Helen Petersen
Admissions Director
Like many AISCT students, Helen Petersen is a third culture kid (TCK) herself, growing up around the world as an American army brat.
Prior to moving into AISCT Admissions and the Upper School English and French classroom, Helen’s career took her around the world, teaching English, French, and ESL in high schools and universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, the Comoros Islands, and South Africa.
Helen obtained her bachelor’s degree in English and French from Centre College. She holds a Master of Arts in English with a concentration in writing, a Master of Education with a concentration in teaching English as a second language, and a secondary teaching certificate, all from Western Kentucky University. Since joining AISCT, Helen earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Education specializing in Educational Administration, from the University of Cape Town.
With more than three decades in education, Helen firmly believes that all children will learn if they are happy and have good relationships with their teachers. Her family in South Africa includes her husband and teenage son.
Welcome to the Admissions Department of the American International School of Cape Town (AISCT), and thank you for your interest in our school.
It is my hope that when you apply to AISCT, it will be a thorough, but smooth and enjoyable process. At the same time, it is essential that we collect everything we need to complete your child’s application. Please refer to the list below for our requirements. We want to ensure that AISCT is the best school for your child in addition to making the correct grade placement.
AISCT has a rolling admissions process which means we accept applications year-round. In addition, students up to and including Grade 8 can begin classes at any time during the school year. However, because we work on a credit system, high school students (grades 9-12), may only join us at the beginning of a semester, that being either August or January.
We offer personalized, private tours on a daily basis to suit your availability. If you have not visited our campus, I encourage you to contact me to book your tour. I look forward to seeing you on our campus soon.
Sincerely,
Helen Petersen
Admissions Director
AISCT Admissions process:
- complete the application online
- upload student’s birth certificate for South Africans/copy of passport of student, father, and mother for foreign nationals
- upload student’s vaccination record
- upload two years of school reports/complete high school transcript from Grade 9 onward
- email request to current school for student referral form
- take the AISCT admissions assessment for those applying to Kindergarten 2 and older (AISCT will book the assessment date once all documents and the application fee have been received) OR upload standardised test scores when available.
- pay the R1,200.00 application fee which can be deposited into the AISCT account (details on our fees page).
