Expat guide to the USA: schools The school occupies two campuses in north-west Washington, DC. The primary school is in Georgetown and spans an entire city block with a recently renovated classroom building and an artificial turf field and outdoor play area. Middle- and upper-school students attend classes on the Tregaron Campus, in historic Cleveland Park. Tregaron is made up of seven buildings, an outdoor basketball court and a football (soccer) field. Curriculum: WIS is one of only a handful of schools in the world to offer the IB PYP in a dual language setting. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are enrolled in either a Spanish or French immersion programme. In Grades 1 to 5, students spend half of their academic day studying in English and the other half in French, Spanish or Dutch. The inquiry-based programme requires students to be active participants in the classroom. In addition to "specials" (physical education/movement, art, music, IT), older primary school children may participate in band or chorus and WIS auxiliary programmes offer a rich array of after-school options. In Grades 6-10, students take a multi-disciplinary approach to their studies with influences from thinking and learning routines developed by Harvard University's Project Zero. In addition to mathematics, science, humanities/social science, all students take English and an additional language. Chinese is offered as one of the language options beginning in Grade 6. All Grade 6-10 students take some configuration of arts and electives, with requirements differing between the middle school (Grades 6-8) and the upper school. In Grades 11 and 12, students enrol in IB Diploma Programme courses. Students in the middle and upper schools participate in athletics, perform in school plays/musicals and concerts and there are also many student-run clubs. Community service is encouraged and often integrated into the middle-school curriculum; upper-school students must fulfil community service requirements to graduate. Grade 8 students participate in language immersion trips and Grade 10 students take an educational/service learning trip, currently to New Orleans. The school's Centre for International Education plans optional summer service learning trips to destinations such as El Salvador, Mali, Uganda and India. Results: WIS students typically score above the worldwide average on the IB Diploma exams. In 2011, the WIS average was 34.8, with a 98 per cent candidate pass rate. According to the school, 62 per cent of the Class of 2011 earned bilingual IB Diplomas. Admission: Admission to WIS is competitive and potential students are advised to check the website to determine eligibility Fees: Pre-kindergarten to Grade 5 tuition for 2012-2013 is $28,930; tuition for Grades 6-12 is $32,250. What the school says: Our graduates leave Washington International School with a grand advantage: their disposition to see the world as a whole, to respond to its challenges, and to seek a better future for humanity. Clayton Lewis, head of school. What the parents say: WIS is the only school in Washington, and one of only a handful in the US, where students leave primary school fluent in two languages - and leave secondary school having mastered the most rigorous and relevant curriculum, the International Baccalaureate, in the world. Daniel Pink and Jessica Lerner. Recently opened independent pre-school for children aged three to 12. A strong emphasis on languages. Background: The International School of Tucson (IST), in central Tucson near the University of Arizona, was founded in 2005 specifically to serve Tucson's expat and international community and currently enrols 150 children. The programme is delivered through immersion in Chinese, English, French, German and Spanish; students start in full-immersion in one language from age three and dual-immersion in two from age six, and they begin a third language from the age of nine. More than 35 nationalities are represented among students and staff. Students are grouped by level rather than purely by age at IST and the music programme is tied to the Royal Schools of Music. Pitmans keyboarding and national language examinations such as DELE in Spanish are planned for the next few years. Extracurricular activities are popular. IST holds several Arizona titles for chess, the Tucson city title for Under-10 Basketball and regularly wins awards in science and creative writing competitions. The first IST students to take examinations did so in February and the results are expected shortly. For three years, the school has been the top-performing school in the national French contest, too. IST is non-selective at a pre-school level, although there is strong competition for places, so parents are advised to put their names down on the waiting list two years in advance. Primary school applicants must meet the academic, language and social/emotional expectations of the class to which they are applying. The school also runs an extensive primary-level scholarship programme for those families who are in financial need. Annual fees for 2012-13 are range from $7,150 to $8,150. These are inclusive, other than extended care for pre-school children, although some extracurricular activities may incur an additional charge. IST believes that it does not matter what you know; it matters what kind of person you are. Tucson is a classroom and what you study must be locally important, but globally significant. The school's motto is 'Open the world to your child'. Robert Young, head of school. When my son Marius arrived in Tucson, he was very shy and he did not speak a word of English. After two years at IST, with the attention given to students, he is now very self-confident and he speaks excellent English. Thanks to the IST team for all that. William Mourey. A school that encourages independence and cultural