International School of Paris

History

The school, founded by Monique Porter, who wanted an English-speaking school for her young daughter, began in a private building under the name of Pershing Hall in 1964.

Pershing Hall grew rapidly and soon expanded its curriculum from kindergarten to grade 8. Mrs. Jannick Jones, who started the school with Mrs. Porter, was the first Headmistress and gave the basic philosophy to the school. She taught mathematics and French, and at the same time was cooking lunch for the students on a gas stove.

In 1975, the School settled in 96bis rue du Ranelagh and changed its name to the International School of Paris. In 1983, ISP’s middle and high school was moved into 7 rue Chardin. Finally, in 1985, the school expanded into 6 rue Beethoven, which was the former art school of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, built around 1930.

In 1982 the school became an International Baccalaureate School.

In 1991 the school had 360 students, with the largest group being Americans. In 1992 the student body count was down to 335. At that year the Japanese became the largest group at the school, with 19% of the students. In 1992 Americans made up 15% of the students. In 1992 the annual tuition had risen to 74,750 francs, a 3% increase.

By 2004, the School had 483 students, and was running all three IB programmes (PYP, MYP and IB Diploma). Additional space was needed to accommodate the planned growth to approximately 650 students, resulting in the acquisition of two new buildings: 13 rue Beethoven for the Secondary School, and 98 rue du Ranelagh for the Primary School.

Today, the school enrolls approximately 700 students representing over 60 nationalities and 52 languages.

Campuses

The school has two campuses in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The primary school is on Rue du Ranelagh. The secondary school occupies three buildings in proximity, with two on rue Beethoven and one on rue Chardin.

Accreditation

The school is a non-profit, independent and co-educational establishment. Additionally, it is a fully accredited member of the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Independent Schools (NEAIS).

The school was re-accredited in 2011 by both organizations.

The school is also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the European Council of International Schools.

Demographics

In 2017 the school has approximately 60 different nationalities among the students, and no nationality represents more than 20% of the student body. Faculty and staff includes over 20 different nationalities.

In a 2013 interview, Audrey Peverelli, the former director of the ISP, stated that 15% of the students there were local French students, while the percentage was 5% when she started working there. Peverelli stated that possible reasons include a desire for their children to have an international education and a dissatisfaction with the public school system.

Some students are members of Japanese families living in Paris.

Facilities

The International School of Paris is situated on two campuses in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, one on the rue Beethoven and the other on the rue du Ranelagh.

Primary School

The Primary School is housed in two renovated townhouses near the Ranelagh gardens. The houses are united by a playground with a separate section devoted to the youngest students.

In addition to classrooms dedicated to each class group, the Ranelagh campus is equipped with a computer technology lab, an art room, a music room, a library, two classrooms for French and a small gym.

Secondary School

The Secondary School campus (rue Beethoven) is located across the river from the Eiffel Tower. The Beethoven Campus consists of three main buildings (one of which is a renovated art college), and some additional space in neighboring buildings.

The Secondary School is also home to a library with a collection of 10,000 books in more than 12 languages, the most predominant of these being English followed by French, Japanese and Korean. It subscribes to 20 periodicals in French and English and to the online educational database Ebsco. There are 50 computers for students to use for research. Students also have access to the collection of the American Library in Paris at a reduced rate.

In addition to an on-campus gym, the School also uses local athletic stadiums, indoor gymnasiums, basketball courts, swimming pools, and a theater to enhance its P.E. and Arts programs.

The Secondary School is also home to an 18-seat creative arts computer lab with 18 iMacs (21.5 inch screens) featuring Adobe CS5 software. This MAC lab was especially designed for the music, art and design technology students to use in their IB diploma classes.

The School also has its own newspaper club, called the Inquirer. The club covers many different issues, from history to modern day technology, business and electronics.

Holiday Language Program

ISP’s Holiday Language Program (HLP) offers courses in French and English on a weekly basis during the month of July to all students from ISP and elsewhere from ages 3 to 18. Its mission is to motivate students to learn French or English with a fun and interactive program.

Sessions are project-based in order to focus the various activities and fieldtrips around a common theme, which will promote meaningful language acquisition.

The themes are chosen to fit the interests and skill development of each age group and are all taught in French and English. The program includes language classes in the morning adapted to students’ ages and levels of expression in the given language and activities in the afternoon including music, art, sports club, photography and more.

In 2012, one week of HLP cost 445 Euros.

in 2015, HLP became a part of ISP Plus, which is an extension of the International School of Paris. ISP Plus offers activities to children during Saturdays and school holidays. 

Notable alumni