Where our Costa Rica families are
Smartious Costa Rica families concentrate across San José and the Central Valley (the Escazú and Santa Ana corporate belt and the strongest international tier in Central America outside Panama City), Heredia and the free zones (medical devices, technology and shared services with an internationally recruited engineering workforce), Guanacaste and the North Pacific (one of the fastest-growing international resident populations in Central America, and the region where arriving families are most often misinformed), Limón and the Caribbean (the container terminal handling most national trade, three hours from the Valley), and Quepos, Manuel Antonio and the Central Pacific (a settled international community on a coast the school map never reached). One misreported legal position corrected, one real MEP certification system explained, and a morning teaching window.
The capital and the Escazú–Santa Ana corporate belt · the country's strongest international school tier · the diplomatic and services community · a large expatriate and remote-work population
The medical-device and technology manufacturing corridor · the Belén and Cariari free zones · an internationally recruited engineering workforce · several international schools clustered nearby
The Pacific tourism, retiree and digital-nomad belt · Tamarindo, Nosara, Papagayo and Sámara · a fast-growing international resident population · schooling that has not kept pace
The Caribbean port and container terminal handling most of the country's trade · the banana and pineapple export economy · Puerto Viejo and the southern Caribbean coast · almost no international schooling
The Central Pacific tourism corridor · Manuel Antonio and Dominical · sport fishing, marina and hospitality businesses · a settled international resident community with no local schooling
How Smartious compares to top Costa Rica schools
Costa Rica has a strong international tier concentrated in the Central Valley — Country Day School, Lincoln School, the American International School at Cariari, the British School, Marian Baker, the European School — with fees at the top of the Central American market. Outside the Valley the picture collapses: Guanacaste has one of the fastest-growing international populations in the region and almost no matching provision, and Limón and the Central Pacific have none. There is also an unusual competitive feature here: the MEP's own open-education system, which is not a competitor to us so much as a parallel certification route families should understand.
| School | Curriculum | Fees (CRC/year) | Status / Rating | Reality check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Country Day School, Lincoln School, American International School Central Valley | American, IB and international | Premium tier | 4.7 | Long-established and strong — the national benchmark |
British School, Marian Baker, European School Central Valley | British, IB and bilingual | Competitive places | 4.5 | The closest local comparison to our track — Valley-bound |
MEP Educación Abierta and El Maestro en Casa Nationwide | Costa Rican national certification | — | 4 | Not a competitor — a parallel state certification route, including a path for students over 15. We explain it and do not administer it |
Guanacaste and the Pacific Coastal Costa Rica | Little to none | — | 0 | One of Central America's fastest-growing international populations, with almost no matching schooling |
Limón and the Central Pacific The coasts | — | — | 0 | The main port and a settled expatriate corridor, both three hours from the Valley |
US-based online schools Online | American online | Varies | 4.3 | Much closer to Costa Rica on the clock and familiar to the large North American community — families should weigh that honestly against price and class size |
Smartious Homeschool (Costa Rica via online delivery) Delivered to all Costa Rica | Cambridge IGCSE, A-Level, IB DP, AP | CRC equivalent at prevailing rate | 4.8 | Every class live through A-Level + the MEP position corrected + the state open-education routes explained + the coasts reached + honest that we are nine hours away |
Fee ranges reflect published 2026 tuition for Year 7-13 across the school's tier structure. Specific fees vary by year group and additional school charges (registration, capital fee, books, transport, uniforms). Smartious USD pricing translates to fixed CRC via the peg.
Homeschool laws & regulatory framework in the Costa Rica
Costa Rica is the country where we most often have to correct something a family has already read, and where the state's own certification machinery turns out to be more useful than the advice circulating around it. Here is the position from Costa Rican sources.
What is compulsory
Article 78 of the Costa Rican Constitution makes preescolar education, Educación General Básica and Educación Diversificada compulsory, and free in the public system where the State bears the cost. The Ley Fundamental de Educación No. 2160 of 1957 is the governing statute, and the Ministerio de Educación Pública administers the system. Costa Rica devotes an unusually high share of national output to education and its literacy rate is among the highest in the Americas — this is a country that takes its school system seriously, and that context matters for what follows.
