Cairo American College

What the school is

History and the Maadi campus

CAC was founded in 1945 and moved to its purpose-built campus in Digla, Maadi in 1970. Egyptian architect Salah Zeitoun designed the buildings, and the school describes the site as four times the size of the previous one. In 2005 CAC decided to invest in Maadi rather than relocate. The State Department’s 2026 fact sheet describes it as an independent, co-educational day school for students of all nationalities, with a voting board seat for the US Principal Officer’s representative.

The school’s history records an enrolment peak of 1,440 in 2001–02 and a later decline. During the January 2011 unrest it closed briefly as families and staff evacuated, then reopened within a week for about 300 students who remained. CAC reports enrolment growth from 2020 to 2025. The 2026 fact sheet lists 1,051 students: 54 in PreK, 352 in elementary, 255 in middle school and 390 in high school. The largest student nationalities are American, Egyptian, South Korean, Canadian and British. There are 140 faculty, 87 of them US-trained.

The campus covers 11 acres. Facilities include a 520-seat theatre and a Black Box theatre, a full-size gym and two smaller gyms, a fitness centre, an outdoor track, four large multi-use fields, the Hassan/Webb Aquatics Center, separate elementary and middle/high school libraries, and design and technology labs. Entry is through a closed-access security system. The campus opens after hours and at weekends for families.

Academics in practice

Programmes, requirements and outcomes

High school students can combine the US High School Diploma, the IB Diploma and AP courses. The 2026–27 Program of Studies requires 25 credits to graduate, including four in English, three each in social studies, mathematics and science, and two in a world language. IB Higher Level and AP courses carry an extra 0.3 grade-point weighting. The world languages offered are Arabic, French and Spanish. CAC is accredited by the Middle States Association, according to the 2026 fact sheet. The school year runs from the third week of August to mid-June, in two semesters.

CAC describes itself as private and secular. Its admissions policy requires health education, including sex education, and mixed-gender PE with swimming. The policy also states that Pre-Kindergarten admission does not guarantee continued enrolment. The fact sheet lists support for mild and moderate learning needs.

Admissions and cost

Tuition, admission priorities and the application

CAC does not publish fee amounts. Its tuition page asks families to submit an inquiry form for the 2025–26 or 2026–27 year and grade, and promises a reply within 48 hours. The annual tuition CAC reported to the State Department for 2026 is shown below. Andersen’s legal commentary says Egyptian private and international schools must collect all fees in Egyptian pounds and may raise tuition by no more than 7% a year.

Applications for the next school year open in February, and decisions are made by May 31. Students transferring from abroad are considered throughout the year. The application needs a medical examination form, official school records for the past two years (three for Grade 12) sent directly by the previous school, teacher and counsellor recommendations, a release form, and the child’s passport. Egyptian citizens need a signed and sealed letter from the Minister of Education authorising enrolment. PreK and KG applicants add a parent questionnaire. The application fee is US$390, non-refundable.

Policy 8.202 lists six admission priorities when space is limited. First are dependents of US citizens, dependents of expatriate employees of organisations with policy-mandated board appointments, and children whose tuition is a CAC contractual benefit. Other expatriate dependents follow, then qualified siblings, qualified children of alumni, host-country nationals transferring from American or IB schools, and other applicants. The policy sets September 30 age cutoffs of three for PreK-3, four for PreK-4 and five for Kindergarten. Pupils normally live with their parents; guardianship arrangements need prior school approval.

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Source: US State Department, CAC 2026 fact sheet (data as of April 2026)

The family experience

Living near Maadi

CAC is at 1 Midan Digla in Maadi, and the school says its students represent 70 countries. Diplomatic-family accounts describe living near the school; families looking at New Cairo or Sheikh Zayed should time the journey at school-run hours and ask whether school buses serve their area.

Questions to ask the school