American School of London vs ACS-Cobham vs. TASIS

As an introduction, my family is seriously considering a 2-3 year expat assignment/ new job in London.  We are trying to get some personal testimonies regarding experiences that other US families have had with these schools.  As a frame of reference...we have a daughter entering the 8th grade and a son entering the 5th grade this fall.  I will be commuting to Central London (near St. Paul's) for work every day.  We have lived in the suburbs of Dallas, TX area for several years and our children have attended a private school there with about 120 kids per grade.

Thank you for your insights.

Not too many of the UKY members send their kids to these schools as far as I'm aware (not b/c they don't want to, but b/c many of us don't live in London and are here permanently rather than on assignment). However, I think one of us (Onetiger) teaches at one so I'm sure she'll see this and tell you what she knows about them. If I recall correctly, there's another thread on here somewhere about this same issue.

Good luck!

Although not on your list for comparison, I would definitely look at TASIS in Thorpe (near ACS in Egham).  It is a wonderful school with an American curriculum.  I personally prefer it to ACS and it's a toss-up with ASL.

Good luck with your decision.

Gable, Thanks for the input.  I will add TASIS to the list.  We're just getting started in this process so I'm sure that I will have a lot of questions for this forum.

TASIS is a great school, though of course, since I work at ASL I'm biased toward it.  Partially you'll have to see if there are openings in the grade levels you are looking at, what you can afford, where you want to live and what your expectations are for the schooling.  I'd even suggest a school visit of all of them to get a sense of the schools (or at least request info packets).

I don't know TASIS or Cobham as well...but I do feel that ASL is an amazing school.  There are lots of resources for faculty and kids, we take amazing trips at least once a year, good sports teams, wonderful arts & theatre programs, and very competitive in terms of academics.  I've worked in several private (boarding and day) schools and it's one of the best I've seen.

 Like any school though it's about fit...and that can truly only be seen by talking to people.  You might want to see if you can talk to students of the school...even if you can't do a visit, you might ask the admissions officers to get you in touch with families from your state - we have a large number of Texans compared to other states.

Best of luck to you.  If you have any questions about ASL, I'll try to help as best I can!

OneTiger,

Thanks for the reply.  I was lucky enough to get a tour of the school and visit with one of the admissions counselors for about 2 hours.  I came away very impressed with ASL.  It is similar in size to the school my kids are in and the curriculum seems very similar.  I was just looking for comparisons.  I will have the budget to afford ASL.  However, it looked like the other schools had less expensive tuition.  I was hoping to get some comparison opinions so that I might see the major differences.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if my kids are there by mid-year or to start school next year.

Thanks again for the input.  You work at a great school.

OneTiger is spot on in her analysis.  I am in the process of relocating my family from the States and interviewed all 3 of the schools you are considering.  IMHO, TASIS and ASL are both excellent schools and a notch above ACL.  However, I urge you to visit the schools and decide for yourself.

I could sit here and tell you that my wife and I choose TASIS over ASL; however, that would not be a fair statement.  We actually choose living in the country (Ascot) over Central London.  It's as simple as that.  ASL is wonderful and we even put a deposit down (which my employer forfeited ) to hold a spot for our children just in case.  For us, it came down to where we wanted to live.  With 3 kids all under the age of 7, it is much easier to live out in the rural parts of London than in the center of London.  Also, my office is located just north of Heathrow.

With that said, ASL and TASIS offer two completely different settings.  ASL offers a city campus with wonderful indoor facilities and tremendous academics.  TASIS is located on a traditional English campus (gorgeous setting) with fantastic facilities and equally impressive academics. 

My recommendation is to first interview all 3 schools.  Next, determine what kind of a commute you are willing to endure.  By commute, I mean driving to and from work AND dropping and picking up the kid(s) from school.  While both schools offer bus service, your spouse needs to understand exactly what this entails.  After you've gathered all of this information (I'm assuming money is not an issue since both TASIS and ASL are similarly priced and you indicated that you can afford ASL), then decide where you want to live.  Both City life and the 'burbs have much to offer and there are trade-offs involved in either decision.

In the end, I wanted to live in the City, but for many practical and logical reasons, my wife wanted to live in the country.  Once that decision was made, we choose TASIS. 

Simple, isn't it?   

Good luck in your decision.

Thanks for the explanation, Gables.  It sounds like there are several parallels in relocation process for both of our families.  I will likely commute for 6-9 months every other week between the States and UK.  That will give me a better chance to assess where to live, what kind of commute to take on, and the best fit for school.

This forum is great.  I'm sure I'll have tons of questions.

