The International School of Choueifat is a collection of international schools run by the SABIS school system in various countries of the Middle East. The first International School of Choueifat started in Choueifat, Lebanon in 1886 and later spread to various parts of the Gulf region. The first Choueifat school in the Gulf opened in Sharjah, UAE in 1975 and subsequently others opened in other cities across the Middle East. The Choueifat school also had a branch in Bath, England which was generally used as a summer school where students could study and learn sports during the harsh summers in the Middle East.
The International School of Choueifat - Lebanon is the mother school of the SABIS group of schools. It was established in the village of Choueifat, Lebanon in 1886 by Tanios Saad and Louisa Procter, an Irish woman who was teaching in the area. The first building to be used as a school campus was an original mill factory. It was originally for girls only. In the 1890s Tanios Saad visited England to examine the British educational system. He led the school until his death in 1953.
The school opened its first overseas branch in Sharjah, UAE in 1975 and subsequently spread around the Gulf region. In 1983 the school had to relocate due to the Lebanese Civil War (but returned to its original location in 1991). Schools were opened in the UK in 1983, the USA in 1985, in Pakistan in 1992. Many more schools were opened in the Middle East, including 2 more schools in Lebanon: in El-Koura, and in Adma and 2 branches in Egypt both in Cairo [6th of October City and New Cairo]. The opening of International School of Choueifat continues, the latest has recently opened in Erbil, the main city in the Iraqi Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.