School admissions
International schools run their own admissions. There is no central application, and each school sets its own calendar, assessments and fees. These guides explain the parts that most schools share.
What most international schools ask for
An application to an international school is usually a short online form followed by documents and an assessment. The documents are similar almost everywhere: the child's passport, recent school reports (often the last two years), a reference or confidential report from the current school, vaccination records and, for some schools, proof of the parents' residence or employment. Assessments vary much more, and our entrance assessments guide covers the common ones.
Most schools charge a non-refundable application fee and then, once a place is offered, a registration or acceptance fee to hold it. Some also take a refundable deposit or a capital levy. Read the fee schedule carefully before you accept an offer, because these one-off charges can be large and are rarely refundable after a deadline.
Rolling admissions and waiting lists
Unlike universities, many international schools admit on a rolling basis. They accept applications all year and fill places as they go. That is helpful for families who relocate at short notice, but it means the popular year groups (often the first year of primary and the start of a two-year exam course) can fill months ahead. If a year group is full, the school will usually offer a place on a waiting list, and ranking on that list often depends on sibling status, the date of application and the assessment result.