The procedure for admission to the school varies according to the age of the candidate:
Ready to join the King's College School Panama Family?
Our admissions policy is to allocate the appropriate placement for the candidate, so that they may benefit fully from the education we offer.
We have extensive experience in welcoming students who transfer to our schools at all year groups. We aim to work closely with your child’s previous school to ensure a smooth transition, academically and pastorally, through our well-established student induction programme.
King’s College is an international school and as such is open for admissions the whole year round. We are always delighted to meet with parents and show them around the school.

Enrolment Process
Submit an application form with an application fee of $150 (make it a clickable link to OPEN APPLY
Parents/Guardian and the student attend a first tour of the school with the Head of Admissions.
Students complete a GL Cat-4 assessment, with the exception of Key stage 1 (Year 1, Year 2) and EYFS students, who will meet with the Head of Early Years.
Submit school reports from the student's current school and the documents related to the admission process.
Offer letter sent to parent/ guardian.
Pay the Admission or Entrance fee depending on the fee schedule chosen by the family.


Infant Department (age 2 to 5)
Students applying for entry to the Foundation Stage (Pre-Nursery to Reception) are required to come to the first visit with their parents and to bring past school reports (if applicable). Children applying for Nursery and Reception places are not required to have any prior knowledge of English.
Primary Department (age 7 to 11)
For entry into Year 1 and Year 2, pupils are assessed by the Head of Primary. Applicants for both year groups will be asked to provide past school reports. Pupils for Years 1 and 2 with no prior knowledge of English can only be accepted if agreed provision is made for English as an Additional Language Programme (EAL) and parents should expect to be liable for the incurred costs. The duration of the EAL course will be decided by the school.
New students applying for entry to the school for KS2 take CAT4 baseline assessment. Parents will be asked to provide past school reports.
Pupils with no/little prior knowledge of English must agree to a programme of EAL as recommended by the school and parents should expect to be liable for the incurred costs. The duration of the EAL course will be decided by the school.
New pupils are not required to have any previous knowledge of Spanish. Pupils joining the school with a low level or no prior knowledge of the language may receive Spanish as an Additional Language (MFL) classes.
Secondary Department (age 11 to 16)
For entry to KS3, candidates have to take CAT4 baseline assessment. Parents will be asked to provide past school reports.
Pupils with no/little prior knowledge of English must agree to a programme of EAL as recommended by the school and parents should expect to be liable for the incurred costs. The duration of the EAL course will be decided by the school.
The school makes provision for new pupils entering the Secondary Department with no prior knowledge of Spanish by including additional Spanish as a Second Language classes on the time-table.
Students applying for entry to KS4 have to take CAT4 baseline assessment and are required to attend an interview with a senior member of staff before being admitted.
Applicants will be required to provide school reports from previous years. The reports must show consistently favourable progress academically, behaviourally and in terms of effort.
Confidential references are normally sought from the pupil’s current school regarding their academic record and behaviour.
Students applying for admission to Year 11 aiming to take (I)GCSE examination must have studied the first year of the (I)GCSE course (Year 10) in the British system the year prior to their entry to King’s College. The (I)GCSE examination boards in their current school must coincide with the examination boards used at King’s College.
Pupils applying from alternative education systems have the opportunity to take a one year reduced (I)GCSE programme. Pupils entering Year 11 may be restricted in their option choices by the size of the existing groups.
Sixth Form, Years 12 - 13 (age 16 to 18)
All students are required to attend an interview with a senior member of staff before being admitted to the 6th Form.
IBDP is open enrollment if a student is continuing from the previous year. All students are enrolled in the full diploma programme and if needs arise then course options are investigated.
Pupils wishing to join Year 12 will be required to take CAT4 baseline assessment and provide chool reports. The reports must show consistently favourable progress academically, behaviourally and in terms of effort. Confidential references may be sought from the pupil’s current school regarding their academic record, behaviour and payment of fees. The school may admit pupils into Year 13 provided that they have a proven academic level and their subject choices and examination boards coincide with the programme offered by King’s.
Entry to year 13 is reviewed on a case by case basis.

Validating International Transcripts/Report Cards
The Panamanian Ministry of Education (MEDUCA), the legal entity that oversees academic institutions in Panama, requires that all students entering 2nd to 12th grade (Year 3 to Year 13 in the British system) from a school abroad, conduct a validation process. All transcripts/report cards issued outside of Panama must be apostilled in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or in an Embassy of the country that issued the transcript, to later be validated through MEDUCA. This procedure is a requirement to officially enrol the student in Panama into the correct grade level.
Please also note, that in cases where the documentation is issued in a language other than Spanish, the documents must be translated by an authorised public translator who will provide their official stamp/seal onto such translation.
Age & Course Guidelines
Age | King’s College Class | Spanish Education (LOMCE) | US Education |
---|---|---|---|
2-3 | Pre- Nursery | ||
3-4 | Nursery | 1º Ed. Infantil | Pre School |
4-5 | Reception | 2º Ed. Infantil | Pre School |
5-6 | Year 1 | 3º Ed. Infantil | Kindergartner |
6-7 | Year 2 | 1º Primaria | 1st Grade |
7-8 | Year 3 | 2º Primaria | 2nd Grade |
8-9 | Year 4 | 3º Primaria | 3rd Grade |
9-10 | Year 5 | 4º Primaria | 4th Grade |
10-11 | Year 6 | 5º Primaria | 5th Grade |
11-12 | Year 7 | 6º Primaria | 6th Grade |
12-13 | Year 8 | 1º ESO | 7th Grade |
13-14 | Year 9 | 2º ESO | 8th Grade |
14-15 | Year 10 | 3º ESO | 9th Grade |
15-16 | Year 11 | 4º ESO | 10th Grade |
16-17 | Year 12 | 1º Bachillerato | 11th Grade |
17-18 | Year 13 | 2º Bachillerato | 12th Grade |

For further information, please contact:
Ana Raquel Mantovani
Head of Admissions
ana.mantovani@kings.education