FAQ
We accept students as young as 3 years old by September 31st of the school year applying for.
The requirements are:
- The student must be at least 3 years old (by September 31st) of the school year applying for, and
- Very importantly, to be fully potty trained by the beginning of the school year. By that we mean that the student must be able to use the toilet by him/herself without needing any supervision by the classroom teacher/aide.
The official and instruction language in all grades is American English, except of course the modern language classes (Greek, French, German, Chinese, Spanish etc.)
ACS Athens offers English language support classes for students as early as 1st grade. A student with zero proficiency in English may be accepted as late as 5th grade, however certain academic and performance criteria will be considered for students applying for later Elementary grades or early Middle School.
APPLICANTS | Entering | For Period | Apply by |
---|---|---|---|
Local Applicants | Elementary
(Jr-K - Grade 5) |
1st Semester | 3rd week of September |
Middle School (Grades 6-8) |
2nd Semester | by the end of January | |
Academy (Grade 9-12) |
No applications accepted | ||
International Applicants from Abroad |
Elementary
(Jr-K - Grade 5) |
Rolling Admissions |
no deadline • based on availability |
Middle School (Grades 6-8) Academy (Grades 9-11) (Grade 12 » only from American curriculum schools) |
Rolling Admissions | by the end of 3rd quarter |
The ACS Athens student population consists of more than 60 nationalities from around the world. The top nationalities include students from the United States, Greece, Canada, United Kingdom, East Asia and the Middle East.
There are different admission requirements for each school (Elementary, Middle, Academy, IB). Please visit the Admission Guide for more information
Yes, if your previous school follows the American curriculum. However, students arriving from abroad, attending a non-American curriculum, need a minimum of two years in order to earn an American High School diploma (you have to apply at least for 11th grade). Restrictions may apply regarding English language proficiency. Students from local (Greece based) schools may only apply for admission until 8th grade.
We only accept applications for the IB Diploma Program from students coming from American or International (English language curriculum) Schools coming from abroad. Strict academic assessment applies to determine eligibility.
ACS Athens offers the American High School Diploma (accredited by the Middle States Association) to all its students graduating 12th Grade. In addition, students may pursue the International Baccalaureate Diploma, by attending a 2-year IB program (11th-12th Grades).
However, a non-Diploma student may earn one or more IB certificates, by attending individual IB-level classes in the last two high school grades.
An IB Diploma student may also pursue the Greek High School Equivalency Diploma (Ισοτιμία Ελληνικού Απολυτηρίου Λυκείου), by attending the equivalency Greek classes 11th-12th grades, (Language, History, Literature). More information about this are available at the ACS Athens IB Office. Please note that those students interested in the Greek High School Equivalency must have adequate Greek language proficiency.
By pursuing the IB Diploma in 11th & 12th grades, a student may earn the attend the Greek High School Equivalency Diploma (Ισοτιμία Ελληνικού Απολυτηρίου Λυκείου) by studying History, Language and Literature in Greek, without participating in the Greek University Exams (Πανελλαδικές).
ACS Athens graduates are admitted in an impressive number of Universities from the United States, Canada, U.K. and other international Universities around the world. Please visit the College Placement page for more information.
An ACS Athens student needs to earn the Greek High School Equivalency (Ελληνική Ισοτιμία) in order to participate in the Greek University Exams (Πανελλαδικές). It must be noted that, since ACS Athens curriculum doesn't prepare students for the Greek University, students interested in participating in these exams, usually need an extra year of tutoring classes (not offered at ACS Athens).
There is no schoolwide uniform in ACS Athens, except the Physical Education classes for Middle School and Academy students, provided by the Athletics Department at the beginning of the year.
Early Childhood program educates children 3 and 4 years old (by September of year applying). Kindergarten is for students 5 years old and 1st grade is for students 6 years old (by December of year applying). Early Childhood offers two attendance options: regular program, 9am -1pm (no lunch offered); and the day care program that extends the day to 3:30pm (lunch included)
ACS Athens offers bus service through an independent bus company that serves most of Athens metro area with a wide network of routes. Please contact the school's transportation office for more information (transportationoffice@acs.gr or call 30 210 6070239)
Although there is no student visa requirement for students to register to ACS Athens, every non-Greek student coming from abroad should consult the local Greek consulate for residency information. Student visa is only available to prospective university students and is not offered to primary or secondary education students. The only documentation that ACS Athens may offer is the letter of acceptance, after a valid academic application for admission is filed and is approved.
Compared to the British 13-grade system, our 12-grade system requires a student coming from a British school to go one grade back registering to ACS Athens. Students from school systems with different academic years (January to December: Australia, Korea etc.) must be assessed to either progress half a year or fall back half a year. Most other systems are fully compatible with the grade structure and academic year scheduling to ours.
ACS Athens offers learning support to students with mild learning differences (dyslexia, ADD/ADHD etc.) throught its Optimal Learning Program (OLP). The Special Services (SpEd) Form offers valuable insight to the student's learning profile. It should be submitted by the previous school counselor or psychologist. If they are not available, the form should be signed and submitted by the homeroom teacher (Elementary students) and/or the principal. In case there is a testing diagnosis or testing of a learning difference, we require that you submit complete documentation and the most recent testing/evaluation (not older than 3 years) along with the SpEd Form.
All students that apply for the Special Learning Support program (Optimal Match) must have documented diagnosis by a professional psychologist who can administer a complete psycho-educational test.
Due to seat availability, ACS Athens will not accept applications for the the OLP Program until at least the 2020-21 academic year, as seats become available.
PLEASE NOTE: In case parents knowingly fail to disclose or provide documentation of learning needs, ACS Athens reserves the right to withdraw its admission of an application. To that end and for verification purposes, ACS Athens reserves the right to communicate directly with the previous school(s), before or after admitting a student.
The student statement should be hand-written and consist of a short autobiography and a statement of hopes and plans for the future, especially what the student is expected to gain from an American school experience in general, and from ACS Athens in particular. This is a good way of introduction to the school, so students must express themselves clearly and meaningfully.
Please note that all disclosed information will be kept strictly confidential.
Along with a student application, parents must attach a signed statement, describing the particular circumstances that prompted you to choose ACS Athens. What are the specific factors of your decision? What are your expectations from the school? Please explain any frequent change of schools, abnormal grade fluctuations or family environment issues that may affect the student’s performance. Is there any information that the Admissions Committee must take into consideration while deciding on admission of your child?
Please note that all disclosed information will be kept strictly confidential.
Students applying for Grades 6-12 will take an English admission test. That will determine any need for English language support classes and their English language class placement. They will also take a math admission test, to determine their mathematical skills level. These tests are part of the admission process and are given to students prior to admission.
For Elementary students there is a similar evaluation that is conducted by the classroom teacher or the school counselor prior to admission.
We strongly recommend using the Online Application Form
All other documentation can be scanned and uploaded as separate files in the Application Documents Upload Section
Alternatively, you can use the printed version of the Application and submit the required forms and documents found here and send them via mail. Forms can also be sent via fax but original forms must also be mailed.
ACS Athens is an international school with more than 60 nationalities enrolling each year. The only nationality restriction applies to Greek students (with a Greek last name) applying to grades K-9. In order to attend ACS Athens (Grades K-9), these students must apply for approval to register at ACS Athens by the Greek Education Ministry. As soon as parents are informed of their child’s acceptance into ACS Athens, they will be requested to fill and submit the Registration Approval Application Form (Αίτηση Έγκρισης Εγγραφής - available at the office of Enrollment Management). This Form and all supporting documents must be filed prior to registration.
ACS Athens does not currently offer dormitory service for its students.