ICS London
Educatus were welcomed to ICS London on a sunny day in October for a tour of the primary and secondary school sites on Marylebone’s Wyndham Place and Star Street, respectively.
The primary school opens to an attractive open space around neighbouring St Mary’s Church. In the absence of a private playground the space is used by the children at break time but there’s no shortage of local parks and the nearby Seymour Leisure Centre, with its swimming pool and climbing wall. Communal space in the primary includes a multi-purpose hall where the children can eat their freshly cooked lunch (bused over from the senior school kitchen). The hall is connected to a sunny mezzanine library, well stocked with books in the children’s native languages as well as in English.
Imposing black doors over at the senior school site on Star Street open to a historical building and a peaceful, enclosed, courtyard for students to use. Staircases lead to airy classrooms and multiple breakout spaces; the school even has a fully equipped podcasting studio (and its own student-led podcast!) born from a student idea for an extracurricular project.
ICS London is an IB (International Baccalaureate) school throughout, culminating in the IB diploma when students achieve consistently good results on a par with larger international schools. Students move on to universities both in the UK and abroad; evidenced by the inspiring stories and pictures of previous students, and a global map of recent university destinations, hanging on the senior school walls. In response to family requests to have a high school qualification equivalent, ICS London now offers an iGCSE programme. Whilst recognising this is useful as a standalone qualification, the school also aims to use the iGCSE curriculum to thoroughly prepare their students for the IB diploma.
There are a lot of languages spoken here, with students able to access the tailored EAL (English as an Additional Language) support they might need. Mandarin, French and Spanish are all offered at iGCSE, as they are elsewhere across the school. Connection with the family of 60+ schools that ICS London belongs to – GlobeEducate – is encouraged through inter-school online competitions and international gatherings. Opportunities for extracurricular activities and after school clubs are many, and suitably diverse.
Diversity and inclusion are important; a key theme is the involvement of students in the evolution and character of the school. The school’s student council had a recent role in interviewing prospective new head teachers and projects suggested by students are visible across the school. The friendly admissions team are always happy to discuss whether additional needs can be accommodated; the school aims to support and be as inclusive as its resources allow. ICS London is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) and was last visited in early 2023.
With around 150 pupils across both sites ICS London is a close-knit, yet incredibly diverse, community. A truly international school offering a thoroughly personalised education!
