Admissions FAQs
Application process
When should I apply?
We accept applications one year prior to the date of entry. To open an application please submit the Application for Admission form and application fee; the supporting documents should be submitted by 1 February or, for applications made after 1 February, three weeks after submission.
How can I apply?
All of the admissions forms can be downloaded from this site. Please click here.
The forms are also available from the admissions office. Completed applications can be mailed or faxed to the admissions office. The application fee may be paid by check or credit card in pounds sterling or US dollars.
How can we arrange to see the School?
The admissions office schedules individual appointments for families to meet with an admissions officer and tour the School. Please telephone the admissions office, +44 (0)20 7449 1221, or email us to arrange an appointment.
What is the wait pool?
There are times when we do not have enough spaces to accommodate all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will be offered a place in the wait pool and will be considered for admission if a space becomes available. When offering places to students in the wait pool, the admissions committee considers a number of elements. Preference is given to siblings, and other factors such as class composition are also taken into account.
If a place does not become available during the course of the academic year, the student’s application must be updated by 1 February to be considered for the following academic year. Parents should arrange for current school reports, teacher recommendations and standardized testing (as appropriate) to be sent to the admissions office. Students are asked to complete a new applicant questionnaire.
ASL program
What curriculum does the School offer?
ASL offers an American curriculum. Our oldest students may elect to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses in a wide range of subjects, and they will also take the SATs in Grade 11 and/or Grade 12. We do not offer the IB program or UK examinations.
Does ASL offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses?
ASL has an extensive AP program in the High School, offering courses in more than 20 subjects. Over 80 percent of all high school students take at least one exam; the average is three exams per student.
Where do ASL teachers come from?
Our teachers come from a wide range of schools in the US and around the world, and represent fourteen different nationalities. Approximately 65 percent hold US citizenship and the average tenure is nine years.
Does ASL have after-school sports and activities?
Both the Lower and Middle schools have extensive after-school programs; High School students can participate in a variety of after-school clubs. Students in Grade 7 and above can try out for sports teams that compete against other schools.
What are the school hours? What is your vacation schedule?
School begins for students in Grades 1-12 at 8:05 am and ends at 3:05 pm. Students in K1 and K2 arrive at 8:30 am and are dismissed at 2:30 pm. On Wednesdays, students are dismissed one hour earlier. Broadly speaking, we follow an American vacation schedule.
ASL community
Who attends ASL?
Students from more than 45 countries attend ASL. While approximately 80 percent of our students hold a USA passport, almost half of our students live in a family in which at least one member holds a non-US passport. About 25 percent of our students hold citizenship from more than one country.
How many students attend ASL?
We have more than 1,300 students in the Lower (K1 Grade 4), Middle (Grades 5-8) and High (Grades 9-12) schools.
What is the average length of stay?
The average time a student attends ASL is between three and five years, but some students attend only for a semester and others are at ASL for years. Approximately 20 percent of our students leave at the end of each school year, and at the start of school each September, we welcome 300-350 new students.
How does the School help with the transition of new students?
Because we welcome hundreds of new families every year, the administration, faculty, parents and students at ASL put a great deal of time, planning and thought into the ways we can help families to become a part of our community. The Parent Community Association holds sessions that allow new families to meet each other and to connect with existing ASL families; these sessions also introduce families to London life and explain how parents can become involved at school. Our guidance counselors and teachers prepare transition activities and events for new students and create opportunities for new and returning students to talk about their initial experiences at the School, from their anxieties and expectations, to the things that surprised them.
At the beginning of the academic year, each division holds grade-based orientations that help new students become acquainted with their teachers and the school building. But arguably our greatest "transition team" is our student body, who naturally reach out to make new students feel welcome. Within only a week or two, new arrivals begin to feel like seasoned veterans.
Where do ASL families live?
Almost 70 percent of our students live in northwest London in areas such as St. John’s Wood (40 percent), Belsize Park, Swiss Cottage, Hampstead, West Hampstead, Queens Park, Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb. About 20 percent of our families live west of the School in neighborhoods such as Maida Vale, Notting Hill, Kensington and Holland Park. Families also live in Highgate, Marylebone, Chelsea, South Kensington and Knightsbridge.
We provide busing to all these areas. We have families living in other areas of London as well; if you are interested in living in a particular area and would like to know if we bus there, please contact the admissions office.
Does ASL provide busing?
We provide busing for families living in certain areas of central, north and west London. The busing is door-to-door and accommodates all of our Lower and Middle school after-school activities and most of our High School after-school activities.
