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What parents weigh in London
Fees dominate the London conversation. The flagship international schools sit at the top of the global fee table, and the recent application of VAT to private school fees has narrowed the historic gap between the British independents and the international schools, pushing families to scrutinise value harder than ever. Parents weigh the headline tuition against registration, capital contributions, lunch and transport, and against the strong free and selective alternatives that London also offers.
Curriculum fit comes next. London is one of the few cities where a family can genuinely choose between the IB Diploma, A Levels, the American high school diploma with Advanced Placement, and the French Baccalaureate, often within a short radius. Parents weigh which qualification serves the likely next destination, since a family heading back to the United States reads the American schools differently from a family settling in the UK. Commute is the third axis: London is large, the school day is long, and a nominally excellent school an hour away by Tube can be the wrong choice for a young child.
Share your experience of a London school
If you are a parent at an international school in London, an honest review helps thousands of relocating families. Verified, never edited at the school's request.
How to read international school reviews
Treat any single review as one family's experience rather than a verdict. A review tells you most when it states the year group, the curriculum and the family's point of comparison, because a complaint about homework load or a praise of pastoral care means little without knowing the child and the alternative the family had in mind. Read for patterns across several reviews rather than the loudest single voice, and weight recent reviews more heavily, since leadership, fees and class sizes change. Be wary of reviews that read like marketing or like a personal grievance; the useful ones are specific, balanced and checkable. For an editorial shortlist of the strongest programmes, our guide to the best IB schools in London ranks the leading schools by Diploma results and university destinations. For the full market picture, our London international schools guide sets out the clusters, fees and curricula, and the broader reviews hub explains how our verification works.
Featured schools in London
The schools below are established international or English medium schools in London, drawn from our researched city coverage. Each links to the full London guide where you can see curricula, fee bands and admissions detail. London's international schools cluster in the central and western boroughs and the Surrey commuter belt, so neighbourhood and commute shape the shortlist as much as curriculum.
- International School of London (ISL)
- American School in London (ASL)
- Southbank International School
- ACS International Schools (Cobham, Egham, Hillingdon)
- Marymount International School London
- International Community School (ICS)
- Halcyon London International School
- Dwight School London
This is not a ranking. The list reflects schools with a recognised international presence in London; inclusion does not imply endorsement, and no school pays to appear. To match your child to a shortlist by year group, curriculum and budget, use our school finder.
Submit a review
We welcome reviews from parents and former students with direct experience of a London school. Every review is verified by email and read by an editor before publishing. We do not edit the content of a review, positive or negative, and schools cannot remove reviews at will. To add yours, start at our review and listing page. If you are still choosing, the London city guide and the school finder are the fastest ways to build a shortlist.
FAQ
Are the reviews on this page verified? Yes. We publish parent reviews only after email verification and an editorial check, and we never post invented ratings or placeholder scores. Where a London school has no verified reviews yet, you will see its profile and our research notes rather than a star rating.
Which curricula can my child take in London? London offers the IB Diploma, A Levels, the American diploma with Advanced Placement and the French Baccalaureate, often within a short radius. The right choice usually follows the family's likely next university destination.
How much do international schools in London cost? London sits at the top of the global fee table, with flagship international schools among the most expensive anywhere. The full fee and cluster picture is in our London city guide; this page focuses on parent experience rather than fee tables.
How do I add a review of a London school? Start at our review and listing page. We verify every reviewer by email and an editor reads each review before it is published. We do not edit the content, and schools cannot remove reviews at will.