The International School Ibadan (ISI) is located on the Campus of the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

, Nigeria's oldest university.

History

The school was founded by German-British educator

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstoun, ...

on 13 October 1963 with funding received from the

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

and donation of land by the then Nigerian Western Regional government. Most of the pioneer teaching staff were British expatriate educators from

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

in Scotland. The school is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Boarding and Day School admitting pupils aged 10 to 16. It was primarily established to meet world-class educational standards for children of expatriates, living and working in Nigeria. It opened its doors to pupils of both expatriates of diverse nationalities and highly placed Nigerians. The first Principal was David S. Snell (1963–1965) of blessed memory; followed by John Gillespie(1965–1968). The longest serving Principal was an Anglican clergy, Archdeacon J.A. Iluyomade (1969–1985) of blessed memory. He was also the first indigenous head of the school. After him was Rev. (Dr.) Dapo Ajayi (1986–1988) also of blessed memory, then Dapo Fajembola (1990 –1991) also of blessed memory. Thereafter came the first female Principal, Esther Adetola Smith (1991–2004). After her was R.O. Akintilebo (2006–2007) also of blessed memory, Dr. M.B Malik (2007– 2017), Phebean O. Olowe (2017 – 2022), Akintunde Yinka (2022 – present) ISI is well known for socials, extra-curricular activities like the international soiree (an event which comes up once every two years). The International soiree is an evening where all the nationalities represented among staff and students display the food, clothing and other material aspects of culture for sale with the objective of raising money for the less privileged. The Charity walk is another event that students use to raise money for the less privileged. Service to mankind is embedded in the culture of ISI. Academically, it originally followed the British system of five years to preparation for Ordinary Level (

General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and a few Commonwealth countries. For some time, the Scottish ed ...

) and West African School Certificate Examinations; with another two years in the sixth form to prepare for Advanced level (General Certificate of Education) and Higher School Certificate examinations. As a result of the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 Nigerian educational system introduced in the late eighties, it runs the mandatory six years of secondary school education, in addition to preparing students for international exams like the annual

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...

'O' Levels and Cambridge 'A' level exams. For many years, it has offered preparation for 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 Dip ...

. Although it now follows the 6-3-3-4 system of Nigerian education, many of the students continue to prepare for international examinations. The then Principal, Dr. M.B. Malik, worked assiduously towards the resuscitation of the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

'A' Level programme in September 2011 and the programme is waxing stronger and stronger till this day. The School celebrated its golden jubilee in October 2013.

Alumni

ISI has produced notable alumni including *

Bamidele Abiodun Bamidele Abiodun (born 16 July 1966) is a Nigerian businesswoman, philanthropist and wife of Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun State, Nigeria. Early life and education Bamidele Abiodun was born on 16 July 1966 to the family of Professor Oladipo Od ...

, (First Lady of Ogun State) *

Oluwatoyin Asojo Oluwatoyin (Toyin) Asojo currently Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives at Dartmouth Cancer Center was formerly Associate Professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Hampton University. She was formerly an Asso ...

(American scientist) *

Bolanle Austen-Peters Bolanle Austen-Peters (born 4 February 1969), is a Nigerian movie director, theater producer and cultural entrepreneur. She is the founder and artistic director of BAP Productions and the arts and culture center Terra Kulture in Lagos. She has b ...

(Nigerian businesswoman) *

Femi Emiola Femi Emiola is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the TV series ''Wicked Wicked Games'' and in the web series ''If Looks Could Kill''. Her first and last names come from the Yoruba language, and her first name is pronounced ...

(American actress) *

Akin Fayomi Ambassador Akin Fayomi (born 8 November 1955) is a Nigerian career diplomat who was the Minister/Head of Political Affairs at the High Commission of Nigeria, London from July 2004 to March 2007. Later he was Ambassador and Special Representati ...

