American School of Kuwait

The original American school in Kuwait, opened September 1964 in a Sharq villa with 75 students. ASK has been the default school of the western, non-Arab expat community for sixty years and runs an American curriculum across one of the largest campuses in the country.

Around 1,800 students from over 60 nationalities, with a higher western-expat mix than any other American-curriculum school in Kuwait. Accredited by Middle States and CIS. Facilities include 145 classrooms, ten science labs, two gyms, an indoor 25-metre pool, and large outdoor fields. Fees run roughly KWD 3,314 to KWD 5,191. Head is Monique Livsey.

Long-time families value the breadth of facilities, the strong athletics programme, the genuinely international student body, and the fact that ASK is the school most US oil-and-gas, embassy, and military families default to. Critics say teaching has slipped from its peak and the school has become more business-driven. Best fit for North American families wanting an American curriculum and a real expat peer group.

• ASK has the longest history of any American school in Kuwait, and many parents and ex-students describe it positively, citing diverse classmates, an established curriculum and good housing for staff. One ex-student called it the oldest and best school in Kuwait.
• Teacher feedback runs sharply different, and consistently so. Multiple ex-staff, reporting separately and across years, describe the school as a for-profit business with absentee ownership, weak admin, and pressure on teachers without meaningful support. One ex-teacher described being on a bus at 5:15am to prep, with admin offering little backing.
• Retention is the recurring concern. One former teacher reported four years that started excellent and ended terrible. Others say base salaries had not risen in over six years. Several say they would not return to Kuwait.
• Parent and student commentary from outside teacher circles is more positive on the everyday experience: friendly classmates, dedicated teachers in some divisions, varied extracurriculars including a Real Madrid Foundation football tie-up.
• Safety and child-protection reports surface among international teachers, including allegations of staff misconduct and weaknesses in the school's response. Parents weighing the school should treat these as worth investigating.