American International School of Cape Town

The American International School of Cape Town (AISCT) is a private, non-profit, co-educational international school set on a leafy campus in Constantia Hills, with Table Mountain National Park as its backdrop. Founded in 1997, it educates around 500 students aged 2 to 18 drawn from some 50 countries, taught by teachers from around the world – making for a genuinely diverse, welcoming community. Classes are small (averaging about 16 students), and the school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and endorsed as an independent school by the Western Cape Education Department.

AISCT follows the American curriculum, built on US research-based standards including the Common Core for English and mathematics, and runs on the northern-hemisphere calendar, with the school year beginning in August. The campus is organised into an Early Childhood Development Centre, Elementary, Middle and High School, with foreign-language instruction in French and Spanish from Grade 1. In the High School, students take College Board Advanced Placement (AP) courses, including the AP Capstone Program, and graduate with a U.S. High School Diploma – a credit-based, university-preparatory pathway that also requires community service, an Innovation Term and an independent Senior Project. Students choose from a wide range of classes, from core subjects to robotics, design technology, musical theatre, band and vocals.

The campus is an accredited Eco School (Silver status), using rainwater and groundwater and solar power, and is supported by a comprehensive 24-hour security system. Recent tuition ranges from roughly R61,000 to R148,000 a year, with an additional annual capital fee; full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.