The Rankings — 2026/27
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Independent · Unpaid · Editorial
World's Top Schools, Ranked.
Every ranked and candidate school in the directory, one continuous list from #1 down. Use this view when you want the full picture without switching between tiers.
This ranking is locked. The next ranking update will be on September 1, 2027. How the ranking cycle works · Why this ranking exists
Penny's picks
Senegal · Sacré-Cœur
Lycée Jean Mermoz
Named for the aviator who vanished off these shores, this AEFE flagship pairs the French Bac with an American strand and a basketball academy in Ouakam.
57.5
Score
Senegal · Almadies
International School of Dakar
An Atlantic-facing campus in Dakar's Mermoz district blends an American core with the full IB continuum, PYP through Diploma.
57.1
Score
Senegal · Hann
Cours Sainte-Marie de Hann
A Marist compound in Hann where a Muslim-majority student body earned Senegal's first UNESCO Prize for Peace Education
53.8
Score
Senegal · Ouakam
Dakar Academy
Founded in 1961 as West Africa's first international school, still blending an American curriculum with family-style boarding for pupils from 50-plus nations.
50.8
Score
Senegal · Point E
École Actuelle Bilingue Dakar
An accessible alternative to Dakar's premium international schools, teaching English and French side by side with two teachers per class.
48.7
Score
Methodology
How we rank
Our composite weights eight categories. Each is scored 0–100 by our editorial panel and audited against 30 sub-criteria drawn from school records, university placement audits, alumni surveys, campus visits and parent interviews. Schools cannot pay for placement or preview scores.
Weighting
- Academic Outcomes20%
- University Placement17%
- Prestige & Heritage13%
- Alumni Network13%
- Facilities13%
- Transparency & Communications8%
- Peer & Industry Review10%
- Admissions Selectivity & Demand8%
Score key
Reading the scores
Bands out of 100
Every category, sub-criterion and composite total across this issue uses the same six-band editorial palette. Bands are calibrated against the full 300-school cohort — a "Distinguished" mark is meaningfully harder to earn than a "Strong" one.
- Exceptional90–100
Top of cohort
- Distinguished80–89
Elite tier
- Strong70–79
Consistently high
- Solid60–69
Reliable performer
- Average50–59
Room to grow
- Below par< 50
Underperforming
The same colour bands are used inside each school profile, on category chips, radar charts and the annual score-history line — so a colour glimpsed on the Rankings page always means the same thing everywhere else.
Explore Senegal further
City guides in Senegal