Explore how additional tutoring, online schooling, homeschooling or a British curriculum could fit your child’s needs and your family’s travel plans.
For an American family living abroad, an American school can offer continuity. Your child can make friends, follow a familiar curriculum and prepare for a possible return to school in the US.
But regular travel can make attendance difficult. A child who spends weeks away for sports, performances or family commitments may complete the assignments sent home while missing the teaching behind them. And when they return, there’s more work to catch up on.
Sometimes, extra tutoring can make the current school manageable. Other children may benefit from a different school or a more flexible education. The right choice depends on your child’s needs, your family’s plans and where they may want to study next.
Here are four options to consider. They can overlap: your child could follow a British curriculum through an online school or study it at home with a tutor. The arrangement can also change as their needs develop.
If the difficulty is with the current school’s teaching or support rather than attendance, another American school—or a local or other international school—might be worth considering. If travel is the main problem, check how any new school would accommodate it.
Route 1: Stay at the current school with additional support
If your child is happy at school, consider what support would help them stay there.
An hourly subject tutor can help with difficult topics, missed lessons or exam preparation. Sessions can take place in person or online, including while your child is traveling.
A full-time tutor, who may live with the family, provides more regular support. They can help after school, teach during school breaks and accompany the family on trips. Working with your child’s teachers, they can cover missed material and help your child manage their workload.
You can also ask whether the school offers teaching remotely during agreed absences. Establish what the school will provide, what the tutor should cover and which assessments require attendance in person.
This route keeps your child in their school community, but the school must agree to the arrangements. Additional tutoring does not remove its attendance requirements.
Route 2: Join an online school
An online school provides courses and teaching without requiring your child to attend a physical classroom. It can follow an American, British or another curriculum.
Live classes (synchronous) provide scheduled contact with teachers and classmates.
Lessons completed in your child’s own time (asynchronous) offer more freedom over the study day, though deadlines and meetings may still apply. Some schools combine both.
Your child may need no additional tutoring. If they do, an hourly tutor can help with particular subjects, while a full-time tutor can provide daily teaching, organization and guidance alongside the school’s program.
Ask to see a typical week and compare it with your travel plans and time zones. Check accreditation, qualification requirements, exam arrangements and whether a likely next school would accept the courses or credits.
Route 3: Choose homeschooling
Homeschooling gives the family greater control over what the child studies and how teaching fits into the day.
Parents can plan the education themselves, with subject tutors where needed. Or a full-time tutor can take responsibility for planning lessons, teaching and assessing progress. Either approach can include selected online courses or specialist teaching.
This can make room for travel, training and sustained projects without repeatedly interrupting a school schedule. But flexibility still needs a clear plan for academic progress.
Before starting, check the homeschooling requirements where you live. Agree who will assess work and maintain records, and how any intended qualifications or diploma will be awarded. If the arrangement is temporary, plan for the return to school too.
Route 4: Move to a British curriculum
An American child does not have to remain in the American system. They could move to a British curriculum, studying toward GCSEs or International GCSEs (IGCSEs), which are typically taken around age 16, followed by A levels around age 18.
There are several ways to do this:
Attend a British school in the UK or abroad. This provides classroom teaching and a school community. A tutor can help your child adjust to the curriculum and fill gaps in particular subjects. If frequent travel is the reason for changing schools, check whether the new school can accommodate those absences.
Join an online British school. The school provides the courses and teaching, with additional tutoring if needed. Check the live lesson schedule, deadlines and exam arrangements against your family’s travel plans.
Study independently with a tutor. The tutor plans and teaches the courses, and your child takes exams as a private candidate (someone who registers for the exams without attending the school where they take them). This allows more control over the teaching schedule without attending daily school classes.
GCSEs, IGCSEs and A levels award grades in individual subjects rather than an American-style cumulative GPA. For subjects assessed entirely through exams, a tutor can organize teaching around the syllabus, your child’s commitments and the exam dates. More flexibility during the year, but fixed dates for the exams themselves.
Some subjects include coursework, practical assessments or speaking tests. Before choosing subjects, check that the courses are available to private candidates and that an exam center can arrange every required assessment. Also check how the subject choices would support future college applications or a return to American schooling.
One Tutors International placement in Italy shows how American and British approaches can work together. Two brothers left school because their long daily commute left them exhausted. Their tutors planned an education around travel and family life.
The older boy studied material aligned with US high school courses alongside IGCSE preparation. He later completed nine IGCSEs and three A levels, and received offers from his first-choice US college and preferred UK university.
Keep friendships in mind
Leaving school can raise understandable worries about friendships. Whether you choose an online school or homeschooling, your child needs regular opportunities to spend time with other children.
A tutor can help arrange these but cannot replace friendships with peers. Keep contact with existing friends and make room for clubs, sports teams, group activities or playdates wherever your family spends time.
In our article about the social impact of homeschooling, one family described how their tutor encouraged clubs and playdates to help their daughters maintain friendships and make new ones.
If your family moves often, arrange activities before you arrive. Returning to the same club or team each season can help your child build lasting friendships in more than one country. Make that time a regular part of the week.
Keep future choices open
Before changing arrangements, think about where your child may study next. They might return to an American school, apply to a US college or continue in another education system.
Ask a likely next school what courses, credits and records it would need. For college applications, keep clear records of academic work, assessments, projects and activities.
If your child stays enrolled in their current school, ask how extended absences will affect their credits and assessments. If they move online, confirm who issues their transcript and diploma. If a tutor leads their education independently, agree who will prepare their academic records and provide any required teacher or counselor recommendations.
If Advanced Placement (AP) exams are part of the plan, find a school or authorized exam center early. Schools choose which exams to offer and whether to accept students who are not enrolled there, so preparation and registration need to be planned together.
Choosing what works now
Start with your child’s experience. What do they value at school? What becomes difficult when they travel? How much of the coming year will they realistically spend in the classroom?
Then compare the options against your actual travel calendar. Subject tutoring may provide enough help, while a full-time tutor can offer more regular support at home and during travel. An online school or homeschooling may suit longer absences. A British curriculum offers another academic pathway, through school or independent study.
The choice can change, and some families begin with support alongside school then move to another arrangement as their child’s needs and commitments develop.
Questions parents often ask
Can my child leave an American school abroad without leaving the American education system?
Yes. They could enroll in an online American school or follow a tutor-led American course of study. Before changing, establish how courses, credits, transcripts and any diploma will be provided.
Will my child need a tutor at an online school?
Not necessarily. Some children manage well with the school’s teaching and support. Others benefit from an hourly tutor for particular subjects or a full-time tutor who provides daily guidance, explains difficult material and helps organize their workload. Check what support the school offers before deciding what your child needs.
Do British qualifications remove the need for daily school attendance?
A student preparing independently as a private candidate can study with a tutor instead of attending daily school classes. They still need to meet every requirement of their chosen qualifications, including any coursework or practical assessments, and attend scheduled exams.
How can homeschooling strengthen a US college application?
A well-planned homeschool education can give a student time for ambitious coursework, sustained projects, and serious interests that make their application distinctive. The application still needs to show what they studied and achieved. MIT says it considers homeschooled applicants in the context of their opportunities and has seen many successful applicants show particular initiative. Princeton asks families to document both academic work and other interests. A tutor can help a student build that body of work and keep clear records of it.
Tutors International can help you work through the options and find a tutor suited to your child’s needs. Talk to us about their schooling, your travel plans and what you would like their education to make possible.
