The American School of Paris, ASP, is an independent, non-profit school on rue Pasteur in Saint-Cloud. It follows an American curriculum from age 3 to 18, for students from more than 64 countries. At upper-secondary level it costs more than the British School of Paris or the École Jeannine Manuel, and its admissions policy contains a point French families often discover late: the school was set up first for expatriate families.
The curriculum: American diploma, IB and AP
The school is organised the American way: Early Childhood up to Grade 1, Lower School to Grade 5, Middle School from Grade 6 to Grade 8, Upper School from Grade 9 to Grade 12. Grade 6 corresponds to the French sixième and Grade 12 to terminale. All students who meet the requirements earn the American High School Diploma. In Upper School they can add the IB Diploma Programme or AP (Advanced Placement) courses, university-level courses assessed by a College Board exam. English is the language of instruction, and every student studies French at an appropriate level.
This path leads naturally to American universities, which read the diploma and APs without translation, and to universities worldwide through the IB. It does, however, take students away from the French prépas, the two-year programmes leading to the grandes écoles, for the same reasons as the IB: see IB or French baccalaureate.
Fees for 2026-2027, from ASP's published fee schedule.
Annual tuition: €25,000 from K3 to K5, €34,600 from Grade 1 to Grade 5, €39,965 from Grade 6 to Grade 8, €41,400 from Grade 9 to Grade 12. A compulsory security fee of €2,000 a year is added.
Once only: a €1,450 application fee, refunded if no place is offered, and a €12,200 capital assessment, non-refundable, in the first year from Grade 1.
Where applicable: €5,490 a year for the English as an Additional Language programme if the student is assigned to it, €6,695 for learning support, and €4,250 or €4,700 for the bus depending on the zone.
For a student joining Upper School in Grade 9, the first year therefore comes to €57,050 before transport: €41,400 in tuition, €2,000 for security, the €12,200 capital assessment and the €1,450 application fee. Compulsory curriculum trips are included in tuition.
The application file
Everything is online. Applications for the following year open in October, and the school answers as soon as the file has been reviewed; during the year, it admits students on a rolling basis, subject to places. For Upper School, the file includes school records for the current year and the three previous years, translated into English, three confidential forms completed by the English teacher, the maths teacher and a counsellor or administrator, and a candidate questionnaire with an autobiography.
The school says it looks for the students most likely to benefit from its programmes: it considers academic potential, maturity and past conduct. School reports and teacher forms therefore weigh heavily. The maths teacher's form, in particular, is completed by someone who knows the student well: the current year had better be solid.
Two points to know before applying
English first. ASP accepts students with no English at all up to Grade 5, and students with lower proficiency from Grade 6 to Grade 8, with built-in support. Its English as an Additional Language programme stops at Grade 8. In Upper School, a student must therefore be able to follow lessons in English from day one.
Priority second. When a grade is full, the school sets up a waiting pool with an order of priority: siblings of current students, then expatriate families, then host-country families. It states that it reserves the right to give priority to expatriate families over those with a viable local alternative. A French family living in Paris can be admitted, but it comes later in oversubscribed grades.
How we help
At Carmine, we help families choose between ASP, other international schools and the international sections of French lycées, then prepare the application; our School admissions page describes this support, and Choosing an international school in Paris compares the options. For maths, in the American curriculum or the IB, I teach students in private lessons, in English or French.