Key Facts
| School type | Independent day school, co-educational, K1 to Grade 12 (American curriculum) |
|---|---|
| Location | St John's Wood, London (One Waverley Place, London NW8) |
| Entry points | 7+, 11+, 13+, 14+, 16+ |
| Assessment | One standardised test from the ISEE (lower level for Grades 5 to 6), SSAT (middle level), CTP or MAP/NWEA, taken within 18 months of applying. |
| Test provider | ISEE (school code 724412) or SSAT (school code M740); MAP/NWEA, ERB CTP, PSAT, SAT and ACT also accepted |
| Day fees (2026/27) | Lower School £43,224, Middle School £47,988, High School £49,932 per year including VAT |
| Registration deadline | 15 January for applications and supporting documents, for entry in autumn 2027; applications completed by 15 March are notified by 15 April; later applications are considered on a rolling basis |
| Assessment date | On-site ISEE and SSAT sittings at the school on Saturdays 14 November 2026, 12 December 2026 and 9 January 2027 |
| Scholarships and bursaries | No scholarships listed; means-tested bursaries from Grade 5 covering 18% to 99% of tuition |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly. Compare fees at other independent schools.
To get into The American School in London, families apply through the online admissions portal in the year before entry, submit school records and teacher references, and, from Grade 5 upwards, send one standardised test result, most often the ISEE or SSAT. Lower School applicants (K1 to Grade 4) do not need to test, and the school accepts students of all nationalities who can meet the demands of its American-style curriculum.
Places are allocated by Grade, so UK families map Year 7 to Grade 6 and Year 9 to Grade 8 when choosing an entry point. The school publishes no interview stage, no scholarships and no catchment area, and its bursaries are means-tested.
| Entry point | Year group | Assessment | Interview | Places |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7+ | Year 3 (Grade 2), within Lower School | Lower School applicants are not required to take a standardised test; a classroom visit or in-house assessment may be needed in some cases. | No interview published; a classroom visit may be requested. | Not published |
| 11+ | Year 7 (Grade 6), within Middle School | One standardised test from the ISEE (lower level for Grades 5 to 6), SSAT (middle level), CTP or MAP/NWEA, taken within 18 months of applying. | No interview published; two-part teacher reference from the current classroom teacher. | Not published |
| 13+ | Year 9 (Grade 8), within Middle School | One standardised test from the ISEE (middle level for Grades 7 to 8), SSAT (upper level for current Grade 8), CTP or MAP/NWEA, taken within 18 months of applying. | No interview published; references from one English and one maths teacher. | Not published |
| 14+ | Year 10 (Grade 9), start of High School | One standardised test: ISEE upper level, SSAT upper level, CTP, MAP/NWEA, PSAT, SAT or ACT, plus school transcripts. | No interview published; references from English and maths teachers and a counsellor, adviser or principal. | Not published |
| 16+ | Year 12 (Grade 11), within High School | Same standardised test options as Grade 9 entry, with transcripts covering coursework from Grade 9 (US) or Year 10 (UK) onward. | No interview published; references from English and maths teachers and a counsellor, adviser or principal. | Not published |
Entry points and places
ASL admits at every Grade from K1 to Grade 12, split into Lower School (K1 to Grade 4), Middle School (Grades 5 to 8) and High School (Grades 9 to 12). The school does not publish a number of places for any Grade, and it advises families to contact the admissions team before applying to check availability in a specific Grade.
K1 and K2 applicants must meet age cut-off dates set out on the school's admissions pages, and children must be fully toilet trained. For other Grades, the school links a chart of US and UK year equivalents on its site, and Grade 5 corresponds to Year 6.
- Lower School: K1 to Grade 4, no standardised test required
- Middle School: Grades 5 to 8, one standardised test required
- High School: Grades 9 to 12, one standardised test required
How the ISEE and SSAT requirement works
Every applicant to Grades 5 to 12 submits one recent standardised test result, and the school does not set its own entrance papers. The ISEE (school code 724412) is taken at home online, on paper at a host school or at the school, or at a Prometric centre; the SSAT (school code M740) is paper-based at a host school or at the school, or at a Prometric centre.
The ISEE level follows the Grade applied to: lower level for Grades 5 to 6, middle level for Grades 7 to 8 and upper level from Grade 9. For SSAT purposes, the level follows the current Grade: middle level for Grades 5 to 7 and upper level for Grades 8 to 11.
Existing MAP/NWEA results (across more than one testing season, covering maths and reading) and ERB CTP scores can count, and High School applicants may send PSAT, SAT or ACT scores. IOWA, CAT, TerraNova, ISAs, ISEB tests, UK SATs and US state tests are not accepted. For Grades 5 to 8 the result must be within 18 months of the application.
- Scores must be sent to the school directly by the testing organisation
- The school hosts in-person ISEE and SSAT sittings on three Saturdays in the admissions season
- Registration for a sitting often closes about three weeks beforehand
- Accommodation requests can take up to six weeks to approve
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Admission follows a fixed sequence that starts in the year before entry, with applications and documents due in January for the first round, which the school describes as the most advantageous. The steps run in this order.
