The International School of London (ISL) is a fantastic option for any parent looking for a friendly, caring and welcoming community for their family. This independent co-educational school accepts children from 3-18 years and is truly international – they celebrate diversity and pride themselves on their family atmosphere. It is also London’s longest-established international school.
Located over two sites on Gunnersbury Avenue in London, the Primary and Middle Schools are based at their Chiswick Campus (for ages 3-15 years) with their Diploma College (16-18 years) situated at the Ealing Campus. While families generally live in leafy, affluent Chiswick or bustling, urban Ealing, there are buses for families living in West London and surrounding suburbs. A door-to-door bus from the International School of London collects children from Richmond, for example, in just 20-30 minutes journey time.
One of the first IB Diploma schools in the UK, ISL’s core values are diversity, teaching understanding, shaping identity and developing passion.
Sports are a very strong feature of ISL and the school takes full advantage of fabulous new sports facilities at the Gunnersbury Sports Hub in the adjacent park. The Hub, partly funded by the school, was built in collaboration with the council and other local partners and has been in use since March 2021. Sports include football, tennis, volleyball, basketball. Rowing, rugby and indoor cricket are played as part of the PE offering at the school. The school uses the park for their orientation day and arranges a picnic in the park in August.
Other than sport, if there was a USP for the school, it would be languages: the curriculum has 24 languages. Students are not expected to arrive at the school speaking English and languages are taught as if children were in their home country – the school believes there is a pedagogical reason for continuing in their own language. This is ideal for international and expat families relocating to London. It means that, instead of being thrown into a purely English-speaking environment, children can speak their own language, whilst learning English at a pace that feels comfortable for them. In this way, the International School of London minimises stress for relocating families.
The school, which is celebrating 50 years of teaching in 2023, produces excellent results in the International Baccalaureate (IB). ISL believes that the IB is a great stream to university; that children learn to research and the IB skill set better prepares them for university.
Although the IB can be rigorous, ISL is not a hothouse; wellbeing and pastoral care are very strong here. The school is determined to provide a happy, safe environment where students can thrive.
The International School of London has a rolling admissions programme in order to support students and families, which means that children can start any time – they do not have to wait until the start of the school year. This can be ideal for relocating families who are keen to place their child into a school as soon as they arrive in the UK. ISL is also able to assist with child student visas.
For support for applying to the International School of London and other London international schools, please do not hesitate to contact us.
