Admission
Every Question You Have Been Meaning to Ask. Answered Honestly.
Choosing a school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will ever make — and it comes with a very natural, very human flood of questions. About the curriculum. About the qualifications. About what a typical day looks like. About fees and transport and uniforms and everything in between.
This page exists so that you can find clear, honest answers to the questions we are asked most often — at any time of day, without having to wait for an email response or a scheduled call.
If your question is not answered here, we genuinely want to hear it. Call us, email us, or book a visit — and we will answer it in person.
There are several things that genuinely distinguish AWS — but the most important one is this: we are Asia’s first entrepreneurial school. Entrepreneurship at AWS is not a subject you take on Fridays. It is the philosophy, the framework, and the lived daily culture of the entire school. From Pre-Primary through to Grade 12, every student at AWS develops the mindset, the skills, and the real-world experience of an entrepreneur — alongside the full academic rigour of a WASC-accredited American High School education.
Beyond that, AWS is the only school in Asia to offer the McGraw Hill K–12 curriculum with exclusive Geo Pricing — making the gold standard of American curriculum content accessible to families across our global community. Our students have received the Young Change Maker Award at the British Parliament. Our founder received the Global Women Empowerment Award. Our students have set a world record with Edmentum, built iOS apps validated by Apple, and incubated 45 startups at IIT Madras Research Park. This is a school where extraordinary things happen — not occasionally, but by design.
American World School Chennai was founded in 2021 by Dr. Mohana Lakshmi — an educator, entrepreneur, and global leader in youth entrepreneurship education who also founded Kidspreneur in Singapore in 2012 and KIDx Asia, Asia’s premier youth startup competition. AWS was founded during COVID-19 — a moment that required exactly the kind of bold, purpose-driven thinking that defines everything the school stands for.
AWS has campuses and learning communities in five countries: India (main campus in Chennai), Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Spain (through our partner Trebol Education), and the UAE (through our partner La Senda Global). We also have a thriving Online School serving students across the world. Every location delivers the same WASC-accredited curriculum, the same entrepreneurial culture, and the same high standard of student support.
Yes. AWS holds accreditation from three internationally recognised bodies:
These accreditations mean that every AWS qualification — including the American High School Diploma — is recognised by universities, employers, and governments worldwide, including colleges and universities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, India, and beyond.
AWS follows a 100% American curriculum — delivered through McGraw Hill K–12, the most widely used and respected curriculum system in the United States. AWS is the only school in Asia to offer the full McGraw Hill K–12 curriculum and textbooks, with exclusive Geo Pricing that makes this world-class content accessible to our global student community.
Our curriculum is enriched by the ESTEAM framework — Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics — and delivered through 27 research-backed learning methodologies. The approach blends the rigour and global recognition of the American International curriculum with the student-centredness, joy, and holistic philosophy of Finnish education.
AWS High School graduates receive the American High School Diploma — accredited by WASC, recognised by universities and employers worldwide. Students also have the option of a Dual Diploma — earning their American High School Diploma simultaneously with the equivalent qualification of their home country.
Through our Early College and Dual Enrolment partnerships with Arizona State University, the Community College of Baltimore County, the University of Silicon Valley, and 350+ US universities, students can also begin earning real US university credits while still in High School — with some students completing their full Associates Degree (a two-year US university qualification) before graduating from school.
AWS admits students from Pre-Primary (ages 2–4) through to Grade 12 (ages 17–18) — covering the full K–12 educational journey. We also welcome students at any grade level, including mid-year enrolment. Please contact our admissions team to confirm current availability at your child’s grade level.
| Programme | Grade | Age Range |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Primary — Exploring My World | Pre-KG | Ages 2–4 |
| Kindergarten — Junior Explorers | KG | Ages 5–6 |
| Lower Elementary | Grades 1–2 | Ages 6–8 |
| Upper Elementary | Grades 3–5 | Ages 8–11 |
| Middle School | Grades 6–8 | Ages 11–14 |
| High School | Grades 9–12 | Ages 14–18 |
| Online School | K–12 | All ages |
The AWS admissions process is straightforward, personal, and designed to be as smooth as possible for your family. The steps are:
The following documents are required as part of the application process:
Additional documents may be requested depending on the student’s grade level and specific circumstances. Our admissions team will guide you through the complete document checklist during the enquiry process.
