Admissions FAQs

The IB is our main curriculum. Children can join IB Early Years from age 2 and continue in the IB all the way to the Diploma. IB Early Years includes Mother Tongue classes in the school day, specialist classes and our swimming program, and teacher-led ECAs are included for IB students. The Utahloy Nursery Center offers an AMI Montessori start for our youngest children, with a smooth pathway into IB Early Years. Our Admissions team is happy to help you decide what is right for your family.

Explore IB Early Years →

As an international school aligned with the relevant regulations set by the Guangzhou Education Bureau, UISG can only offer enrollment to students holding a valid foreign passport or children who are Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan residents. We are not able to offer enrollment to children who hold a People’s Republic of China passport.

If you are uncertain whether your child is eligible to apply to UISG, please contact the Admissions Office before you begin the application process.

We encourage families to submit the application as soon as they have decided to apply. There is no hard deadline for applications. Space in some grade levels may be limited, and offers of enrollment are made on a first-come, first-served basis.

For families hoping to join us at the start of a new school year in August, we recommend applying early in the spring. For families hoping to join at the start of the second semester in January, we recommend applying in late fall.

We understand that families sometimes move to Guangzhou with little notice, and our Admissions Office will work with you to move through the application process quickly in these situations.

Yes. While UISG has historically been a day school, our new boarding program launched at the start of the 2026–27 academic year. Learn about boarding at UISG.

Students in Grades 4–12 who have not attended a full-time English-language school for at least three years will be asked to complete an English language assessment as part of the application. The assessment can be completed on campus or online with the help of an Admissions proctor.

Heads of Division may ask applicants to complete additional language or subject assessments based on a review of their application and requested grade level. In some cases, a trial class observation may be needed before an admissions decision can be made.

We ask all applicants to complete a student and family interview with a Head of Division. The interview is not a test. It is a chance for us to get to know your child and family, answer your questions about UISG, and make sure your family’s educational goals are a strong fit with UISG’s learning philosophy.

Please review our grade level placement guide to choose the right grade level for your child in the application.

Our Admissions Office is happy to help you choose. Please note that the final decision on grade level placement is made by your child’s Head of Division after reviewing the completed application.

For applicants to Grades 1–12, parents must use the online application portal to request a Confidential Reference Form from their child’s most recent teacher.

After you complete the initial application form, you will see a link for “Confidential Reference Form”. Click the link and enter the professional email address of the teacher who will provide the recommendation. That teacher will receive an email from us with instructions for completing the form.

To protect confidentiality, UISG can only accept reference forms submitted through the online system or sent directly to us by the recommending teacher. We cannot accept recommendation forms sent by the applicant’s parents.

Once all application steps are complete, including an interview with a Head of Division, you should receive an admissions decision within five working days. Your Admissions Representative will stay in regular contact with you throughout the process and will let you know of any delays.

Please note that processing times may be slower during summer and national holidays.

If your child’s grade level has reached maximum capacity, you will be notified that your child has been placed in our wait pool for future consideration. If a suitable place becomes available, our Admissions Office will contact you with an offer of enrollment.

We recommend that students start with their peers in August at the start of the school year, or at the start of the second semester in January. However, international families move throughout the year, and we regularly enroll students after a semester has begun. Our Admissions Office works closely with our academic teams and families to make these mid-semester transitions as smooth as possible.

In some grade levels, students wishing to enroll during the last few weeks of a semester may need to defer their start until the new semester because of the end-of-semester assessment schedule.

See our 2026-27 tuition and fees for the full fee schedules for the IB Continuum, HKDSE program and Utahloy Nursery Center, along with discounts, boarding and bus fees.