REAL School named one of the World's Best Schools!

26 June 2026

REAL School Budapest has been named in the Top 10 shortlist for the World's Best School Prizes 2026 for environmental action.

REAL School is a not-for-profit British international school in Budapest, Hungary, serving students aged 5–14. Founded in 2019 and accredited by COBIS, the school uses project-based learning — called Dream to Reality — alongside its ANSWER curriculum, built around six pillars: Academics, Nature, Smart tech, Wellbeing, Entrepreneurship, and Regeneration. A rigorous, British-aligned foundational curriculum in literacy, maths and science sits at the core, with environmental action and project-based learning built directly into how that curriculum is delivered, not run alongside it.

About the World's Best School Prizes

This is a prestigious international award founded by Vikas Pota, the creator of the Global Teacher Prize — widely known as the "Nobel of teaching." Where that award recognises individual teachers, this one recognises whole schools, across five categories. REAL School is the first-ever school in Hungary to be shortlisted for this prize.

Thousands of schools applied from around the world.

Why us, you wonder? According to the awarding body, REAL School "has integrated an ethos of regeneration into every aspect of school life, enabling its diverse international students to actively restore ecosystems within their community."

They continue: "Every project involves a real question, involves real places and real people, and produces a real product that is then showcased to real audiences. The curriculum design asked a simple question: 'What’s worth learning to help youth dream and build a beautiful world?'

Vote for REAL School

The winner will be announced in November 2026. For now, you can vote for us in the Community Choice Award!

Please note that your vote only counts if you confirm it via the link sent to your email. Thank you!

Vote for REAL School

Regeneration at REAL School

At REAL School, environmental and social action is embedded in every aspect of the school. Children don't just learn about regeneration - they do it.

REAL School Budapest is a small, not-for-profit, independent international school in a large city. Our mission is “to inspire and empower the next generation to dream and build a beautiful world.” Everything in the school is driven by this mission. We hold academic rigour and environmental action as one and the same goal: children build strong literacy, maths and science foundations through real projects, not in spite of them. COBIS has recognised this with Patron's Accredited Member status and two Blue Circle Awards for sustainability and wellbeing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfnE0ADrhr8

In cities like Budapest, many children grow up disconnected from nature. They learn about environmental challenges in the classroom, but rarely have the opportunity to engage with them in practice. This gap between awareness and action is what REAL School was built to close. Rather than teaching sustainability as a subject, the school has built a structure where every decision — from energy use to curriculum design — is aligned with one principle: does this help life thrive?

Every Wednesday, students spend a full day outside, exploring forests, riverbanks, and urban ecosystems regardless of the weather. This consistent immersion in nature deepens their connection to the living world — awakening their senses, strengthening their empathy, and turning curiosity into action. Being in nature builds care for nature, which, in time, turns connection into action.

We intend to demonstrate that a small urban school can achieve an outsized environmental impact when regeneration runs through every dimension.

Students building a geodesic dome from upcycled bamboo at the school's Danube island base camp.

100 community members planting 200 native trees — the REAL School Miyawaki forest, March 2026.

Plant-based lunch prepared by the award-winning The Planteen