Seoul Foreign School – SFS

About Seoul Foreign School

Seoul Foreign School (SFS, 서울외국인학교) is a Christian international school founded in 1912. It sits on a 25-acre hilltop campus at 39 Yeonhui-ro 22-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. The school describes a community of about 1,600 students from 55 nationalities.

History

SFS operated temporarily in Yongsan from 1946 to 1949. The school’s own history page shows an original building in Yeonhui-dong photographed in 1958. Robb Hall was completed in 1966 and a High School building in 1967. The British School building was dedicated in May 1986, and the current High School building opened in 2018.

British School and International School (IB) pathways

SFS offers two complementary paths: the International Baccalaureate (IB) Continuum of Programmes and the English National Curriculum.

• British School (ages 3–11): Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) and Years 1–6. English and Mathematics follow the English National Curriculum. Ages 3–5 follow the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC). Other subjects follow the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). The British School leads into the SFS Middle School.
• Elementary School: IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), including the PYP Exhibition.
• Middle School (ages 11–14): IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).
• High School (ages 14+): IB Diploma Programme, including Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS). SFS describes its High School as the most experienced IB school in Korea.

Grade levels

SFS serves students from Pre-K to Grade 12. Its Early Years program covers ages 2–5. The admissions groups are PK2 to Kindergarten (Foundation 3 to Year 1 in the British School), Grades 1–5 (Years 2–6), Grades 6–8 and Grades 9–12.

Accreditation

SFS is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). The school says it was one of the first 200 schools worldwide authorized to offer the IB, in 1980. The school site also shows International Curriculum Association (ICA) and English National Curriculum accreditation logos.

School year

The school year runs from August to June. The full calendar is on the SFS calendar.

School bus

SFS owns and runs its own bus service: 25 full-sized buses on 24 routes, carrying more than 1,000 students daily from across greater Seoul. Routes are planned to keep drive times close to one hour at most. Each bus has an English-speaking safety monitor. Details are on the SFS transportation page.

SFS Admissions Process

Who can apply

• Families where at least one parent holds a non-Korean passport.
• Families where both parents hold Korean passports (including dual passports), if the student has lived at least 1,095 days outside Korea and has six semesters of schooling abroad. These admissions are limited by a government-set enrollment cap.
• Children of naturalized Korean citizens who are judged unable to continue in the Korean school system. This requires a decision by the local school’s Operations Committee and the principal’s approval.

SFS does not sponsor student visas. The school notes that it is not equivalent to a Korean domestic school, and students cannot transfer to local Korean schools after enrolling.

Application steps

1. Review the eligibility requirements. The documents you need depend on the parents’ passports.
2. Submit an inquiry to check seat availability and arrange a tour (Inquire and Visit).
3. Create an account on the online portal, complete the application and pay the non-refundable application fee.
4. Provide the required documents. These include passports for the student and both parents, a birth certificate or Certificate of Family Relations, Residence Cards or a Certificate of Entry and Exit, report cards and teacher recommendations.
5. Receive the admissions decision by email once eligibility and all requirements are complete.

Assessment

Applicants aged 2–5 attend an SFS Learner Readiness Session after the application is complete. Applicants aged 6–17 take the SFS Admissions Test, which may include an onsite English Language Learner (ELL) evaluation. Applicants abroad may submit a standardized test score from the last 12 months, or take the test with an invigilator at their current school. Students in Grades 6–12 also need teacher recommendations from their current Mathematics and English teachers and a Counselor Reference Form. When there are more applicants than seats, SFS places them in a waitpool.

Tuition and fees

Tuition differs by school section. New students also pay application, registration and entrance fees, and the bus service has its own annual fee. See the official SFS Tuition and Fees page for current figures.

Official sources: Seoul Foreign School, Apply, Admissions Policy, Curriculum Frameworks, British School, History, Accreditation and Affiliations, Transportation, Tuition and Fees.

Homes near Seoul Foreign School

SFS families often look for homes in Yeonhui and Hapjeong. Read our guides to living in Yeonhui-dong and living in Hapjeong, or browse current homes near Seoul Foreign School. Tell us your child’s start date and we will shortlist homes that fit the school schedule.