International Schools in London

London offers a wider range of schooling to an internationally mobile family than almost any other city, and that breadth is exactly what makes the search difficult. ESG profiles 28 international and independent schools in the capital: 13 offering the International Baccalaureate, three running American programmes with Advanced Placement, eight teaching a full national curriculum from France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Sweden or Norway, a selective British independent sector, and a specialist school for children with specific learning difficulties. Twenty-seven publish a fee range, running from about £4,000 to £37,000 a year. This guide explains how the sectors actually differ, how selective each is, what the money buys, where the schools sit relative to the areas relocating families live in, and how to reduce a list of 28 to a realistic shortlist of five.

International School of London, an international school in London

Quick answer

Compare London's international schools — IB, American, British and national curricula, fee bands, selectivity, EAL provision, boarding options and which areas each campus serves.

At a glance

Four different sectors, not one market

Match the sector to your situation before comparing schools

The phrase "international school in London" covers four quite different kinds of institution, and treating them as one list is the most common cause of a wasted search. The international schools proper — the International School of London, Southbank International, Dwight School London, Marymount and the ACS campuses — are built for mobility. They teach curricula designed to travel, they expect children to join and leave mid-year, and their admissions offices handle overseas transcripts and visa-timed start dates as routine work.

The American schools — The American School in London, ACS Hillingdon, TASIS England — serve a specific community with a specific onward destination, issuing US-format transcripts with a GPA and Advanced Placement results that a US university or receiving high school reads without translation.

The national-system schools exist to prevent reintegration problems. Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, German School London, the Japanese School in London, SIAL.school, Vicente Cañada Blanch, the Swedish School and the Norwegian School teach the home-country programme in London so a child returning to Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Madrid, Stockholm or Oslo does so without a gap. They are also, because of home-government or community subsidy, by far the cheapest option in the city.

The British independents — Latymer Upper, North London Collegiate, City of London School, Dulwich College, King's College School Wimbledon, Collingham College, Wetherby, Eaton House — teach the English curriculum to GCSE and A Level, select by examination, and assume a settled cohort. They are outstanding schools, but their admissions cycle and their assumptions about mobility are quite different, and a family arriving with eight weeks' notice will find them the hardest to enter.

Choosing a curriculum in London

The IB is London's deepest offer and the most portable. Thirteen schools run a programme, and four — the International School of London, Southbank International, Dwight School London and ACS Egham — take a child from the early years through to the Diploma. For a family that may move again before the child is eighteen, that portability is a concrete asset rather than a philosophical preference, because a Diploma student can continue the same programme in Amsterdam, Singapore or Dubai.

The American route suits families whose centre of gravity is North America. It runs elementary, middle and high school with credit-based graduation, a GPA transcript and AP courses in the senior years, and it is read fluently by US universities and by a receiving school district if you return. The American School in London and ACS Hillingdon additionally offer the IB Diploma, which hedges the destination question neatly.

The British route is the right answer for a family staying. IGCSEs at 16 and A Levels at 18 are the qualifications the UK system is designed around, university admission is calibrated to them, and the depth of three-subject A Level study suits a student with clear strengths. The trade-off is portability: A Levels are a national qualification, and a mid-course international move is disruptive.

The national schools solve a narrower problem extremely well. If you know your child returns to the home system in three years, teaching them in that system for those three years removes an entire category of risk — and at £4,000 to £14,000 a year it does so for a fraction of the cost of the rest of the market.

Selectivity, assessment and how children are actually admitted

Selectivity is the practical difference that catches families out. Most of London's international schools are not selective in the British sense. Their assessment — recent reports, a written English and mathematics task, an interview — is designed to place a child in the right year group and to confirm the school can meet their language and learning needs. A capable child from any reasonable system will be admitted if a seat exists.

The British independents are a different exercise. Entrance papers are competitive and calibrated to an English preparatory-school curriculum, particularly in mathematics and comprehension, and at 11+ many schools use ISEB pre-testing administered a year or more before entry. A strong child from a different system can underperform on format alone. If this sector is your target, request past papers early and let your child see the shape of the thing before it counts.

Two areas deserve a direct question regardless of sector. First, English-language support: ask how many children in the specific target year group receive it, whether it is in-class or withdrawn, who teaches it, and where the school's threshold for declining an applicant sits. Second, special educational needs: provision ranges from strong to minimal across these 28 schools, and Fairley House exists specifically for children with specific learning difficulties. Disclose early and share the reports — a school that says no in March has been more useful to you than one that stays silent until November.

