International Schools Directory

The International School Of Helsinki (ISH) is an independent, co-educational day school which offers an English language educational program for Kindergarten through Grade 12. The school was founded in 1963 as an elementary school, serving primarily British students. It now serves students from many different countries and language backgrounds. The Faculty consists of highly qualified and experienced teachers, many of who have had prior international school experience. These include a nurse, guidance counselor, librarian, ESL and special education teachers as well as teaching assistants. Most of the full-time staff have advanced degrees. The programme is international in character, meeting the needs of a wide range of nationalities of students who usually stay from 2 to 4 years. The programme focuses on the development of skills, attitudes, confidence and responsibility to be able to succeed in the next national or international school. The school also adopted the philosophy and teaching methodologies of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme, a feature of the school since 1992. The language of instruction is English but Finnish and French-as-a-Foreign language are offered. The English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Programme provides support for identified students. The school also offers a limited special needs programme for identified students. ISH students represent about 40 different nationalities, many of whom have had prior experience living in a country and culture other than their own. The school is divided into three sections: Lower School (K1-5), Middle School (6-8) and Upper School (9-12) and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the European Council of International Schools (ECIS). The school was reaccredited by both NEASC and ECIS in 2000. The school has a purpose-built facility in Ruoholahti, Helsinki with 25 classrooms, computer labs, a computer network, science labs, art suite with darkroom/kiln, music room, library/media center with 18,000 volumes, fully-equipped gym and combined cafeteria/auditorium. In August 1999 an IB Centre was added within walking distance of the main campus to house the International Baccalaureate Program for Grades 11 and 12.