Virtual School in Romania: Beyond the Big Six Cities, and the Choice That Opens at Sixteen

By Brendaliz Chelangat, Head of Academics · October 2026 · 10 min read

Romania’s international schools are concentrated in Bucharest, with smaller provision in Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Brașov and Constanța. Away from those six cities the choice narrows sharply. Sibiu, Oradea, Arad, Craiova, Ploiești, Galați and many county towns have families who work for international employers, families who have come home after years abroad, and teenagers aiming at universities in the UK or elsewhere, yet no English-medium school offering Cambridge or IB within reach. This guide is for them. It covers the legal route, the age of sixteen, and the exams and universities that follow.

The map beyond the big six

Western Romania, around Oradea and Arad, has grown on manufacturing and logistics linked to Hungary and the wider EU. Sibiu combines an automotive supply base with a strong cultural life. Craiova anchors Oltenia, Ploiești is an oil-refining centre, and Galați is a Danube port with a long industrial history. In each, there are engineers and managers working for foreign-owned firms, IT professionals working remotely, and doctors and business owners with international plans for their children. What these cities usually lack is an international school with a full subject choice to A-Level. Families in these cities are not asking for a new school, only for teaching the local one cannot staff. A live online class does not depend on where the family lives, which is the whole point.

Returning families, and the child between two systems

Many Romanian families have lived for years in Italy, Spain, Germany or the UK, and some are coming home. Their children may have studied in English, Italian or German, and may read and write Romanian less confidently than they speak it. Dropping such a child into a Romanian classroom mid-way through secondary school can be hard. A family returning to Craiova from England, for example, might keep the child in Cambridge IGCSE subjects online while Romanian is rebuilt, rather than lose two years of English-medium progress. The curriculum, teachers and examination board stay the same if the family moves again. Romanian is kept going at the local school or with a tutor, because it matters for daily life and for the bacalaureat if the family chooses it.

The legal route, stated carefully

Under Law 198/2023 homeschooling is not recognised as an educational pathway, compulsory education requires enrolment at an accredited or authorised institution, and in 2024 Romanian courts issued the first criminal sentences against parents homeschooling outside the law. Families who want an international education at home use enrolment with a school based outside Romania, with later recognition through CNRED. Because this is a legal question about your child, confirm with the county school inspectorate (ISJ) and CNRED how it applies to your child’s year group before relying on it. The simplest alternative raises no legal question at all: keep the local enrolment and add Cambridge subjects alongside it. We would rather families ask these questions before enrolling than after.

Sixteen: where the choice becomes the family’s

Compulsory education in Romania is generally described as running to sixteen. After that, the A-Level or IB Diploma years can be the family’s choice rather than something to fit around the compulsory framework. The reform is being phased in, so ask the ISJ how the rules apply to your child’s cohort. The window rewards planning: IGCSE subjects sat at fifteen or sixteen, then two or three A-Levels chosen strictly for the target course. A student can also continue at a local liceu towards the bacalaureat while taking A-Levels alongside, which is a heavy load and worth it only when the destination is genuinely open. Students who expect to stay in Romania can keep both doors open this way.

Bacalaureat, A-Levels and the universities that read them

Romanian universities assess A-Levels and the IB Diploma through CNRED equivalence, with requirements set per programme. That opens the regional universities as well as the capital: Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, the University of Craiova, Babeș-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca and the West University of Timișoara among them. UCAS reads A-Levels natively, the Common Application serves US plans, and students aiming at Canada can complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma through our Ontario partner school. Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel examinations are sat at authorised exam centres in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara, which families book; centres are confirmed per family, per session. Western families are usually closest to Timișoara. Students aiming at medicine should check subject requirements early, as these are usually strict.

When the local liceu is the right answer

A child settled in a good local school, heading for the bacalaureat and a Romanian-taught degree, is well served already, and Romania’s best colegii naționale do excellent work. Our value is narrower and specific: an English-medium examined track where none exists nearby, continuity for returning children, and subjects a small school cannot staff. If those do not apply, the local school is the better choice. A Romanian school also gives a child things we cannot: a classroom, friends in the same town, and fluency in the language of daily life. A combination often works best: the local school for the compulsory years, two or three Cambridge subjects in the afternoon, and a decision about the A-Level years once the child is fifteen and the family’s plans are clearer.

Outside Romania’s six biggest cities, international families and returnees often have no English-medium school nearby, and the law asks for care before anything replaces a local enrolment. Start alongside the local school, plan the IGCSE years towards sixteen, and let the A-Level years open the regional universities and those abroad. If you would like help working out where your child fits, book an assessment with us.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to study full-time online in Romania?

Homeschooling is not recognised under Law 198/2023. Families use enrolment with a school based outside Romania, and should confirm with the ISJ and CNRED how this applies to their child before relying on it. Studying alongside a local enrolment raises no legal question.

What times are live classes in Romania?

Romania is one hour behind Nairobi in winter (EET) and on the same time in summer (EEST), so classes fall within the normal school day. Every lesson is recorded.

Where would our child sit Cambridge exams?

At authorised exam centres in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca or Timișoara, which families book. Western families are usually closest to Timișoara; we confirm a centre per family, per session.

Can A-Levels be used for Romanian universities?

Yes, through CNRED equivalence, with each programme setting its own subject and grade requirements.

Next steps

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