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What London schooling actually costs

Costs beyond tuition to price in year one

The market divides into three clear bands. At the bottom, the subsidised national schools: Vicente Cañada Blanch Spanish School from about £4,000, the Norwegian School and Swedish School from around £5,000, the Japanese School in London from £5,000, German School London from £6,000. For a family entitled to use them, this is by an order of magnitude the most cost-effective schooling in the city.

The middle band, roughly £15,000 to £26,000, contains most of the market: North London Collegiate, City of London School, Dulwich College, Latymer Upper, King's College School Wimbledon, Wetherby, Eaton House, Fulham School, Collingham College, SIAL.school, École Jeannine Manuel, the International School of London at junior level and the ACS campuses at their lower year groups.

The upper band, £30,000 to £37,000, is The American School in London, Southbank International, Marymount, TASIS England, Fairley House and the senior years at ACS Hillingdon and Dwight School London. Boarding at ACS Cobham, TASIS England and Marymount is charged separately and sits well above the day rate.

None of these headline figures is the whole bill. Registration and acceptance deposits fall due before the first term and are usually non-refundable. Transport is a real line item, particularly for the Surrey campuses. Uniform at a traditional independent can reach four figures in year one. Devices are expected from upper primary. Examination entry at IGCSE, A Level, AP and IB Diploma is charged separately. And senior fees exceed primary fees everywhere, so budget the year group your child will reach at the end of your posting, not the one they are joining.

Geography: two Londons for school families

The in-city cluster is west, south-west and north-west. St John's Wood and Hampstead sit around The American School in London and Dwight School London. Chiswick, Gunnersbury, Hammersmith, Richmond and Barnes serve the International School of London, German School London and much of the west London independent sector. Wimbledon, Fulham, Kensington and Bloomsbury cover King's College School Wimbledon, Fulham School, the Lycée and École Jeannine Manuel, with Southbank International's campuses centrally placed. Dulwich College anchors a distinct south London cluster with its own housing market and a genuinely different feel.

The out-of-city cluster is ACS Hillingdon in Middlesex, ACS Egham and TASIS England near Windsor and Thorpe, ACS Cobham in Surrey, and Marymount in Kingston. These are large campuses with playing fields and comprehensive coach networks, and they suit families who want space, a car and a suburban rhythm — often those arriving from suburban North America or from a compound life in the Gulf.

The decision between the two is really a decision about how you want to live, and it should be made before you shortlist rather than after. What consistently does not work is a central home with a Surrey school, or an outer-suburb home with a central school. Get the coach route map and test the journey at the real hour before signing anything.

Southbank International School — an international school in London
Southbank International School, London

How to reduce 28 schools to five

Start with the working parent's office location, because it constrains housing, which constrains the realistic school set. Then apply curriculum — this single filter typically removes half to two-thirds of the list, since a family committed to the IB has 13 candidates and a family committed to the French system has two.

Third, apply age range honestly. Several London schools are phase-limited: Wetherby runs to eight, Eaton House to thirteen, École Jeannine Manuel to thirteen, the Japanese School to fifteen, Collingham from thirteen, City of London School in the senior years only. If you have children at both ends of the age range, a through-school avoids two school runs in opposite directions, and that practical consideration frequently outweighs a marginal difference in reputation.

Fourth, apply availability. Ask each remaining school directly whether a place exists in the exact year group for the exact start date, and get it in writing. This alone tends to reduce a list of ten to a list of four.

Finally, visit. If you cannot visit, take a live video tour with someone who will walk the corridors rather than show a slide deck, and ask to speak with a parent who arrived from your country in the last two years. Nothing in a prospectus predicts fit as well as ten minutes with a family who made the same move.

Timing, and the one thing to get right

London's academic year runs from early September to mid-July across three terms, with half-term breaks in each. September is the main entry point everywhere, and any other start date is by definition an in-year entry.

Selective British independents need 12 to 18 months, sometimes more, with pre-testing at 11+ and 13+. International schools work on a rolling basis: three to six months is comfortable, six to eight weeks is achievable if you will consider more than one school. National schools vary — small, stable communities mean particular year groups can be full, so enquire early rather than treating them as a fallback.

The one thing to get right is the order of operations. Independent and international schools admit on assessment and availability, not on your address, so a fee-paying place can be secured from abroad and housing chosen around it. State places are allocated by the local authority on the basis of a confirmed address, which reverses the sequence entirely. Families who try to run both routes at once usually end up rushing the housing decision, which is the hardest part of the move to undo. Our guide for relocating families sets out that sequencing, the mid-year entry picture and the document pack in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many international schools are there in London?

