Accreditations

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, International Baccalaureate World School, Council of International Schools

Tuition

Visit our Tuition and Fees page to understand the benefits of an ICS education: https://www.icsaddis.org/join/admissions/tuition-and-fees.

Admissions Process

Connect with our Admissions Team via phone, email or Zoom, as a first step in your admissions journey!

admissions@icsaddis.org

+251-11-371-1544

Zoom meeting

Applications and supporting documentation are submitted through OpenApply, our online application portal.

After submitting the application form, the Checklist will show the relevant admissions requirements for each individual applicant.

Entry Requirements

The International Community School of Addis Ababa serves the educational needs of the international community in Addis Ababa. ICS Addis accepts students who can be successful in the regular academic program. ICS does not discriminate on the basis of religion, ethnic or national origin or gender in its admissions and educational policies. Admission is based upon completed application forms, previous school records and results from previous or current academic testing as required by ICS staff to determine:

• the potential of the applicant to benefit from the educational services available
• the capacity of the school to meet the educational needs of the applicant and
• the ability of the school to meet the behavioral or emotional needs of the applicant

Waiting List

Contact the Admissions Office for space availability. Occasionally there is a waitlist for a specific grade level or group of applicants.

Homework

Middle and high school students are expected to complete home learning to complement their learning at school. Elementary school students are expected to read at home; regular homework is not assigned.

Gifted and talented student support

Through personalized learning and a flexible learning hub model, ICS supports a range of learners. Students with exceptionalities have Individual Learning Plans to ensure their success at ICS.

Use of technology in the classroom

ICS provides devices for students in elementary school and middle school (iPads for lower elementary and Chromebooks for upper elementary and middle school). Students in high school must provide their own laptop. 

Learning platforms include Toddle and Google Classroom. 

Learning Support

As a responsibly inclusive community school, ICS Addis values the contributions of each student to the learning environment. To ensure that each student can learn at the highest levels, we continuously evaluate our capacity to support exceptional learners. Our admissions process is designed to be simple and clear; additional information and assessments are only requested when we must confirm our ability to meet a student’s learning and social-emotional needs.

ICS charges additional fees for specialized educational services, including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, educational psychology assessments and the STEP Program. Need for services is determined by ICS and neither services nor fees may be waived. Visit the Tuition and Fees page for more information on the fees.

ICS Addis can provide an appropriate education for most students, including non-native English speakers, students with mild to moderate learning disabilities and highly capable students. However, because of the limitations of the local professional support network, ICS is not able to serve the educational needs of those students with more serious mental, physical, emotional or learning disabilities. The campus is also not handicapped accessible. Admission is open to those students who are able to participate successfully in a mainstream class with some specialist support. In cases where ICS determines that it may have an appropriate educational program for a child, the school may require the parents to fund extra assistance beyond what is available in the classroom.

ICS may deny admission to students whose needs cannot be met by the school's support services, or whose behavior could be detrimental to the classroom and school environment. In addition, ICS may deny admission if parents fail to disclose all relevant information about their child's learning needs during the admissions process.

Please contact the Admissions Office immediately if your child requires special services, so that we can attempt to determine if we can provide a suitable program for your child and if we have space in our programs before you accept an assignment in Addis Ababa.

Native English Teachers

ICS values diversity of experience, culture and language in both our educators and students. Our teachers come from more than 10 countries and are all fluent in English, as the language of instruction.

Languages Taught

Elementary school students take French as a "specials" class. Amharic is also available as an option for beginners and advanced learners.

Middle and high school students may choose to study French or Spanish. Our world language program is focused primarily on language acquisition (i.e., for those learning the language). Our IB Diploma Program offers French and Spanish ab initio, French and Spanish B SL and HL.

Fluent Amharic students may take Amharic literature in high school, including IB Amharic.