Nord Anglia International School, Manila

In Brief

Heads up — the school was rebranded. It's been Nord Anglia International School Manila (NAIS Manila) since Nord Anglia took it over. Same campus in Aseana City, Paranaque. Same British curriculum through to A-Level. New badge, new branding, slightly bigger machine behind it.

The big thing to know. It's small. Around 380 students across the whole school. Classes of 10-18. That's the whole pitch and it's mostly real. According to one parent, "all teachers, students, guards and staff know each other" and the names of the kids and parents. If your friend wants their child to be a name not a number, this is the one in Manila that delivers that.

Who it suits. Expat families landing mid-year. Younger kids. Children who'd get lost in a 1,500-pupil school. Families who don't want the BSM waitlist or the BGC commute.

Who it doesn't. If they want a deep co-curricular bench — big sports teams, lots of A-Level option blocks, peer competition at the top end — the small numbers cut both ways. Sixth Form is tiny. Tell them to ask exactly how many students are in each A-Level class and which subjects actually ran last year.

Location. Aseana City, near Manila Bay, by the airport. Easy from BGC and Makati outside rush hour. Brutal in rush hour. Worth a test drive at 7.30am before signing.

Watchouts from the community. Older posts (pre-Nord Anglia) flagged a previous principal as poor on communication — one applicant on a teacher forum said the principal's email was "rude and disrespectful." That leadership has changed and the Nord Anglia takeover has tightened the operation, but it's worth meeting the current head and judging for yourself. Communication style is the thing to read the room on.

Versus the alternatives. British School Manila (BSM) is the bigger, older, more established British option and is the default for most British expat families — but it's in BGC, has a waitlist, and has the size that NAIS Manila doesn't. International School Manila (ISM) is American-curriculum and a different beast. NAIS sits as the small, warm British alternative.

Verdict for your friend. Go and see it. Walk the corridors at pickup. Ask current parents — not the marketing team — how the Nord Anglia transition has actually felt on the ground. If their child needs to be known and held, this place is built for that. If their child needs a big stage, look at BSM first.