Schools and Kindergartens for Russian-Speaking Children in Egypt

What options a family has

The choice depends on how long you are staying, in which language your child will study later and what budget the family has. Many families combine options: the child goes to a local or international school and studies Russian language and literature at home or with a tutor. The main options are:

• An Egyptian private school with the local curriculum, in Arabic or with some subjects in English.
• An international school with a British, American or other foreign curriculum.
• An Al-Azhar institute, where children study Arabic and the Quran besides school subjects.
• Studying the curriculum of your own country in family education, with exams at the embassy school or back home.

Nursery and kindergarten

Nurseries for children under four are called hadana in Egypt. They are licensed by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. There are also many unlicensed nurseries in the country, and in 2025 the ministry began issuing them temporary licences to bring them into the official system step by step. So the first thing to ask is whether the nursery has a licence.

From the age of four children go to the preparatory classes KG1 and KG2, which usually operate at schools. If you have a specific school in mind, find out whether your child can join it already at KG: in popular schools enrolment for KG and first grade starts early, and places are few.

When choosing a kindergarten, look at how many children and carers there are in a group, which language is spoken with the children, whether the kitchen and toilets are clean, whether the playground has shade and water and how the kindergarten keeps in touch with parents.

Egyptian state and private schools

Under the rules of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, children of foreigners study at private schools. State schools accept, as an exception, citizens of several countries from a special list (according to Human Rights Watch, these are Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) and refugees. CIS countries are not on this list. In both cases a valid residence permit is required.

Egyptian private schools are either ordinary ones teaching in Arabic or «language schools», where some subjects such as maths and science are taught in English. The curriculum is Egyptian, and fees are usually lower than at international schools. A child without Arabic will find it hard, so ask in advance whether the school helps newcomers with the language.

International schools

Cairo has many international schools with a British curriculum (IGCSE and A-level), an American one or the International Baccalaureate (IB), as well as German and French schools. Many of them are in New Cairo, Maadi and 6th of October City. In Hurghada the choice is much smaller.

This is the most expensive option. Fees are often set in dollars or linked to the dollar rate, and on top of tuition you pay separately for registration, the bus, uniforms, textbooks and exams. Compare the full sum for the year and ask how often the school raises its fees.

The advantage of an international school is that many universities around the world recognise its certificates. But if your child will later return to a school back home, find out in advance how the years spent on another curriculum will be counted there.

Al-Azhar institutes for children

Al-Azhar has its own network of schools, called institutes. They teach the general curriculum and, in addition, Arabic, the Quran and Islamic sciences. In 2019 the al-Buuth institute with a kindergarten and primary school opened in Nasr City for children of foreigners, and children from more than a hundred countries study there.

Applications for kindergarten and first grade at Al-Azhar institutes for the 2026/2027 academic year opened on 1 June 2026, and foreigners also had to fill in their details on the Al-Azhar portal for foreign students. Dates and conditions change every year, so follow the announcements on azhar.eg.

The Russian Embassy school and family education

Cairo has a general school at the Russian Embassy that teaches to Russian standards. According to the school, there are no free places in full-time classes, but it holds exams for children in family education.

Exams are held only for those who live in Egypt permanently and legally, not for those who came on a tourist visa. Russian citizens must be registered with the consular section of the embassy in Cairo. Documents are submitted in Russian, and translations, for example of a birth certificate or a visa, must be notarised.

For the 2026/2027 academic year the school announced these dates: documents for grades 9 and 11 are accepted from 4 to 18 October 2026, for grades one to eight and grade ten from 14 to 21 March 2027, and the exams will take place from 4 to 8 April 2027.

The school warns separately that private education centres in Cairo, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are not its branches. Citizens of other CIS countries should ask the education ministry and the embassy of their country how to arrange family or distance education and where to take exams.

Russian-speaking schools and clubs in Hurghada

Many Russian-speaking families live in Hurghada, so there are private schools and centres that teach children the Russian curriculum. Usually the child is formally enrolled in family or correspondence education at a Russian school and has lessons with teachers at the centre.

Before enrolling, ask which school the child will be attached to, where and how the exams take place, what document the child gets at the end of the year and how much tuition, textbooks and trips to exams cost. It is good if the centre lets you talk to parents whose children already study there.

What to check before enrolling

Almost everywhere children are accepted only with a valid residence permit, so arrange it in advance, our article residence permit in Egypt explains how. Before enrolling, check:

• The licence of the school or kindergarten and the curriculum it follows.
• Whether the school documents are recognised in your home country and by the universities your child may apply to.
• The language of teaching and whether there is support for children who do not speak Arabic or English.
• The journey. How much time your child will spend on the school bus in Cairo traffic.
• The full cost for the year, the payment schedule and refund terms.
• The documents required. Usually the passports of the child and parents, the residence permit, a birth certificate with a translation (sometimes legalised) and a vaccination record.

How Tullab can help

School uniforms, backpacks, stationery and textbooks are easy to buy second hand in school supplies, and clothes, prams and toys in children and baby goods. Teachers of Russian and other subjects offer lessons in tutors and courses.

Do you run a club, after-school care or classes for children? Post a free ad and mention the city, the age of the children and the language of the classes.