Hey all,

I'll add my two cents worth in.  My 2 daughters will be attending TASIS this fall.  (It's T minus 14 days for us.)  I think a lot of the difference between the schools are the "slants" for a lack of a better description on their approach to learning.  TASIS tends towards more artistic in the Monisorri idea, there's a real emphasis on reading, writing, music and other artistic endevours.  While ACS tends towards more of the traditional test performance focus.  These were impressions I got when visiting both schools.   Both from all indications are exceptional schools so the difference I think comes down the the environment that your children will best succeed in.  For me and my wife it was TASIS.

Oh and a big thanks out to onetiger, she was great in chatting and emailing me about schools.  Clearly ASL is an outstanding school as well with a great member to the staff.

-Robert

I myself lived in Walton-on-Thames Surrey England and attended ACS in Cobham... and i have also and am currently living in the dallas area.  i must say that england is one of the most amazing places to go an live in. i lived there for two to three years and had the time of my life attending this school. i recomend it to anyone who is going to live there. You get to meet so many people of different cultures, and it truely opens your eyes to the world. i myself would move back in a heart beat. seeing how your daughter is going into the middle school, it will be quite a fun year, all the kids i meet are very open and friendly to the newbe.. probably because there are always newbes and everyone there is always moving. Your daughter will make friends of a life time, and though she might not want to move at first, she will never want to leave. i hope that you have a wonderful and fun filled experienced time there. it is truely an amazing once in a life time experience 

Hi, my family is also considering a move to London for a position with the US Federal Government.  This will be a transfer for me since I am already a Federal government employee.  We have a son who is currently in 6th grade.  We would not plan to move him until after the end of the current school year, so he would be a rising 7th grader.  He currently attends a small 6-12 grade private school in Washington DC that has a good reputation for academics, but is also geared toward treating children as individuals based on learning style and abilities.  Our son is very strong in some areas and weak in others.  He currently has a tutor twice a week to help with reading/writing assignments, which are his weakest areas.  He is making good progress and stays on pace academically, but would falter without the individual attention from the teachers, small class size, and tutoring.

ACL looks like a great school from the website, but it is not clear how well the school might fit for our son.  We have also looked at TASIS and ACS on their websites and the education liaison at the State Department who helps with school options suggested ACS as a school we should consider. 

My job will be in Canary Wharf, which would mean a long commute each day if we lived in the suburbs near TASIS or ACS.  Alternatively, if we live in the city (West End) our son would have a long commute to school if he went to TASIS or ACS.

I'd be interested in hearing any perspectives on these school options for a kid who is bright and likes school, but needs a little extra help to keep up.

Also, we would also welcome information/advice about other schools, such as Southbank, and how that may fit our needs.

I think if we make the move we'd prefer to live in the city, not the suburbs.  That said, in DC we live on the edge of the city in an area that is more like a suburb than the center of town.  Plus DC is a much smaller city than London.

We are considering making a quick trip over later this month to check out schools and neighborhoods before we make our decision on whether to take the job.

Thanks for any advice.

Hi jkjjpc,

I hope this response isn't too late for you.  We have been here about 15 months.  I also work in Canary Wharf.  If you are thinking of living in the city, I don't think it's feasible to send your kids to TASIS or ACS, which leaves ASL.  Having said that, ASL is a great school, but you might find it hard to get into on short notice (at least we did!).  Also, if you are open to it, there are other International schools in central London that might be an option. 

If you do decide to live in the 'burbs, I think you will find TASIS to be a great choice.  We chose to live in Walton on Thames for the "quick" commute times.  While TASIS families tend to be spread out mostly West and South of campus, the majority of them tend to be in Virginia Water or Sunningdale although that adds 20 minutes each way to your commute.  Quite a few also in Weybridge, Walton, Egham, Ascot,  etc.  Woking has the best fast trains in Surrey County and is within TASIS bus service radius.

ACS Cobham, ACS Hillingdon, ACS Egham are also good choices and all of them will give you kids better attention than most public schools back home.  In the end, we loved the small college feel to the campus at TASIS.  We are very happy with our choice.  After only 1 year, our kids have pulled a 180 on that topic.  A year ago today, they couldn't wait to go home.  Now they are asking me if I can get my assignment extended.

Good Luck!

Eric

Hi There - I'm curious what you decided about London and the schools over there.  My U.S. Government employee husband just received word today that he was picked for a London slot.  My biggest concern is that two of our four children will not be accepted into the American School London -- due mostly to the fact that our going-into-sixth-grade twin boys sound a lot like your son.  Doing well... but need support.  He will not be at the Embassy, but in White Hall.  I'd appreciate knowing any other information you've received. 
Thank you.