ACS Hillingdon International School

ACS Hillingdon is a beautifully green and welcoming campus close to central London, bursting with innovation and enterprise, on an historic 11-acre estate combining a Grade II listed stately mansion with an ultra-modern wing housing classrooms, IT labs, libraries, a cafeteria, gymnasium and auditorium.

We are home to around 570 students aged between 4 and 18, from over 50 countries, taught and supported by 150 teachers and staff members, with British students making up around 20% of the total nationalities.

We offer an extensive busing service, which includes door-to-door and express shuttles into Central London. Our global perspective reflects our world-renowned curriculum that builds on the very best of leading education standards, giving our students the flexibility to tailor their studies from a wide range of options. 

The broad and flexible curriculum at ACS Hillingdon is designed to help students excel, ensuring they’re ready for the next stage of their academic career. Underpinned by the International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement courses, AP Capstone Diploma and the US High School Diploma, our curriculum emphasises life skills as much as academic excellence, with a focus on experiential learning and leadership that ensures we nurture confident, caring, well-rounded individuals. 

Our emphasis on innovation and technology starts with our youngest students. Our Lower School has been designated an Apple Distinguished School in recognition of its iPad learning programme which encourages independent learning from a young age. We have superb facilities that support and enable our passion for innovation, including a well-equipped Science Centre with seven new labs, our “Think Tank” and inspiring facilities for students to develop their understanding of coding and robotics.

Physical activity, outdoor learning, service, environmental projects and our Duke of Edinburgh Award programme all encourage Hillingdon students to be adventurous and try new things, reflecting our belief that success outside the classroom is just as important as success within.

We offer a wealth of sports facilities, including sports fields within easy reach of the main school, something almost unheard of this close to central London. This helps encourage our young people to try new things, building skills and resilience that will benefit them inside and outside the classroom and prepare them for the future. To support this philosophy, our 11 full-time coaches and students have an array of facilities at their disposal, including a full-size, multi-functional gym, all-weather tennis courts and – the jewel in our crown – the 14 acres of football pitches, rugby fields, softball and baseball diamonds just a short ride from our campus. We also have priority access to a 50-metre Olympic-size swimming pool and athletics track in the local area. In a typical school year, we field 56 different teams at all levels. Our young athletes compete against local and international schools across Europe, with recent fixtures taking place in Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Vienna and Athens – providing international level competition and an enriched sporting event experience for students.

Our high-quality music education programme inspires a life-long love of music while developing self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. Students of all year groups perform, absorb and evaluate music from a wide range of periods, genres and traditions. They learn to sing, they create music on their own and with others using a variety of instruments, and they have the opportunity to learn a favourite instrument through expert one-to-one tuition. They also learn about the role of technology in music, giving them a keen appreciation of how modern music is created, produced and communicated.

At ACS Hillingdon the arts are a vital part of school life, so we make sure our students are exposed to the widest range of participation opportunities. Studying the visual arts not only develops cultural understanding and visual literacy, it also enriches the way our students engage with the world around them. It improves concentration, increases writing, speaking and listening skills, enhances group participation and develops dexterity, self-discipline and respect for alternative points of view. Put this together and the visual arts enhance and inspire our entire learning community.

Our outstanding IB exam results place ACS among the top independent schools in the UK and enable our students to attend the world's leading universities. ACS graduates attend leading universities including Cambridge, Imperial College London, LSE and Oxford in the UK, and Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Yale in the USA.

Our friendly admissions teams are happy to answer any questions you may have about our school. Our admissions offices are open from Monday to Friday throughout the year, so feel free to book an appointment for an individual tour or visit us at one of our Open Days and come and see us in action.