What Costa Rican sources say about home education
Costa Rican press reporting states plainly that home education as a modality is not accepted by the Ministerio de Educación Pública. A 2025 Universidad Nacional analysis of distance and home education goes further and is worth reading carefully: it records that homeschooling is already practised in Costa Rica but without legal backing or state supervision, notes that MEP initiatives such as El Maestro en Casa and the pandemic-era Aprendo en Casa showed significant limitations in academic outcomes, and raises concerns about guaranteeing the rights of minors in an unsupervised arrangement. That is the domestic record, and it is not ambiguous in the way Colombia's is.
What some relocation websites say, and why we do not repeat it
Several expatriate relocation sites tell arriving families that homeschooling is legal in Costa Rica and regulated by the MEP through a notification-and-approval process, with curriculum requirements and periodic evaluations. That description conflicts with the Costa Rican sources above, and we are not going to repeat it because a family who plans a school year around it is exposed. If you have read that and are relying on it, take it to the MEP directly and get the answer in a form you can keep. We would rather be the provider that contradicted a convenient claim than the one that echoed it.
The pending bill
A legislative proposal, expediente 24648, would explicitly regulate distance and home education in Costa Rica. An earlier bill contemplated an "Escuela en el Hogar" with annual registration in a register created for the purpose, with parents responsible for registering minors and registered students barred from concurrent enrolment at any official institution. Neither has been enacted. We report this as pending because families planning a school year need the law as it is, not as it may become — though it is worth knowing the direction of travel.
The state machinery that does exist, and is genuinely useful
This is the part most families miss. The MEP, through the Dirección de Gestión y Evaluación de la Calidad, administers Educación Abierta, which comprises Educación Diversificada a Distancia — directed at youth and adults who have completed the ninth grade of Educación General Básica — and Bachillerato por Madurez Suficiente, directed at people over 18, with exceptions, who did not complete their studies in the traditional system. Both award diplomas with the same academic and legal value as the traditional bachillerato, which is the single most important sentence for a Costa Rican family outside the ordinary route. Separately, El Maestro en Casa operates as a formal open educational offering and includes a path for students under 18 but over 15, with two comprehensive tests and a final test in each of Español, Ciencias, Matemática, Estudios Sociales, Idioma and Educación Cívica, the comprehensives passed at a minimum of seventy and weighted at forty per cent against a final worth sixty, leading to the Bachiller en Educación Media. We do not administer any of it and are not an MEP-accredited institution; we explain it because families deserve to know the state route exists.
The admissions risk, and the timezone
Two closing practicalities. First, university admission can be complicated by the absence of official MEP recognition where a student has been educated outside the accepted system — which is exactly why the open-education routes above matter, and why an internationally examined Cambridge or IB record alongside them is worth holding. Second, the clock: Costa Rica runs CST at UTC-6 with no daylight saving while we teach from UTC+3, a fixed nine-hour gap tied with Mexico as the widest in our coverage. Our classes land in the Costa Rican morning — a seven o'clock class here is four in the afternoon for our teachers — and Both after-school and morning blocks are available, since we run two teaching teams in different time zones. Families whose child is in a full-day school should talk to us before enrolling so we can be realistic about which subjects and days work.
Why Costa Rica families choose Smartious
Reasons grounded in the realities of Costa Rica education — local school capacity constraints, corporate transfer and diplomatic timing, commute and logistics, currency stability, and the curriculum portability that mobile expat and dual-nationality families need.
We contradict the convenient claim
Relocation sites say homeschooling is MEP-regulated here. Costa Rican press and a 2025 Universidad Nacional analysis say otherwise. We follow the Costa Rican sources even though the other version would sell better.
The state routes explained, including the under-18 one
Educación Abierta awards diplomas with the same legal value as the traditional bachillerato, and El Maestro en Casa has a path for students over 15. Most families have never heard of it.
Honest about the nine-hour gap
Tied with Mexico as our widest. Morning classes only, stated on the first page rather than the third.
The coasts and the corridor reached
Guanacaste, Limón and the Central Pacific hold a large share of Costa Rica's international residents and almost none of its international schooling.
The admissions risk named
University admission can be complicated by the absence of MEP recognition. That is a reason to plan carefully, and we say so rather than leaving it out.
Honest that US providers are closer on the clock
For a country this North-American-oriented, a US online school is nearer in time zone. Families should weigh that against price and class size.
What you can verify about Smartious
We publish only facts we can substantiate — operational history, curriculum coverage, teacher base, and infrastructure. No invented testimonials or pass-rate claims.
