Cambridge High School, Amman

In Brief

Cambridge High School (CHS) sits in Al Rabia, opened in 2000, and has run the full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP) since 2004. Around 1,000-1,200 students from roughly 25-30 nationalities, mostly returning Jordanian and bilingual families rather than a heavy expat mix.

What people actually say:

- The IB programme is the real draw. All graduating classes have progressed to university. Parents who want a properly delivered IB Diploma — not just a school that markets itself as "international" — generally rate it. - It runs a tight ship. Several parent and student accounts describe it as strict on uniform, homework and conduct, with detentions used freely in the middle years. According to one former student, the rules were "very strict" and teachers would "humiliate you if you don't do homework." Whether that reads as discipline or pressure depends on your child. - Teaching quality is uneven by department, which is normal at this size, but stronger in the senior IB years than lower down. One teacher described "excellent management" and "polite, responsive" students; another flagged long hours and abrupt top-down decisions. Read: the staffroom is not uniformly happy, which sometimes shows up as turnover. - Facilities are functional rather than flashy. Don't expect the campus or sports offering of Amman Baccalaureate School or King's Academy. - Community skews local-Jordanian/returnee rather than diplomatic-expat. Good for integration, less so if your child wants a large transient international peer group.

Worth asking on a visit: - How many DP teachers have been there 3+ years. - Recent IB Diploma average and bilingual diploma rate. - How the school handles the gap between MYP discipline culture and DP independence.

Bottom line: a serious, academically focused IB school with a disciplinary streak. Strong fit for a child who responds to structure and wants the full IB pathway. Worth comparing head-to-head with Amman Baccalaureate School, Mashrek and Amman Academy before committing.