviv covers lessons for grown-ups too.

English-language schools

We've only named schools we could verify, with fees from their own pages.

Tabeetha School, Jaffa

Tabeetha is the nearest thing Tel Aviv has to a British school. Founded in 1863 and run by the Church of Scotland, it sits on Yefet Street in Jaffa and has pupils of more than 40 nationalities [8]. It describes itself as an English-speaking school teaching "based on the English Curriculum", with pupils taking IGCSE, GCSE and A level qualifications [7]. It welcomes children of all faiths and none.

• Admissions: send the application form and a recent photo to the school office; an application stays valid for a year [8].
• Fees: Tabeetha doesn't publish its tuition fees online. Its only published fee list covers admin charges, such as ILS 300 (about £70) to re-issue a report [8]. Ask the school for the current tuition.

Walworth Barbour American International School (WBAIS), Even Yehuda

Set up in 1958 under the auspices of the American Embassy, WBAIS takes children from pre-K to grade 12 on a campus at Even Yehuda, about 20 km north of Tel Aviv, and has a second campus in Jerusalem [5]. It teaches an American programme leading to a US high school diploma, and has around 450 pupils from more than 40 countries [5]. It's an American system, so expect grades rather than years and a diploma rather than A levels.

Its 2026/27 fees [6]:

On top of that, new pupils pay a one-off, non-refundable registration fee of ILS 20,000 (about £4,630) from elementary upwards, or ILS 2,500 (about £580) for Early Years. Families whose employer pays face a higher capital fee, there are no sibling discounts, and limited financial help is available for grades 6 to 12 [6]. Check whether your employer's package covers school fees before you sign a contract.

Local schools in Tel Aviv-Yafo

The municipality runs 64 primary schools with about 28,000 pupils, and 25 secondary schools [2][4].

Kindergarten (gan)

The city runs 511 kindergartens for about 15,000 children aged three to six. There's no fee for the gan itself, but for the current year parents pay ILS 49 (about £11) for insurance, around ILS 670 a year (about £155) for culture and extra classes, and ILS 909 (about £211) for the afternoon programme (tzaharon) [3]. You register every year, online if you have an arnona (council tax) bill in your name and a Tel Aviv address on your ID [3].

Primary and secondary

Children usually go to the primary school nearest home, and generally stay there until the end of sixth grade before moving on to middle and high school [2][4]. Some addresses offer a choice between a state school and a state-religious (mamlachti dati) school, and the city also has "regional" schools with their own ethos, such as nature, arts or democratic schools, which hold open days during registration [2]. First-grade classes can have up to 34 children [2].

How to register

1. Check your zone. Use the municipality's address search and map to see your allocated school [2].
2. Register in January. Registration for kindergarten and first grade, and for children new to the city's schools, opens in January; apply online in Hebrew or at the Education Centre at City Hall [2].
3. Bring the papers. An arnona bill or rental contract, ID or passports for parents and children, the teudat oleh if you have one, and school reports from abroad for children joining grades 2 to 6 [2].
4. Wait for June. Places are announced in June, with an appeal window afterwards [2].
5. Arriving mid-year? You can still apply, and the Education Service Centre helps new arrivals who are missing documents [2].

Many British parents mix and match: local gan for the little ones, then a rethink at secondary age.

Getting into UK universities from Tel Aviv

Getting in is the easy part. Teenagers apply through UCAS like any other applicant, and A levels are exactly what British universities expect. With a US diploma or the Israeli Bagrut, check each university's entry requirements for your qualification, as they vary. The British Council in Israel helps with recognition of UK qualifications [1].

The catch is fees. Home fees and student finance in England generally need you to have been living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for the three years before the course starts, apart from temporary absences such as holidays [9]. A family that has moved to Tel Aviv for good will usually be treated as international, which means much higher fees. If your posting abroad is genuinely temporary, it may count differently, so check early with the universities and Student Finance England. Our guide to UK student loans while living abroad covers the other side of the coin.

Studying in Israel is another route: international students need an A/2 student visa, and fees are set by each university [1].

If you've been through the Tabeetha application or the January gan scramble and lived to tell the tale, share it in our community group for Brits in Israel.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Israel and Palestine (last updated 14 November 2024)
2. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: Elementary schools (checked 7 November 2026)
3. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: Kindergartens (checked 7 November 2026)
4. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: High schools and middle schools (checked 7 November 2026)
5. Walworth Barbour American International School: About
6. Walworth Barbour American International School: Tuition and fees 2026-2027
7. Tabeetha School: Academic curriculum
8. Tabeetha School: Application and fees and home page
9. GOV.UK: Student finance, who qualifies

Keep reading

• Ulpan: learning Hebrew in Tel Aviv
• Moving to Tel Aviv as a Brit: visa and residence routes
• Cost of living in Tel Aviv vs London and the UK average
• UK student loans while living abroad