, (Nigerian diplomat) *

Toby Foyeh Toby Foyeh (a.k.a. Tokunbo Olowofoyeku) is a British, Nigerian-American musician and guitarist. Born in London, England to Nigerian parents, he is currently based in the Washington, D.C. area of the US. Although essentially self-taught, he stud ...

(British musician) *

Efa Iwara Efa Iwara, also known as Efa, is a Nigerian actor and rapper. Early life and education Iwara was born on 20 August 1990 in Ibadan, Oyo State to his Professor of Linguistics father and Librarian mother. He hails from Ugep in Cross River State ...

, (Nigerian actor) *

Bill Ivy William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent. He died during practice for a race in East Germany. The Early Years Ivy started racing motorbikes at Brands Hat ...

(Canadian Veteran Photographer and Author) *

Funmi Iyanda Olufunmilola Aduke Iyanda (born 27 July 1971), better known as Funmi Iyanda, is a talk show host, broadcaster, Film and TV producer, media executive, philanthropist, journalist, and blogger. She produced and hosted a talk show, ''New Dawn with ...

(Nigerian television personality) *

Omobola Johnson Omobola Olubusola Johnson (born 28 June 1963) is a Nigerian technocrat and the Honorary Chairperson of the global Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI). She is also a former and first Minister of Communication Technology in the cabinet of P ...

(Nigerian former Communications Minister) *

Karen King-Aribisala Karen Ann King-Aribisala (born Guyana) is a Nigerian novelist, and short story writer. She is a Professor of English at the University of Lagos. Education She was educated at the International School Ibadan, St. George's British International ...

, (Novelist and Associate Professor of English at University of Lagos) *

Tolu Ogunlesi Tolu Ogunlesi (born 3 March 1982) is a Nigerian journalist, poet, photographer, fiction writer, and blogger. Ogunlesi was appointed to the role of special assistant on digital/new media by President Muhammadu Buhari on 18 February 2016.

, (Nigerian journalist) * Alex Oke, (Nigerian chef) *

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (; born 13 June 1954) is a Nigerian economist, who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. Notably, she is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organiza ...

(Director General of the World Trade Organization and former Nigerian Finance Minister) * Ifedayo Olarinde (Freeze of Cool FM, multi-award winning OAP) *

Yewande Olubummo Yewande Olubummo (born February 8, 1960) is a Nigerian-American mathematician whose research interests include functional analysis and dynamical systems. She is an associate professor of mathematics at Spelman College, where she served as chair of ...

, (American Mathematics Professor) * Olayinka Omigbodun (Nigerian physician and academic) *

Dolapo Osinbajo Oludolapo Osinbajo, (''née'' Soyode, born 16 July 1967) is a Nigerian lawyer and political figure. As the wife of the Vice President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo, she has been the Second Lady of Nigeria since 29 May 2015.Yahaya BalogunDolapo Osinbaj ...

(Second Lady of Nigeria) * Adepoju Oyemade (Senior Pastor, The Covenant Nation) *

Sasha P Sasha P (born Anthonia Yetunde Alabi on 21 May 1983), also known as the "First Lady of Nigerian Hip Hop", is a Nigerian rapper, musician, businesswoman, lawyer, and motivational speaker. Early life and education The last of eight children, she ...

; (Nigerian rapper and Olympic torch bearer) * Helen Prest-Ajayi (Miss Nigeria 1979) *

Joshua Uzoigwe Joshua Uzoigwe (1 July 1946 – 15 October 2005) was a Nigerian composer and ethnomusicologist. A member of the Igbo ethnic group, many of his works draw on the traditional music of that people. Early life and education Uzoigwe was born in Umuah ...

(Nigerian musicologist)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1963 Secondary schools in Oyo State Cambridge schools in Nigeria University of Ibadan 1963 establishments in Nigeria Co-educational boarding schools International high schools International schools in Ibadan British international schools in Nigeria Boarding schools in Nigeria

History

Alumni

See also

References

External links