| International School of Helsinki | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| Selkämerenkatu 11 Helsinki, Finland |
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| Information | |
| Established | 1963 |
| Head of school | Dr. Allen Hughes |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Age range | 4-18 |
| Pupils | 326 |
| Language | English |
| Website | ish.edu.hel.fi |
The International School of Helsinki is an independent, co-educational, international school in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded as the British Preparatory School in 1963.
ISH is an International Baccalaureate World School, with IB programs offered from Kindergarten to Grade 12. The school was first authorized to offer the IB Diploma program in 1993. Instruction is in English, with the school divided into a Lower School (Kindergarten through Grade 5) and Upper School (Grades 6-12).
The school has a full-day program. Its school year runs from early August to early June.
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In addition to the International Baccalaureate, the school is also accredited by the following organizations:
ISH became the first school in Finland fully authorized to offer all three of the International Baccalaureate Programme: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme in November of 2005.
The recommendations from the IB evaluations together with the recommendations from the Visiting Team Report from the accrediting agencies ensures that the school offers a quality of education which is internationally recognized by higher education institutions and will enable students to become qualified to take them to the next step in their education.
The school’s strategic plan, the philosophies of the International Baccalaureate Programmes, along with the Finnish education regulations and the standards set forth by the accrediting agencies mentioned above all contribute to the structure and operation of ISH.
The school has approximately 350 students of whom some 28% are Finnish nationals. The rest of the school's population is made up of 42 different nationalities. The school is divided into two sections:
All three programmes share the same campus.
As of 2011, the ISH Head of School was Dr. Allen Hughes. Mr. George Piacentini was the Lower School Principal and Mr. Robin Schneider was the Upper School Principal.
The school is administered by a Board of Governors elected by the ISH Parents Association to two-year terms. For 2011-12, the Chairperson was Katarina Murphy and Vice Chairperson was Risto Ojantakanen. Other members of the Board of Governors were Urvashi Sarup, Treasurer; Lisa Langenfeld, Board Secretary; Ira Chatterjee, Srdjan Krumpak, Lauri Kivinen, Alexandra Eude and John Webster.
ISH moved into its modern, purpose-built structure in the Ruoholahti district of Helsinki in 1996. The school has pleasant modern facilities which include ICT labs, a gymnasium, sports field, library and media centre as well as classrooms equipped with Smart-Boards and other media devices to enhance learning and teaching. The school also has a combined cafeteria/auditorium.
The International School of Helsinki offers a good variety of activities. The After School Activities(ASA) Programme is divided into three seasons: Autumn, Winter and Spring. The goal of the ASA Programme is to offer students both competitive and non-competitive activities and athletics options. The school is a member of CEESA which allows older students to take part in events alongside students from other international schools in central and Eastern Europe. These include various sports events including soccer, basketball and volleyball tournaments.
Lower School students have a good variety of clubs to choose from, which include arts, comics, dancing, drama, games, music and various sports. The aim is to offer them a positive environment to exercise, learn new skills, and have fun while participating in various after school activities.