ESG profiles 28 international and independent schools in London serving expatriate families, spanning the IB, the American curriculum, the British independent sector and eight national systems — French, German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian and bilingual variants. Twenty-seven of them publish a fee range. That mix is unusually broad even by global standards, and it is why London can generally offer curriculum continuity to a family arriving from almost anywhere.

What is the difference between an international school and a British private school in London?

An international school is built around a mobile community: it teaches a curriculum designed to travel (usually the IB or an American programme), it expects children to arrive and leave mid-year, and it has admissions and language support geared to that. A British independent school teaches the English curriculum toward GCSEs and A Levels, often selects by entrance examination well in advance, and assumes a largely settled cohort. Both are excellent; the right one depends on how long you are staying and where your child will apply to university.

Which curricula can we choose from in London?

The IB at 13 schools, the American curriculum with Advanced Placement at The American School in London, ACS Hillingdon and TASIS England, the British curriculum through IGCSE and A Levels across the independent sector, and full national systems at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, German School London, the Japanese School in London, SIAL.school for Italian, Vicente Cañada Blanch for Spanish, the Swedish School and the Norwegian School. École Jeannine Manuel runs a French-British bilingual programme. For specific learning difficulties, Fairley House School is a specialist provider.

How much do international schools in London cost?

Published day ranges run from about £4,000 to £10,000 at the subsidised national schools (Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, Japanese), roughly £15,000 to £26,000 across the broad middle of the market, and £30,000 to £37,000 at the senior end of The American School in London, Southbank International, Marymount, TASIS England and Fairley House. Boarding, where offered at ACS Cobham, TASIS England and Marymount, is charged separately and considerably higher. Senior-year fees always exceed primary-year fees at the same school.

Are London's international schools selective?

Most are not selective in the British sense. They assess to place a child correctly and to confirm they can meet the child's language and learning needs, using recent reports, a written task and an interview. The British independents in the dataset — Latymer Upper, North London Collegiate, City of London School, Dulwich College, King's College School Wimbledon — are genuinely selective, with competitive entrance examinations and, at 11+, often ISEB pre-testing a year or more in advance.

Where are London's international schools located?

Predominantly west, south-west and north-west: St John's Wood, Hampstead, Gunnersbury, Chiswick, Richmond, Barnes, Wimbledon, Fulham, Kensington and Bloomsbury. Four sit outside the city on large campuses — ACS Hillingdon, ACS Egham, ACS Cobham and TASIS England in Middlesex and Surrey — plus Marymount in Kingston. That split effectively defines two different relocation lifestyles: a central, transport-based one and a suburban, campus-and-coach one.

Do London international schools support children with limited English?

Most do, but the depth varies enormously and it is the question families most often fail to ask precisely. Ask how many children in your child's specific year group receive English as an Additional Language support, whether it is taught in class or withdrawn, who delivers it, and at what point the school would decline an applicant on language grounds. The International School of London goes furthest in the opposite direction, teaching mother-tongue languages formally alongside English.

Is boarding available at international schools in London?

Yes, at a small number: ACS Cobham and TASIS England offer day and boarding on their Surrey campuses, and Marymount International boards girls aged 11 to 18 in Kingston. Several British independents in the London area also board. For relocating families this is genuinely useful in two situations — a staggered family move where one parent arrives first, and a mid-course sixth-former who needs continuity while housing is resolved.

How long should we expect to spend on the school search?

For international schools, three to six months from first enquiry to a confirmed place is comfortable and six to eight weeks is achievable if you are flexible about which school. Selective British independents need 12 to 18 months for the main entry points. State school applications cannot begin until you hold a confirmed London address, which reverses the whole order of operations — a point covered in detail in our guide for relocating families.

Which London school should we choose if we don't know where we'll move next?

The IB Diploma is the most portable senior qualification available in the city, and London offers it at 13 schools, four of them from the early years upward. If your next posting is genuinely unknown, that portability is worth more than curriculum familiarity. If you know you are returning to a specific country, the relevant national school — French, German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Swedish or Norwegian — removes the reintegration problem entirely, and those schools are also the lowest fee band in London.

International schools in IB and international-community schools

International schools in American curriculum and campus schools

International schools in National-system and bilingual schools

International schools in British independents and specialist provision

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