Founder-led education company
Founded 2019 by Alfred Ouko (BEd Mathematics & Physics). Smartious operates a full teaching team of 11 with two international-standard operational centres established 2022 and 2023. Not a marketplace, not a freelance network.
Two operational centres
Live teaching is delivered to Costa Rica families from two international-standard operational centres, established 2022 and 2023. Teachers work from professional academic facilities with accountability and infrastructure beyond marketplace or freelance models.
Cambridge-trained PGCE specialists
Teachers are PGCE-qualified subject specialists with Cambridge International training. Subject specialism means a Chemistry teacher teaches only Chemistry — not generalist primary-style teaching.
120+ countries served
Active students in Costa Rica and 13 other markets across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and Asia. Verifiable through cross-country cohort interaction in live classes.
Ontario Diploma (OSSD) partnership
Smartious students can earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma through our partnership with Canadian Cross International School (Ontario-inspected private school). The OSSD is recognised by Canadian universities (OUAC), US universities (Common Application), UK universities (UCAS) and globally — particularly valuable for Canadian U15 applications.
5 international curricula
Cambridge IGCSE & A-Level (primary offering), Pearson Edexcel International GCSE & A-Level, IB Diploma Programme, American Curriculum with AP, Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) via Canadian Cross International School partnership. Multiple credential pathways per family.
Live class transparency
Every class is live with recorded sessions for review. Parents can audit class quality directly. This is materially different from pre-recorded video courses with light tutor support.
4.9 from 123+ verified Google reviews
“What I love most about Smartious is how they make learning enjoyable. The tutors use engaging methods that keep children interested throughout the lesson. My child now looks forward to studying instead of avoiding it.”
“I have peace of mind as a Smartious Homeschool parent. No more traffic and early morning rush to school. Smartious are the most organized homeschool providers.”
“I am truly impressed by the level of professionalism at Smartious Homeschool and Tuition. The tutors are not only knowledgeable but also very patient and supportive. They create a comfortable learning environment where children feel free to ask questions. My child now enjoys studying and looks forward to every session.”
Reviews above are from our verified Google Business Profile. For Costa Rica-specific parent references during your decision-making, request these during your free assessment — we can introduce you to current Costa Rica families happy to share their experience directly.
Accreditation, Recognition & University Pathways
Smartious students earn qualifications administered by independent international examination boards. Recognition flows from the board itself — not from the school that delivered the curriculum. Below is the accreditation, examination and verification framework that connects Costa Rican Smartious students to universities worldwide.
Cambridge International
Cambridge Assessment International Education · University of Cambridge
Smartious's primary offer for Costa Rica families. Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge A-Level delivered as live small-group classes in the Costa Rican morning on a fixed nine-hour offset with no seasonal drift, run alongside a Costa Rican school enrolment or whatever MEP arrangement a family holds. Cambridge Spanish available beside the English-medium core. Examinations at authorised provision confirmed per session; MEP certification, where a family pursues it, runs separately through the ministry.
Pearson Edexcel International
Pearson · UK Edexcel curriculum adapted for international delivery
International GCSE and International A-Level qualifications, administered by Pearson. Three examination series annually (January, May/June, October/November) providing additional flexibility versus the Cambridge twice-yearly schedule.
International Baccalaureate Organisation
IB Diploma Programme · IBO Geneva
IB Diploma administered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation in Geneva. Recognised by leading universities globally with particularly strong weighting at US Ivy League, US selective liberal arts colleges, Canadian U15 and top European universities.
College Board
American Curriculum with Advanced Placement (AP)
AP courses and examinations administered by the College Board, the US non-profit responsible for the SAT and AP programmes. AP scores are widely recognised by US universities for university credit, plus by Canadian, UK, Australian and many universities worldwide.
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
Canadian Cross International School · Ontario Ministry of Education
OSSD earned through Smartious's partnership with Canadian Cross International School, an Ontario-inspected private school. Smartious students enrol concurrently with CCIS to complete the OSSD curriculum and credit requirements alongside Cambridge or other pathways. OSSD is one of the most recognised secondary credentials worldwide — particularly strong for Canadian U15 admissions via OUAC, US universities via Common Application, and UK universities via UCAS.