Yes. We welcome new students at any point in the academic year — and we have a well-developed process for ensuring that mid-year joiners settle in smoothly, academically and socially. Our mastery-based learning approach means that entry at any point in the year does not create the same disruption it might in a traditional curriculum — students pick up where they are, at their own level, with the full support of their Success Coach and class teachers from day one.
For most grade levels, we conduct a brief, relaxed academic assessment as part of the admissions process — not to determine whether a student is good enough for AWS, but to understand where they are academically so that we can plan the most appropriate and supportive programme for them from day one. The assessment is designed to be low-pressure and conversational. We are learning about your child, not testing them.
For Pre-Primary and Kindergarten applicants, there is no formal assessment — instead, we hold a warm, play-based observation session alongside a family meeting.
Yes. AWS welcomes students transitioning from any curriculum background. Our admissions team works carefully with each family to understand the student’s academic profile and to plan the smoothest possible transition into the AWS programme. In some cases, a bridging plan is put in place to ensure continuity and confidence — particularly for older students making the move to the American curriculum in Middle or High School.
Absolutely. AWS has a well-developed international admissions process — and our Online School means that students can begin their AWS journey remotely before arriving in Chennai, or can continue their AWS education without relocating at all. We have supported families relocating from over 30 countries and work closely with international families throughout the admissions and transition process.
AWS is committed to inclusive education and to supporting the diverse learning needs of every student who joins our community. Our small class sizes, personalised approach, mastery-based learning model, and dedicated Success Coach system mean that students with a wide range of learning profiles receive the individual attention and support they need to thrive.
We ask families to share all relevant information about their child’s learning needs as part of the admissions process — so that we can be honest about whether AWS is the right fit, and if so, what support structures we will put in place. We would rather have an open, honest conversation at the admissions stage than discover a mismatch after enrolment.
AWS is a school that believes deeply in the universal potential of every child. We are not a school that selects students based on academic performance alone. We are looking for families who share our values — who believe in the entrepreneurial spirit, who are committed to their child’s holistic growth, and who want to be genuine partners in their child’s education. If that sounds like your family, we would love to meet you.
ESTEAM stands for Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. It is the academic and philosophical framework that connects every subject and learning experience at AWS into a coherent, entrepreneurially alive whole. Rather than teaching subjects in isolation, ESTEAM integrates them — so that a mathematics lesson might involve designing a product budget, a science lesson might involve engineering a solution to a real community problem, and an arts lesson might involve creating the visual identity of a student startup.
Mastery-based learning means that students advance through the curriculum when they have demonstrated genuine understanding — not simply when the school calendar says it is time to move on. At AWS, the speed of learning is variable. The depth of mastery is constant. This approach eliminates the gaps in knowledge that accumulate in traditional systems where students move forward regardless of whether they have truly understood the material. It also means that no child is held back unnecessarily, and no child is pushed beyond their current readiness.
AWS uses 27 distinct, research-backed approaches to teaching and learning — ensuring that every student, regardless of their learning style, finds multiple pathways to genuine understanding. These include project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, design thinking, adventure learning, service learning, maker education, problem-based learning, collaborative learning, and many more. The diversity of methodologies reflects the diversity of learners — and the school’s commitment to meeting every student where they are.
Every Wednesday, AWS students work directly alongside Vayusathra aerospace engineers in our signature Innovation Day — exploring science, aeronautics, drone technology, satellite building, and robotics through immersive, hands-on sessions with professionals at the frontier of their field. The afternoon moves into the Maker Space and Innovation Hub, where students use Siemens professional engineering software to design, prototype, and build. Innovation Day is one of the most distinctive and genuinely exciting parts of life at AWS — and one of the experiences that new students most consistently describe as unlike anything they have experienced at a previous school.
Every Thursday at AWS is Xpress Day — a whole-school focus on communication, presence, voice, body language, and the professional etiquette that allows students to share their ideas with confidence in any setting. Xpress Day reflects AWS’s belief that an extraordinary idea unexpressed is an extraordinary idea lost — and that every Falcon deserves the communication skills to be heard.
