Around AIS honors degree in French and German. In addition, he holds an MA from Oxford (1975), a postgraduate certificate of education from London University (1974), and a postgraduate degree in education management and curriculum design from University of Hull (1978). With his young family, Alex traveled to New Zealand, where he took his first teaching post in 1965 at Auckland Grammar School and three years later taught in a parochial school in southern India. He returned to Hull in 1971, where he taught at three local high schools, eventually heading the department of languages at the inner-city David Lister High School.
director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE). Undoubtedly, Alex was proudest of his role as founding headmaster of Atlanta International School (AIS), which he led during its formational first 10 years. The school’s Early Learning Center, scheduled to open in August 2012, is named the Alex Horsley Building in his honor. Alex’s last public appearance was at the November 15th ground-breaking ceremony, where he was celebrated by the AIS community and Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed for his tireless devotion to the school. AIS began in 1985 with 51 students and today thrives with more than 1,000 students from over 70 countries and faculty from 45 countries. Born January 24, 1944, in Hull, UK, Alex grew up in nearby Hessle. He first traveled abroad at age 13, living with a Swiss family to learn French, and spent more time abroad at age 15 to learn German. These early immersion experiences forged a lifelong love of learning languages, traveling, and exploring new cultures. He studied modern languages at Oxford University’s Worcester College, where he played on the college’s soccer team. Politically active, he was a member of the Campaign in Oxford University for Nuclear Disarmament (COUND) and the Joint Action Committee against Racial Intolerance (JACARI), Oxford’s anti-apartheid movement. He was graduated in 1965 with a joint 8 Summer 2012
Alex moved with his family to the United States in 1978 to assume the position of head of languages at Baltimore Friends School, which appealed to him because of his Quaker background. He secured his first headmaster position at Friends School Mullica Hill in New Jersey (1981-85). In 1985, he answered a call to head a new international school in Atlanta that was being launched by a small group of inspired parents with no money, building, or students. Atlanta International School began as a 4K to 1st grade school in a small army hut behind a church. It grew rapidly, every year adding grades, until it spanned 4K through 12th grade. Alex shepherded AIS through three locations and building campaigns, and by the time he moved to Beijing in 1996 to become director of International School of Beijing (ISB), he had overseen AIS’s move to its current and final home in a historic Atlanta building. From AIS, Alex and his wife Gillian embarked on a Far East passage. He served first as director of ISB (1996-98) and then as head of the Chinese International School (CIS), Hong Kong (1998-2002). By then well known for his broad experience in international education, he was sought out as a consultant to international schools in Germany, the US, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. He also led accreditation teams for CIS in schools in France, Venezuela, the US, Indonesia, Belgium, Australia, and Portugal. Returning to Atlanta, Alex was from 2002 to 2004 executive director of the Atlanta Youth Soccer Association (AYSA) and was instrumental in the building of an inner-city field that has been enjoyed by hundreds of youngsters. From 2004 to 2008 Alex served as executive director of CASIE, a consultancy service to support implementation of IB programs throughout the United States. From 2009 on, he worked as an educational consultant, continuing to write, speak, and offer support to develop dual-language schools in Africa (Morocco, Gabon, and Kenya), specifically as a consultant to the Aga Khan Academies and Global Education Management Systems (GEMS).