Discover a completely different kind of high school experience in Fiji—one of the world’s happiest countries.
Why not spend a semester or a full year studying at a public high school in Fiji, a former British colony where English is part of everyday life?
Because students attend a Fijian public high school, tuition and accommodation costs are remarkably affordable compared with traditional high school study abroad programs around the world.
The Fijian school year is divided into three terms, and students can choose to study for a full academic year or join the program as a one-term exchange student.
Free Bird has been entrusted by the Fijian Government to manage a public high school for more than 15 years.
During that time, approximately 2,700 high school students have studied through Free Bird's programs.
Together with partner public high schools across Fiji, more than 350 international students have completed their high school education in Fiji.
Studying abroad is a dream for many young people.
But for many families, the cost of overseas education can make that dream seem impossible. Tuition, accommodation, meals, and other living expenses can quickly add up to an enormous amount.
At Free Bird, we believe that financial circumstances should not prevent motivated young people from experiencing education abroad.
That belief has been at the heart of everything we do since the beginning.
We want more young people to have the opportunity to study overseas, discover a new culture, build their English skills, and grow into confident global citizens.
That is the dream Free Bird continues to pursue.
In the years before Free Bird established Fiji’s first English language school, the country was experiencing a significant decline in birth rates.
Schools that had once been filled with large families began to have empty classrooms and unused school buildings. At the same time, many qualified teachers found themselves with fewer employment opportunities.
Free Bird worked with local communities to repurpose these underused educational facilities into language school campuses and to rehire experienced local educators. This approach allowed us to build a high-quality learning environment while keeping costs dramatically lower than traditional study destinations.
One of the greatest strengths of Fiji is its people.
Fijians are famous for their generosity, openness, and willingness to welcome others into their homes. It is common for guests to be treated like family, even when they are meeting for the first time.
Free Bird transformed this cultural strength into a structured homestay program, connecting international students with local families who provide not only accommodation and meals, but also daily opportunities to communicate in English and experience authentic Fijian life.
Free Bird’s success in language education eventually caught the attention of the Fijian Government.
Seeing what Free Bird had achieved through its educational programs, the government approached us with a new challenge:
Could Free Bird use its management experience to help turn around a financially struggling public high school?
That school became Ba Provincial Free Bird Institute.
In 2010, the school was given its new name and began a new chapter under Free Bird’s management.
Compared with developed countries, Fiji has more limited household incomes, and many families struggle to pay school fees simply because they do not have enough cash income.
Free Bird wanted to find a solution that would benefit both local students and international students.
We introduced a unique system in which Fijian students would help international students who were struggling with English or finding it difficult to make friends.
In return, school fees were waived for local students.
This created an environment where everyone could benefit.
Fijian students gained international experience and friendships, while international students received support from local teenagers and became more comfortable communicating in English.
The results were remarkable.
Over time, the academic performance of the school improved significantly. A school that had once been considered one of the weaker schools in the country eventually reached 6th place among 169 high schools in Fiji in recent years.
And the achievements don't stop in the classroom.
Over the past 15 years, the school has won the Fiji national rugby championship four times, becoming a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.
The school’s remarkable transformation has attracted attention from across Fiji. Its story has been featured in television programs and newspapers, and the University of the South Pacific has even published a book documenting the school's journey.
Free Bird’s approach was born from a simple idea:
What if studying abroad could benefit everyone involved?
By bringing together international students, Fijian families, local high school students, and experienced educators, we created a model that addresses multiple challenges at once—while keeping study abroad affordable.
That is the idea behind “AFRO Study Abroad.”
Affordable. Friendly. Reasonable. Optimistic. And built around real human connections.
It is Free Bird’s unique approach to making international education accessible to more people.