Every Friday at AWS is Entrepreneurship Day — the most energetic and celebrated day of the school week. Students develop startup ideas, receive mentorship through the Peter Jones Foundation, connect with entrepreneurs, practise pitching, and work toward entry into the KIDx Asia competition pathway. Friday is the day when everything learned during the week comes together in the service of building something genuinely new.
The Polymathic Experience is the AWS philosophy — and structured programme — of developing students who are genuinely capable across multiple domains and brilliant at the connections between them. Grounded in ESTEAM and delivered through the 27 learning methodologies, the Polymathic Experience encourages every student to explore widely, discover their talents, and pursue their passions — not as a distraction from academic excellence, but as its richest expression.
Yes. AWS High School students have access to Advanced Placement courses — the gold standard of pre-university academic rigour in the American educational system — alongside our Early College and Dual Enrolment programmes that allow students to earn real US university credits while still in school.
AWS offers French, Spanish, and Tamil as language subjects. Our French programme is taught by a native French speaker. Spanish is practised in real time with our student community in Spain through Trebol Education. Our Tamil programme — the Thamba Curriculum — was co-developed with Dr. Madhan Karkey, one of India’s most respected experts in linguistic scholarship, and teaches students to love Tamil rather than simply learn it.
Yes — every single AWS student, at every grade level, is assigned a dedicated Success Coach. The Success Coach is your child’s most important relationship at school — a trained pastoral and academic advisor who knows your child as a whole person and accompanies them throughout their AWS journey. The Success Coach monitors academic progress, social-emotional wellbeing, and personal development simultaneously — and calls your family every Friday with something positive and specific to share about your child.
Every Friday, every AWS family receives a phone call from their child’s Success Coach — not to report a problem, but to share something genuinely good and specific about their child from the week. This is one of the most distinctive and most valued features of life at AWS — and one of the clearest expressions of what we believe about the relationship between a school and a family.
AWS takes student wellbeing as seriously as academic achievement — because we know that a child who is not well cannot truly learn, and that the confidence, resilience, and emotional intelligence developed at school are as important to a child’s future as any grade or qualification.
Our wellbeing support includes dedicated Success Coach relationships for every student, access to our school counselling team for academic and personal guidance, the Bodhi psychometric assessment for self-understanding and subject guidance, and a whole-school culture built around the AWS core values of empathy, persistence, growth mindset, and optimism.
The Bodhi psychometric assessment is a scientifically validated tool used at AWS to help students understand their own cognitive strengths, personality profile, learning style, motivational drivers, and career pathway alignment. It is used at the appropriate stage of a student’s journey to support subject selection, personal goal-setting, and the development of genuine self-knowledge. The Bodhi assessment is one of the most powerful tools available to an AWS student — and one of the clearest expressions of the school’s commitment to knowing every child as an individual.
AWS has a clear, non-negotiable commitment to the safety, dignity, and wellbeing of every student in our community. Bullying of any kind — physical, verbal, social, or online — is taken seriously, responded to promptly, and addressed through a restorative, educative process that prioritises the safety of the affected student, the growth of the student causing harm, and the health of the wider community. Full details of our anti-bullying policy are available in the AWS Parent Handbook on My AWS.
AWS fees are structured across registration, tuition, and additional programme fees. The complete fee schedule for the current academic year — including Early Years, Elementary, Middle School, High School, and Online School fee bands — is available from our admissions team on request.
We are committed to transparency about fees and encourage all families to request a full, itemised fee schedule before making any admissions decision.
Standard tuition fees at AWS include McGraw Hill curriculum materials and textbooks, access to My AWS — the parent and student digital platform, the AWS Digital Library, the full ESTEAM programme including Innovation Day with Vayusathra, Xpress Day, and Friday Entrepreneurship Day, Success Coach advisory support, Weekly Student Reports, Friday Positive Phone Calls, and standard assessment and reporting. Additional fees may apply for specific programmes, off-campus trips, examination registration, and extended day activities.
AWS is committed to making world-class education accessible. Please contact our admissions team directly to discuss scholarship availability, criteria, and application processes for the current academic year.