respect. The British School of Washington (BSW) takes children from the age of three and emphasises reading, writing, maths and foreign languages. There are over 40 nationalities currently on campus. Studies are a unique combination of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), the UK National Curriculum, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the highly respected International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). To ensure that graduates have the widest possible range of options for college and university both at home and worldwide, the graduation requirements are rigorous and students are supported by a college counsellor who guides them individually through further education admissions process. In terms of extracurricular activities, there are student leadership opportunities, educational visits, and after-school sports, clubs and activities. All children participate in the house system that encourages all children, regardless of ability, to participate in a wide range of cross-school competitive activities. The school claims that 100 per cent of BSW graduates go on to attend colleges and universities elsewhere in America and also further afield. Recent graduates have also been accepted into leading British universities, including Oxford, Durham, Edinburgh and York. These start from $11,420 (about £7,270) for part-time at nursery, up to $26,210 (about £16,690) for years 12 and 13. At British School of Washington, we celebrate our international mindedness and are well positioned to offer a rigorous international education for local and international students, an education that has cache and is transferable around world. Testament is the fine university acceptance record of our graduating students. Peter Harding, head of school. The BSW students are such a happy, accepting bunch and from the very first day of school. My daughter was made to feel so welcome. We've also made so many friends through the school ourselves. The teachers at BSW are exceptional - they are very dedicated and students get all the support they need to achieve their educational goals. My eldest son is now back in the UK at UWE studying creative product design - he would not have got to university without the help and support of BSW. It's a truly internationally minded school that is the first point of contact for many expat arrivals. Fiona Sullivan, mother of two BSW students, a daughter in Year 9 and a son in Year 11 sitting iGCSEs. A richly diverse school, encouraging goal-setting from an early age. American and international students learn from classroom material, the teachers and each other at The British School of Boston (BSB), which is based on a 40-acre campus in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston. You will hear more than 25 languages in the playground, with an extended community linked to more than 60 countries worldwide - although most pupils are American or British. The school was founded in 2000 and is part of the World Class Learning Group, which has six schools across the US. The vast majority of the teachers are British and hold UK university degrees as well as teaching qualifications. As a result, students can expect an ambitious international programme with the solid anchor of academic rigor. BSB's global focus is evident in the qualifications on offer: the National Curriculum for England, the International Primary Curriculum, the International Middle Years Curriculum, the Cambridge IGCSE, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Pupils aged from three to 18 are encouraged to follow the demanding International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme as the best possible preparation for further education either in the US or back in Britain. There is also after-school care, many sports, arts and academic clubs, a model UN featuring debates from student "ambassadors" representing United Nation member states, and a Duke of Edinburgh Award programme. The school boasts an excellent college/university acceptance record, and undertakes internal and external reviews annually as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IDBP). Pupils are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Tuition is payable in two installments, in June and in December, starting at $13,100 for nursery half-day and $24,330 for full-day and reception. Discounts are available for the first and second sibling. When I first visited BSB, I was looking for learning. I discovered that I was not the only one doing this, but rather the entire faculty is engaged in this process with every child. The teachers take into account the way each children learns and the 'multiple intelligences" being brought to the table. From an extraordinarily early age the students are encouraged to assess their own learning, help in the establishment of personal goals and set targets for improvement. Through this process and as a result of some very caring, enthusiastic attention, I am confident that our students are being both nurtured and inspired. Paul Wiseman, new headmaster. This is a welcoming, internationally rich and academically strong learning community that offers a broader curriculum than a typical American school. My children love it here! TM, mother of two. Through the curricula used here at BSB, my children have received an internationally respected education that is clearly preparing them for university acceptance both back home in the UK and also in the US. With one daughter busy at her IGCSE studies, another just accepted to universities both in England and in the US and the third happily settled at York University, I feel confident that BSB has prepared them for success on a global scale. AH, mother of three. Give us feedback about a school abroad on our International Schools Directory, and you could win 10 iPads for your or your children's school