The International School of Bergen (ISB) was founded in 1975 and is a
non-profit, coeducational day school, enrolling students in pre-school through
grade 10. The International School of Bergen, when created, was one of many
components of Bergen's infrastructure attractive to international investors. The
purpose of the school was two-fold: to provide an education for the children of
expatriate oil company personnel in Bergen and to attract further corporate
investment in the Bergen area. Typical of most international schools, once
established in a community, ISB's programmes became known outside of the
"corporate circle" and parents (both local and permanent foreign) began to seek
admission for their children. Local children are most often enrolled because
their parents have been abroad and the children have begun their education in an
English-speaking school, which makes transition to "native language" schools
difficult or impossible or, one or the other of the parents is an
Englishspeaking foreigner married to a local citizen and wishes their children
to attend an English language school in order to preserve a dual cultural
identity. Foreign residents generally choose to send their children to an
English language school in order to assure their children alternatives for
tertiary education abroad. Yet another category of parent is emerging in the
international schools network and much attention is being given to this group.
These are local citizens who envision a future for their children which will
demand total bi- or multi-lingual fluency and who believe, quite correctly, that
a primary and secondary education in an English-language school, combined with
daily life, language and cultural growth in yet another language medium, will
achieve this goal. The inclusion of these more permanent students into a small
international school such as ISB is positive in at least three ways. Firstly,
the "international" aspect of the school is enhanced. Secondly, a "cultural
bridge" between the school and local community is built and, thirdly, the
presence of these children helps to stabilise the enrolment of the school and
thus assure the continuity of the programme despite fluctuations in the number
of multi-national corporate investors in the community.
The International School of Bergen was accredited in 1985, then re-accredited in
1995 by both the European Council of International Schools (UK) and the New
England Association of Schools and Colleges (USA). The school was awarded
accreditation for a 10-year period, which is the maximum amount granted to
schools. This indicates the high esteem the organisations have for our
programmes. The school is also accredited by the International Baccalaureate
Organisation to deliver the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme
in Grades 6 through 10 and was last evaluated in 2003.
The school, a purpose-built facility, is housed on the Slettebakken Skole
campus, located approximately 5km. from the Bergen city centre. In addition to
individual classrooms, ISB facilities include a library with an integrated media
centre, a gymnasium (nearby swimming and ice-skating facilities are also used),
a computer room, art and music rooms and a well-equipped science laboratory. The
school has a high speed ADSL Internet connection.
During the 2004-05 school year approximately 200 students are enrolled from more
than 30 countries, with the larger representations being from the UK, USA, India
and Norway. The atmosphere at ISB is warm, friendly, and supportive with
individual attention given to the unique needs of each of our children. While
academic standards are high, the teaching staff works with the students to
provide the structure and study skills necessary to achieve success.
The ISB academic programme has been patterned after the best available UK/US
models. The curriculum overviews for the Pre-Kindergarten Programme (3 and 4
year olds), the Kindergarten through 5th grades, and the 6th through 10th grades
are included in this package. Those students who have been successful in the ISB
programme have reported that they have been very successful in the schools they
have transferred to upon leaving Bergen. Our Norwegian students who have
successfully completed the ISB programme and who have taken state examinations
have done very well and report that they have been well prepared for study in
Norwegian schools. We are particularly pleased by the success of our students
who have enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Programme. It should be
noted that ISB is the only school in Western Norway currently authorised to
offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, designed to
prepare students for entry into the full Baccalaureate Programme at Bergen
Katedralskole or similar.
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