McGraw Hill has made a unique arrangement specifically for AWS students — offering their world-class K–12 curriculum and textbooks at a pricing structure that reflects the economic reality of the communities AWS serves, rather than the US market pricing. This means that AWS families access the gold standard of American K–12 curriculum content at a cost that is appropriate to their context. It is one of the clearest practical expressions of the AWS and McGraw Hill shared commitment to making world-class education genuinely accessible.
Additional costs that may apply during the school year include optional off-campus trips and residential programmes (including the NALS Surprise Camp and the South Korea Ambassador Programme), KIDx Asia competition entry and Grand Finale attendance, uniform items beyond the standard set, extended day club activities, examination registration fees for AP courses and Dual Enrolment programmes, and any elective additional programmes. Our admissions team will walk you through all anticipated additional costs during the admissions process so that there are no surprises.
The standard AWS school day runs from 9:00 AM to 3:15 PM. Campus opens for supervised arrival from 8:30 AM. Extended day activities and clubs run from 3:15 PM to 4:30 PM. Campus closes at 4:30 PM.
Yes. AWS offers school bus services across a wide range of Chennai residential areas and pickup points. Bus route maps, timings, pickup locations, and fees are available from the admissions office and on My AWS. Families managing their own transport should refer to the campus drop-off and pick-up zone guidelines available in the Parent Handbook.
AWS maintains low student-to-teacher ratios across all grade levels — ensuring every student is genuinely known and individually supported. Our Kindergarten classes maintain a maximum ratio of 12 students to 1 teacher. Ratios across other grade levels are available from the admissions team.
The standard AWS uniform includes the AWS navy blue polo shirt with school crest, navy blue trousers or skirt, white sports socks, and black closed-toe school shoes. PE uniform consists of the AWS sports shirt in navy and gold, sports shorts or tracksuit bottoms, and non-marking sports shoes. On Xpress Day (Thursday), students wear smart, presentable clothing of their choice. Uniform items are available through the AWS Uniform Shop — details on My AWS.
AWS communicates with families through multiple channels — My AWS (the parent-facing digital platform), direct phone calls from Success Coaches every Friday, the Weekly Student Report published every Friday, email communication from teachers and the admissions team, and the AWS Parent Community Digital Hub. Our communications philosophy is proactive, positive, and personal — we reach out to you before you need to reach out to us.
Yes. The AWS Online School offers the full K–12 AWS programme — including live and self-paced learning options — to students anywhere in the world. The Online School delivers the same WASC-accredited curriculum, the same entrepreneurial learning culture, and the same student support structures as our physical campuses. It is available as a primary enrolment option for families outside our campus locations, and as a transition or bridging option for families in the process of relocating.
Yes. AWS is designed to support seamless transitions between online and in-person learning — making it ideal for families whose circumstances change, who are relocating internationally, or who want the flexibility to move between modes of attendance as their needs evolve.
Yes. AWS graduates are admitted to universities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, India, and beyond — with our WASC accreditation and American High School Diploma recognised by institutions worldwide. Our network of 350+ US university partners, our Early College and Dual Enrolment programmes, and our dedicated university counselling from Grade 9 onward give every AWS graduate both the qualifications and the preparation to compete successfully for places at excellent institutions.
What is particularly extraordinary is that some of our students arrive at university having already completed their full Associates Degree — a two-year US university qualification — while still in High School. They begin their four-year university programme already at junior year level, with two years of accredited university credit already earned.
AWS students have access to Early College and Dual Enrolment programmes through Arizona State University, the Community College of Baltimore County, the University of Silicon Valley, and over 350 US universities — allowing Middle and High School students to begin earning real, accredited US university credits before they graduate from school.
University counselling at AWS begins in Grade 9 — giving every High School student four full years of structured, personalised guidance through the subject selection, personal development, university research, application preparation, and final application process. Our counselling team has experience with university admissions across the US, UK, Europe, Australia, India, and beyond.
If your question is not answered here, we genuinely want to hear it. No question is too small, too specific, or too detailed — and we would far rather answer it now than have it sit unanswered while you are trying to make this important decision.