Examination centre arrangements in Costa Rica
International examinations require attendance at authorised examination centres on specific dates. In Costa Rica, established examination centres serve Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel and other major international qualifications.
Smartious manages examination registration logistics including centre selection, registration paperwork and deadline compliance. Cambridge International and Pearson Edexcel examinations for Costa Rica-based students sit as external candidates at authorised provision, with capacity confirmed per family per session — the Central Valley is checked first, and coastal families plan travel into each series ahead. Costa Rica has a second and entirely separate certification system that we do not administer and that should not be confused with ours: the MEP, through the Dirección de Gestión y Evaluación de la Calidad, runs Educación Abierta, comprising Educación Diversificada a Distancia for those who have completed ninth grade and Bachillerato por Madurez Suficiente for people over 18 with exceptions — both awarding diplomas with the same academic and legal value as the traditional bachillerato. El Maestro en Casa operates as a formal open offering including a route for students under 18 but over 15. Those are MEP examinations administered by the MEP. What we plan is the Cambridge or IB calendar around whichever Costa Rican arrangement a family holds.
University recognition worldwide
Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma and American AP qualifications are recognised across the major university systems globally.
the Universidad de Costa Rica, the Tecnológico de Costa Rica, the Universidad Nacional, the Universidad Estatal a Distancia, and a substantial private sector including Universidad Latina and ULACIT — with Costa Rica also hosting international institutions including the UN-mandated University for Peace.
Cambridge · Oxford · Imperial College London · UCL · LSE · King's College London · Edinburgh · Manchester · Bristol · Birmingham · Warwick · Durham · the Russell Group · the broader UK system via UCAS
Harvard · Yale · Princeton · Columbia · Penn · Brown · Dartmouth · Cornell · Amherst · Williams · Pomona · UC Berkeley · UCLA · Michigan · Virginia · top liberal arts and public research universities via the Common Application
Toronto · McGill · UBC · McMaster · Waterloo · Western · Queen's · the U15 research universities · OUAC for Ontario applications
Melbourne · Sydney · ANU · Monash · Queensland · UWA · Adelaide · UNSW · the Group of Eight via UAC
NYU Abu Dhabi · Sorbonne Abu Dhabi · Khalifa · AUS · AUD · UAE branch campuses · KFUPM · KAUST · KSU · KAU · Saudi national universities · Education City Doha (Georgetown · Northwestern · CMU · Cornell · Texas A&M · HEC Paris · UCL)
Berlin Humboldt · Munich LMU · Heidelberg · RWTH Aachen · TU Munich · French Grandes Écoles · Amsterdam · Leiden · Utrecht · Bologna · Sapienza · ETH Zurich · EPFL
How universities verify qualifications
Universities verify Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma and American AP qualifications directly with the issuing examination boards through standard verification services — Cambridge International Verification of Awards, Pearson's Verification of Results, the IB Organisation's verification service, and the College Board AP Score Reporting service. The qualification's credibility comes from the examination board itself, which is why these qualifications are equally valid whether earned at a physical school or through Smartious.
Curriculum approaches we offer Costa Rican families
British Curriculum
Cambridge IGCSE & A-Level · Pearson Edexcel
Cambridge IGCSE: Years 10-11, eight to ten subjects. Cambridge A-Level: Years 12-13, three or four subjects in depth. Pearson Edexcel as British alternative with three examination series annually.
Costa Rica families targeting the Cambridge pathway. Best fit for: (1) Guanacaste, Central Pacific and Caribbean families with no local international provision, (2) free-zone engineering households in the Heredia corridor, (3) Central Valley families outside the international tier's fees, (4) expatriate and digital-nomad families who may return to North America or Europe, (5) students over 15 combining an international track with MEP open-education certification.
Live online classes in the Costa Rican morning, small groups 4-6 students, every session recorded, alongside a Costa Rican school or MEP arrangement.
IB Diploma Programme
International Baccalaureate Organisation
Grades 11-12. Six subjects (three Higher Level, three Standard Level), plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay (4,000-word independent research paper), and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS).
Costa Rica families in the country's IB sector wanting live subject teaching, Theory of Knowledge, and Extended Essay supervision alongside their school.
Live online IB DP classes across all six subject groups plus Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay supervision.
American Curriculum
College Board · AP · SAT & ACT
US high school curriculum through Grade 12. Advanced Placement courses Grades 9-12 with college-level subject specialisation. SAT or ACT preparation integrated alongside curriculum delivery.
