Inter-Community School Zürich
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The Inter-Community School Zürich (ICS or ICSZ) is a private, independent, international, co-educational day
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...
and offers a comprehensive educational programme in English for children from ages of 3 to 18. The school is international in character and welcomes students of all nationalities. Since 1971, the Inter-Community School has been located in
Zumikon Zumikon is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located in the Pfannenstiel region.Zurich, Switzerland. It has been an International Baccalaureate World School since 1993. ICS's Kindergarten and Primary education programmes (''Primary School'') are approved by the bureau for elementary school (''Volksschulamt''), administration for education (''Bildungsdirektion''), canton of Zurich. Also ICS's lower Secondary education programme (''Secondary School, Grades 6 to 8, and Grade 9'') is approved as ''Sekundarstufe'' by the bureau for elementary school (Volksschulamt), administration for education (''Bildungsdirektion''), canton of Zurich. However ICS's upper Secondary education programme (''Secondary School, Grades 10 to 12'') is neither approved as a Mittelschule by the bureau for secondary and vocational education (''Mittelschul- und Berufsbildungsamt''), administration of education (''Bildungsdirektion''), canton of Zurich, and nor approved by the Swiss Federal State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI.


History


1960-1969

The Inter-Community School Zurich was founded on March 18, 1960, at a meeting at the Hotel Carlton Elite between the American, Australian, British and Canadian communities of Zurich. The school enrolled 84 students aged 4–13 during its first semester at the Hotel Rigiblick. There were five staff members employed at the time as well as the founder Gerald Atkinson and his wife. In May 1961, ICS signed a lease with the city of Zurich for the rental of a lakeside villa (which in the 1930s had been renovated for use by
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, also known as Paul Karađorđević ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pavle Karađorđević, Павле Карађорђевић, English transliteration: ''Paul Karageorgevich''; 27 April 1893 – 14 September 1976), was prince regent o ...
) In September of that year, ICS began its second year of operation in the new villa with 160 students enrolled. By 1967, there were 200 students enrolled from kindergarten to seventh grade with two classes per grade. Rooms were in short supply, therefore facility was found in
Regensdorf Regensdorf is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf District of the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the biggest city in the region Furttal (ZH). Katzensee is a lake that also includes the bath/lido Strandbad Katzensee on the border ...
. Shortly thereafter, the upper primary classes were moved to Regensdorf, while the lower primary classes remained in the lakeside villa on Seefeldquai. The search for one facility to house the entire school was now underway. The founder of ICS Gerald Atkinson relinquished his ownership of the school in 1968, to facilitate the process of ICS gaining the legal non-profit foundation status. This non-profit foundation status would make it easier to raise funds for the purchasing of a new building. On August 1, 1968, the Foundation of The Inter-Community School was established under the Swiss Civil Code. The school is famed for its unique campus. Situated within a former penitentiary, the Inter-Community School Zurich (ICSZ) is one of the only IB schools in a historical prison.


1970-1986

In early 1970 the municipality of
Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...
, a suburb near Zurich, had just completed the construction of a new primary school, but only required half of the rooms. ICS was offered the use of the other half of the building for one year, while another more permanent location was sought. In April 1970, the lower primary classes moved out of the lakeside villa in Zurich to the new temporary facility in
Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...
. The upper primary classes remained in
Regensdorf Regensdorf is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf District of the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the biggest city in the region Furttal (ZH). Katzensee is a lake that also includes the bath/lido Strandbad Katzensee on the border ...
during this period. At the same time, the board of trustees had found a farmer in
Zumikon Zumikon is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located in the Pfannenstiel region.Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...
and the
Union Bank of Switzerland Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) was a Swiss investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. The bank, which at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland, merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998, to become ...
, ICS was ready to build its own facility. Construction began in November 1971 and was completed in December 1972. When the winter term began in 1973, the entire school was under one roof - this was the Primary School building. 270 students were now enrolled at ICS. In 1977 additional land was purchased, and extensions to the Primary School building were done in 1979 and 1982. Shortly thereafter in 1985, a library and kindergarten were built. The 1974 'Brink Report' by the Board of Trustees formulated plans for the development of a secondary school at ICS. The first pavilion was erected in 1987 as the first secondary school classroom.


Academics

The medium of instruction is English, but all children above
Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
must study German. From grade 6, students are also required to study a third language (French or Spanish). The academic curriculum of the school is based upon the programmes of the
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
, and ICS is the only Zurich area school authorized to offer the IB programmes at all levels. The IB programmes are designed to facilitate transition to and from national education systems and entry into universities around the world. Class maximum size varies between 16 and 24 depending upon grade level and there is a student-teacher ratio of approximately 8:1. Just under half of the student body is composed of native speakers of English, and the school has a programme of English as an additional language (EAL) and learning support.


References


External links


Official homepage

Online Curriculum Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inter-Community School Zurich Educational institutions established in 1960 Schools in Zürich International schools in Switzerland International Baccalaureate schools in Switzerland Private schools in Switzerland 1960 establishments in Switzerland