American School in London vs. Thomas's Battersea

[NewLondonMom1]

Moms,

We are an American family moving to London in June. My girls got into both the American School in London and Thomas's Battersea (and also at Eaton Square, Chepstow House - but we felt like Thomas's was the best choice amongst them). My girls would go into Year 5 and Year 2 in the British school system and Grade 4 and Grade 1 in the American School system. We are moving as expats and expecting to spend 3 years in London, but you never know where that goes.

We would love your perspective on the two schools. Specifically we are interested in understanding how they do academically. The American School did not feel very academically rigorous, but I could be totally wrong about that.

When we return to the US my older one will be in middle school there and I want to make sure she doesn't fall behind.

Hi - By when do you have to decide?
My kids have been waitlisted at ASL and we are waiting to hear back.
Just curious if you had a deadline to accept or decline at ASL.
Thanks.

Do you know where you will live?

I considered Thomas' Battersea for dd (and she was offered a place), but I didn't have a car in London and found it quite difficult to get there and back via public transportation. And, though I could easily get there via taxi, I found it quite difficult to find a cab to take me back over the river.

If you live north of the river, you are likely to encounter the same challenges (unless the transport situation has changed). If you live south of the river, it may be much easier. Ultimately, I chose another school because I didn't want to deal with transport logistics / challenges every day.

user1475915413 - We did have a deadline for the ASL. It was about 2-3 weeks from the offer date. And we loved ASL when we visited. It probably had the best campus of all. But we wanted the kids to get a feel for a London school and ended up accepting Thomas's Battersea for that reason.

Hopefully the waitlist at ASL moves.

Earlybird - We haven't figured out where we should be living. We would want to be on the tube and be well connected to make the commute to work easy. I hear you on the challenge with the location.

We were considering Clapham or Chelsea, but would love recommendations.

Thomas's will help their academic skills for the rest of their lives, even if they are only there three years, and is sure to encourage them in many other aspects: drama, art, sport, and music, too

Thank you for the comment NewLondonMom. It is very nice to get some response! If you are now going to Thomas's Battersea, I think that should be fine for the moment. It is a good school, particularly known for art, drama and sport, and of course you could almost certainly move to ASL later if you do change your mind. Occasionally people do move on to ASL from Thomas's. I didn't known Prince George would be there when I commented and although I thought it was very possible that he wouldn't start at Wetherby, but that a nearer school like Thomas's Kensington or maybe Garden House would be more probable than Thomas's Battersea. But it has been announced that he is going, which could make the school more popular I suppose, although it was already pretty well known.

I have children at both ASL and British schools. It's just a totally different experience and suits different types of families and kids. The American system starts off slowly and then really gets going around the age of 13. There's no pressure or real homework until that age something you can't really say about the UK private system where the 7 plus and/or 11 plus are the raison d'être for many schools. Some parents feel really conflicted about forcing a 6 year-old to do an hour of homework per day, which is pretty standard and really unpleasant. Tutoring for 11 plus is inescapable and very stressful. Hundreds of kids compete for very few spots in this part of the world, and it gets pretty ugly. ASL is much more relaxed for the young ones, but standards are really high for older kids, and there's a lot of pressure from peers to do very well. A lot of pressure. These kids are motivated and competitive (acorns and oak trees), and teachers expect and receive excellent work. Bottom line is if you have a child who would benefit from a broader curriculum, doesn't mind doing most subjects until age 18, and is prepared to do the work ASL is the school for you. If you have someone who is likely to do better in either humanities or sciences and knows what subjects he or she wants to study, the the A-level system might be better. While many outsiders see ASL as being uber American, the reality is that's its quite international, with many students with non- American parent. Hope that helps.

Wonder if anyone in this thread can help me with how to find a tutor to prep my 12 year old for the ISEE. He's currently in a UK school but we want to try for ASL . Or advice on getting him in. Also want to fibd sone ASL events or ASL kids for playdates to get him feeling easier about changing schools if we do aim for ASL. He hates change. His current school goes to age 13. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3036074-American-School-in-London?watched=1

Academically Thomas's Battersea is rigorous, but we had an incident of bullying recently and I was appalled at the way the school dealt with it.

Dear NewLondonMom1,
Taking a long shot (since the discussion thread is old), how did you go about applying to schools before moving to London. We are moving from Chicago to London this June/July and I'd like to know how can we make the application process smooth. Both ASL and Eaton Square are on our list! Would appreciate any tips or recommendations. Thanks!

Hi there, I moved from Chicago to UK in 2017 and my son is in an International school. I will message you about what we did.

i don't know if you know but prince george is at st thomas' battersea and princess charlotte will be going there in september. you will see prince william and kate at the gates and their security etc. a bodyguard has to sit outside the classroom and there was a break in when george started to get to him. there could be paparazzi. They say that when prince william started school he used to say when I'm king i'm going to get my knights around to kill you. kids will know probably who george is as their parents will. i imagine there will be social climbers wanting their children to befriend a future king but the main school rule is to be kind which sounds nice.

Hi,
Where did you end-up going?
Is the American School academic in comparison to Thomas or not?

@Gugghi , you can't really put Thomas's battersea on a list without having a place which is near impossible.

I do have a place for the one in Kensington, But a part from having a place I would like to know if academically the two schools can be compared. Is the American School academically good? Which are the UK University leavers destinations?

Bump

Hi there NewLondonMom,

We are just starting to try and figure out schools making the move this summer from NYC and I'm curious if you used a school consultant for your applications? I mistakenly did one for ASL and we were just rejected. Not ideal. Thanks for your advice- curious where you ended up? Our kids are coming in at the same age as yours. Thank you!