Costa Rica families targeting US universities via Common Application — the dominant overseas destination for the country's large North American community.
American Curriculum with AP courses Grades 9-12, SAT/ACT preparation, Common App essay coaching.
Ontario Secondary School Diploma
OSSD · via Canadian Cross International School partnership
Grades 9-12 Ontario curriculum delivered through Smartious's partnership with Canadian Cross International School (Ontario-inspected private secondary school). Students complete the 30 credits required for OSSD including the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and 40 community involvement hours.
Costa Rican families targeting Canadian U15 universities (Toronto, McGill, UBC, McMaster, Waterloo, Western, Queen's) via OUAC, US universities via the Common Application, UK universities via UCAS, and Australian universities. The OSSD is particularly strong for direct Canadian university applications because students apply as Ontario secondary graduates rather than international students.
Live online instruction by qualified subject teachers, concurrent enrolment with Canadian Cross International School for official OSSD transcripting, Ontario course codes (ENG4U, MHF4U, SCH4U etc.) recorded against each student. CCIS issues the official Ontario diploma and transcript on successful completion of the OSSD requirements.
Primary, Secondary & Sixth Form
Primary Programmes
Ages 5-11 · Years 1-6 · Grades 1-5 · IB PYP
Cambridge Primary, Common Core or IB Primary Years Programme. Live classes are age-appropriate in length (40-50 minutes), scheduled in your local CST time zone to suit Primary-age attention spans. Small group sizes support individual attention. Weekly parent dashboards and monthly written reports cover academic and developmental progress.
Secondary Programmes
Years 7-11 · Grades 6-11
Lower Secondary (Years 7-9) builds the foundations for IGCSE entry. IGCSE Years (10-11) cover eight to ten subjects with examination registration at Authorised Costa Rican Cambridge provision. One-on-one subject choice consultation at IGCSE entry aligns subjects with university targets. Mid-year arrivals accepted with academic catch-up support.
Sixth Form & University Preparation
Years 12-13 · Grades 11-12
Costa Rican universities admit through their own entrance examinations on the basis of the bachillerato, and foreign qualifications go through recognition procedures with requirements confirmed per institution. One risk deserves naming directly: university admission can be complicated by the absence of official MEP recognition where a student has been educated outside the accepted system, which is precisely why the MEP's own open-education routes matter and why an internationally examined record matters alongside them. Outward, Costa Rican and expatriate students here are heavily oriented toward the United States and Canada, with Spain following, and all of them read Cambridge A-Levels, the IB Diploma, and AP records directly. UCAS reads A-Levels natively, and A-Levels are accepted in 160+ countries. Smartious provides personalised university guidance across US, Canadian, Spanish, UK (UCAS), and Costa Rican destinations.
Eight reasons Costa Rican families choose Smartious
Each reason is grounded in something verifiable — not in marketing claims.
Experienced international educators
Subject-specific degree-qualified teaching staff with cumulative experience across Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma and American Curriculum. Many hold advanced teaching credentials including PGCE, Cambridge PDT certification, or national teaching registration in their home jurisdiction.
Personalised learning plans
Every student begins with an initial assessment. The learning plan that follows is tailored to academic level, subject preferences, target universities and family situation — not a one-size-fits-all schedule.
Academic assessments
Initial diagnostic assessment. Weekly informal assessment within classes. Monthly formal assessments. Mock examinations under timed conditions during IGCSE and A-Level years. Results inform teaching adjustments.
Small class sizes
Online tier classes have four to six students. Online Plus has smaller groups. Premium is one-on-one. Class size affects individual attention, question response time, and student speaking time during class.
Progress monitoring
Weekly parent dashboards showing attendance and assessment results. Monthly written subject reports from each teacher. Termly comprehensive reports covering academic progress, study habits and university preparation.
Parent communication
Direct communication with subject teachers and form tutors via the parent portal. Email for admissions and pastoral matters, with response within one business day. Scheduled parent-teacher meetings each term.
Global student community
Live classes bring together students from across 14 countries. Wednesday afternoon enrichment programmes — coding, robotics, debate, Model UN, chess, journalism, leadership — develop collaborative learning across geographies.
University admissions guidance
Progressive guidance from Year 10 onwards. UCAS, Common Application, OUAC, UAC and direct university application support. Personal statement coaching, interview preparation and offer-management guidance.
