The Rankings — 2026/27
Next update in 361d 14h 29m 50s
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
Zambia · Leopards Hill Road
International School of Lusaka
One of Africa's oldest international schools, running the full IB continuum with houses named for Zambia's rivers.
56.9
Score
Zambia · Leopards Hill Road
American International School of Lusaka
One of a handful of African schools authorized for the full IB continuum, PYP to DP, on a 25-acre Lusaka campus with U.S.-embassy roots.
53.7
Score
Zambia · Copperbelt
Lechwe School
Born in a Copperbelt church hall in 1977, this Cambridge day school has tracked Kitwe's mining fortunes ever since.
52.6
Score
Zambia · Off Kafue Road
Baobab College
South of Lusaka's green campus, an eight-lane pool hosted the Sub Saharan short course championships back in 2006.
51.7
Score
Zambia · Roma
Lusaka International Community School
Parent-owned since 1993, blending Cambridge rigor with a 40-nation community on Roma's floodlit AstroTurf campus
49.9
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.