The American International School of Lagos (AISL) is the oldest international school in Nigeria, founded in 1964 to educate the children of US embassy staff and oil-company expatriates. It is the only school in Lagos accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (US) and is authorised to offer the IB Diploma alongside the American AP curriculum. The student body is roughly 60% expatriate (35+ nationalities), 40% Nigerian. Fees are USD-denominated — typically $20,000–$45,000 annually depending on grade.
Fee breakdown
Tuition range
₦28.0M–63.0M
/yr · 2025/2026
Estimated first-year total
₦63.0M
tuition + extras
Fees by year group
2025/2026 session — quoted per pupil per year.
Year group
Tuition
Weekly boarding
Full boarding
KG
₦28,000,000
Day only
Day only
Primary
₦36,400,000
Day only
Day only
JSS
₦50,400,000
Day only
Day only
SSS
₦63,000,000
Day only
Day only
L
Lagos.Cool Editorial
2 May 2026 · 2 min read
About this school — American International School of Lagos
AISL's position in the Lagos market is unusual: dollar-denominated fees and US accreditation make it functionally an American school operating in Nigeria, not a Nigerian school using American materials. The result is a market of one. Parents picking AISL are usually picking it specifically because the child holds (or will pursue) US college admission — the school sends 90%+ of its leavers to North American universities. For those buyers the dollar tuition is a feature, not a bug: it hedges against naira depreciation and aligns the family with the eventual college bill.
Strengths & trade-offs
✓ Strengths
✓Oldest international school in Nigeria (founded 1964)
✓Only Middle States-accredited school in Nigeria
✓Full IB Diploma + American AP dual pathway
✓90%+ leavers into North American universities
✓17-acre VI campus with grid-independent solar+battery
✓Regulation baseball diamond (rare in West Africa)
✓Multi-cultural cohort (~35 nationalities)
✗ Trade-offs
✗Fees in USD ($20K-$45K/year)
✗Priority to US passport holders + corporate partners
• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (US)
• International Baccalaureate Organisation
• College Board (AP)
• Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria
University destinations
StanfordNYUCarnegie MellonMcGillUniversity of TorontoImperial College LondonAmherstWilliamsPomonaUPenn
Admission process
AISL admits on a rolling basis but processes most applications for the August intake. Required documents include the past three years of school records, two teacher recommendations, a recent standardised test score (MAP or equivalent), and a non-refundable $300 application fee. Children with US passports get processed first, then siblings of current pupils, then expat hires of partner companies (Chevron, Mobil, embassies), then the open Nigerian applicant pool. Reception and Pre-K are the easiest entry points; Grade 9 is the hardest.
Extracurriculars
BaseballBasketballSwimmingFootballAthleticsMusic ensemble + orchestraDramaRoboticsModel UNDebateCommunity serviceDuke of Edinburgh Award
Tuition is only part of the bill. Here's what families actually pay:
Capital development fee (first year)$5,000
School bus (all zones)$2,000–$4,500/yr
Uniform set + sports kit$300–$600
AP/IB exam fees$500–$1,200/yr
Athletics/clubs$200–$1,500/yr
International field trip$2,000–$5,000
Campus & facilities
The 17-acre Victoria Island campus is purpose-built American — separate elementary, middle, and high school buildings, a regulation-size baseball diamond (rare in West Africa), two swimming pools, a 600-seat theatre, dedicated robotics and maker spaces, and a college counselling office staffed by three full-time counsellors trained in US admissions. The high school library subscribes to 200+ academic databases. The campus operates on its own grid-independent solar and battery system.
AISL is accredited in the United States and its faculty are largely US-trained on expatriate contracts. The school pays salaries, accreditation fees, curriculum licences and most overheads in dollars. Billing in naira would expose families to monthly exchange-rate swings; the dollar tuition aligns parents with the school's actual cost base.
Yes — about 40% of the current student body is Nigerian. There is no nationality restriction, only a strict academic admissions standard and an application queue that prioritises US passport holders and corporate partner families.
Yes — AISL is one of only three IB World Schools in Lagos and the only one offering both the IB Diploma and the American AP track in parallel. Students choose at the start of Grade 11. Most AISL leavers take the IB; a minority prefer the AP route depending on target universities.
In recent cohorts: Stanford, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, McGill, University of Toronto, Imperial College London, and a strong stream into US liberal-arts colleges (Amherst, Williams, Pomona). The college-counselling team specifically targets schools with strong financial aid for international applicants.
Yes — perimeter fencing, double-gate vehicle entry with under-vehicle inspection, armed Nigerian Police presence at the gate, and a private security contractor on-site 24/7. Diplomatic missions audit AISL security annually as a condition of staff enrolment.