Alfred Ouko
Founder, Smartious Homeschool & eSchool
Alfred Ouko is the founder of Smartious Homeschool & eSchool, established in 2019 while studying at the University of Nairobi. He has grown the organisation from a tuition support service into an international online school serving families across 14 countries, including Alfred Ouko founded Smartious in Nairobi in 2019 to make international qualifications accessible to families at online-delivery fees rather than campus ones. Costa Rica is the market where we most often have to correct something a family has already read — and where the state's own open-education system turns out to be more useful than the marketing that surrounds it..
Bachelor of Education (Science) — Mathematics and Physics, University of Nairobi (2022)
- Over six years supporting students through international curriculum pathways — Cambridge International (IGCSE and A-Level), Pearson Edexcel International, IB Diploma Programme, American Curriculum with AP, and homeschooling pathways.
- Direct teaching experience in secondary-level Mathematics and Physics across multiple international curriculum boards.
- Leadership of curriculum development, teacher recruitment and academic standards across Smartious's two international-standard operational centres and online programmes serving Costa Rica families.
- Specialism in supporting students through university admissions to Alfred holds a BEd in Mathematics and Physics — Smartious's Cambridge A-Level and IB Diploma STEM subjects are led personally when needed, suiting the free-zone corridor's medical-device and engineering households and every medicine-bound student in the Central Valley. Head of Academics supervises curriculum delivery and university placement strategy per family..
“International curriculum mastery is achievable for students from any background when subject specialists, small class sizes, and individual academic plans are combined with the discipline and structure good schools provide.”
Common questions from Costa Rica families
Is homeschooling legal in Costa Rica?+
Costa Rican sources say the modality is not accepted by the Ministerio de Educación Pública, and a 2025 Universidad Nacional analysis records that it is practised without legal backing or state supervision, raising child-rights concerns. Several expatriate relocation websites claim the opposite — that it is legal and MEP-regulated — and we do not repeat that because it conflicts with the domestic record. A bill to regulate distance and home education, expediente 24648, is pending rather than law. Confirm your position with the MEP directly.
I read on a relocation site that the MEP approves homeschooling plans. Is that right?+
It conflicts with Costa Rican press reporting and academic analysis, and we would not plan around it. Take the question to the MEP and get the answer in writing. We would rather contradict a convenient claim than echo it.
What is Educación Abierta?+
A MEP open-education system run through the Dirección de Gestión y Evaluación de la Calidad, comprising Educación Diversificada a Distancia for those who have completed ninth grade and Bachillerato por Madurez Suficiente for people over 18 with exceptions. Both award diplomas with the same academic and legal value as the traditional bachillerato.
Is there a route for a student under 18?+
El Maestro en Casa includes a path for students under 18 but over 15, with two comprehensive tests and a final test in each of Español, Ciencias, Matemática, Estudios Sociales, Idioma and Educación Cívica, leading to the Bachiller en Educación Media. We explain it; we do not administer it.
Does Smartious hold MEP accreditation?+
No, and we say so plainly. We teach Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel, IB and AP qualifications with their own international validity, alongside whatever Costa Rican arrangement your family holds.
Will university admission be affected?+
It can be. Admission may be complicated by the absence of official MEP recognition where a student was educated outside the accepted system — which is why the state's open-education routes matter and why an internationally examined record alongside them is worth holding.
Nine hours behind — how does the timetable work?+
Classes are available across the day, including after-school, because we run two teaching teams in different time zones. A seven o'clock Costa Rican class is four in the afternoon for our teachers. Families whose child is in a full-day school should talk to us before enrolling.
Which parts of Costa Rica does Smartious cover?+
San José and the Central Valley, Heredia and the free zones, Guanacaste and the North Pacific, Limón and the Caribbean, and Quepos, Manuel Antonio and the Central Pacific have dedicated pages. Live online delivery works identically anywhere in the country.
Costa Rican students join a 14+ country global cohort
Live classes bring together students from across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and Asia. A Costa Rica student in our Year 11 IGCSE Mathematics class will be alongside peers in Cairo, Dubai, Bangkok, Seoul, Casablanca and Kigali. The Wednesday enrichment programmes (debate, Model UN, robotics, journalism) operate as one global classroom rather than thirteen separate national ones.