- Contact the admissions team to check availability in the Grade you want
- Apply through the admissions portal and pay the application fee, which is waived for families applying for financial aid
- Upload school records covering two and a half years, translated into English, plus the applicant questionnaire (available from the start of November)
- Arrange the standardised test and teacher references
- Receive a decision, which arrives by the end of February for applications completed by the January deadline
- Accept the offer and pay the deposit through the portal
Interviews and references
The school publishes no interview stage, although a classroom visit or in-house assessment may be required in some cases. Confidential references are requested through the portal from the start of November, so the current school needs notice to complete them.
The number of references rises with the Grade: one from the current classroom teacher for Lower School and Grades 5 to 6; one English and one maths teacher for Grades 7 to 8; and the current English teacher, maths teacher and a counsellor, adviser or principal for Grades 9 to 12. The school describes test scores as one part of a review that considers the whole child, never the deciding factor, and sets no pass mark.
Scholarships and bursaries
The school does not list academic, music, sport, art or drama scholarships on the pages reviewed; its financial support takes the form of means-tested bursaries. They begin in Grade 5 (Year 6), and awards range from 18% to 99% of tuition, assessed against each family's individual financial circumstances.
Families indicate on the admissions application that they are seeking fee assistance and then complete a separate bursary application. Financial information is confidential and reviewed separately from admissions, and the school sends separate decisions on admission and on the bursary. Aid can also cover trips, athletics, transport and university testing, depending on need, and the Financial Aid Committee assesses awards each year.
- Contact for bursary questions: financialaid@asl.org
- Application fee and test fee waivers are available on request to families applying for aid
Fees and what they include
Annual tuition is set by division, with Lower School, Middle School and High School each charged a different amount, and every figure includes VAT at 20%. Fees are billed in two equal semester instalments, and the published amounts are on the school's tuition page.
Tuition covers textbooks, laboratory fees and required activities. The Ecology trip and the Music Tour for band, orchestra and choir members carry a supplemental charge, and occasional travel for some middle and high school classes and trips for extracurriculars such as athletics, Model UN and service learning fall outside tuition.
New students also pay a one-time capital fee, and a non-refundable deposit is due on acceptance. For a full academic year the deposit is applied to second-semester tuition. Bus service and the SLD programme are charged separately.
Where pupils join from
The school names no feeder or partner schools, and it has no junior school of its own beyond its Lower School, which runs from K1 to Grade 4. Applicants arrive from many school systems, and the school's transitioning pages describe how it supports families moving from UK, IB and other curricula.
When a Grade is full, applicants may be placed in a wait pool that is reconsidered for each opening, with siblings given preference alongside class composition. Families are asked not to call or write for updates. An applicant whose decision letter does not offer wait pool placement must reapply for the following year.
How to prepare
Preparation starts with matching the test to the Grade: the ISEE level depends on the Grade applied to and the SSAT level on the current Grade, so confirm the level before booking. Check whether the current school already holds an accepted result, because MAP/NWEA and CTP scores can count and a second sitting may be unnecessary.
The school recommends light preparation only and advises sitting a single exam. Familiarity with the format, such as the ISEE step-by-step video linked from the testing page, usually suffices.
Alongside the test, ask the current school early for transcripts and references, since the portal requests them from the start of November. A calm, early start tends to leave room for an on-site Saturday sitting if the first choice of centre is full.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is the entrance exam for The American School in London?
- The school sets no entrance papers of its own. Applicants to Grades 5 to 12 send one standardised test result, most often the ISEE or SSAT, and MAP/NWEA, CTP, PSAT, SAT and ACT are also accepted. Lower School applicants do not need to test. The school treats scores as one part of a review that considers the whole child and sets no pass mark.
- How much are The American School in London fees?
- Tuition is set by division (Lower, Middle and High School), includes VAT and is billed in two equal semester instalments. New students also pay a one-time capital fee and a non-refundable deposit. Exact amounts are on the tuition page of the school's website, where the published figures for each division are listed.
- Does The American School in London offer scholarships?
- The pages reviewed list no academic, music or sport scholarships. The school offers means-tested bursaries from Grade 5 (Year 6), with awards between 18% and 99% of tuition. Families apply to the school, then complete a separate bursary application, and receive separate decisions on admission and aid.
- When do you apply to The American School in London?
- Applications are accepted in the year before entry. Applications and documents are due in January for the first round, with decisions by the end of February. Applications completed by the March deadline are notified in April, and later ones are considered on a rolling basis or placed in a wait pool.
- Does The American School in London have a sixth form or a catchment area?
- High School runs to Grade 12, and applicants for Grades 10 to 12 submit transcripts, a standardised test and three references. The school publishes no GCSE grade thresholds. No catchment area is published; the school accepts students of all nationalities who can meet its American-style curriculum.
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