← Back to homeInternational School of Iceland
Gardabaer, Iceland · est. 2004 · Private
Illustration · Gardabaer
The International School of Iceland (ISI) is a private, not-for-profit day school in Garðabær near Reykjavík for Grades 1-10. It traces its roots to the American Embassy School in Reykjavík and describes itself as a U.S. assisted overseas school; according to its team page the present school was founded in 2004 by Berta Faber, now Head of Curriculum and Instruction. ISI is licensed by both the Icelandic Ministry of Education and the municipality of Garðabær. Grades 1-6 have two streams: the English Stream for families temporarily in Iceland, taught in English with an introductory Icelandic language and culture class, and the Bilingual Stream for children who live in Iceland permanently, where core subjects are taught in Icelandic and English. Primary pupils follow the International Primary Curriculum, with learning targets aligned to AERO Common Core Plus or the Icelandic curriculum standards. Grades 7-10 follow the IB Middle Years Programme with all classes except languages taught in English; Icelandic is compulsory for all MYP students, with Danish or Spanish as a third language. The school is re-evaluating its Kindergarten programme for 5-year-olds and is not accepting applications for it. ISI is a phone-free school: personal devices are switched off and locked away for the whole school day.
Key facts
Languages of instruction
English, Icelandic
Languages taught
Danish, Spanish
Students per teacher
1 teacher per 7 students in the middle school (MYP school profile).
Class size
Average class size in the middle school is 15-20 students (MYP school profile).
About the fees The school does not publish tuition amounts on its website but describes four rates: families without an Icelandic ID number (kennitala) or legal residency in the Greater Reykjavík area pay full tuition with no municipality voucher; residents whose tuition is paid by a company pay full tuition minus the municipality voucher; residents paying out of pocket can apply for financial assistance for a discounted rate; residents of Garðabær have a different structure under an agreement with the municipality, available on request. Families apply for the voucher to their municipality every year.
Admissions The school admits students to Grades 1-6 and 7-10 throughout the academic year as long as an appropriate place is available. The English Stream is for families 'temporarily located in Iceland': foreign-service dependents, business-assigned families and visiting scholars. The Bilingual Stream is for Icelandic or bilingual students who make Iceland their home, and applicants 'need to be proficient in the Icelandic language'. Each applicant is considered individually: online and in-person meetings, contact with the current and previous schools, and a weekly review by the admissions team. Applications are submitted through an online form. Applications for the Kindergarten programme for 5-year-olds are not being accepted at this time.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-10. Primary School - Grades 1-6 in two streams: the English Stream (taught in English, plus an Icelandic language and culture class focused on everyday communication) and the Bilingual Stream (core subjects in Icelandic and English, with Icelandic as a full subject). Learning targets follow the International Primary Curriculum and AERO Common Core Plus standards or the Icelandic national curriculum. Middle School - Grades 7-10 on the IB Middle Years Programme, all classes except languages taught in English, ending with the Personal Project. The school says the MYP provides 'a smooth transition to a higher level program, e.g. the International Baccalaureate diploma or a US or UK curriculum-based program'; the school has no upper grades or diploma of its own. The Kindergarten programme for 5-year-olds is being re-evaluated and is not enrolling now.
Address Þórsgrund 2, 210 Garðabær
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · MYP · authorised programmeMSA · accreditationThe IB register lists the Middle Years Programme at the school. It is accredited by MSA (Middle States Association), since 2017 according to the school.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: MYP (ages 11-16). MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →MSAMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools
One of the oldest American accreditations, working since 1887 in more than a hundred countries and linked to the Office of Overseas Schools of the US State Department. It judges the school as an institution across twelve areas, including finances, governance, premises and student support.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school operates in one building at Þórsgrund 2 in Garðabær. The website does not describe the building; the staff includes a librarian, lunches are ordered by subscription from the school caterer Skólamatur, and after-school care is provided by the municipal Sælukot at Sjálandsskóli. The primary programme includes swimming, gym, music, theatre, design and STEAM.
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: Principal Hanna Hilmarsdóttir holds an MA in Education Administration and Leadership from the University of Iceland; the vice principal holds a master's degree in special education; the head of curriculum holds an MA in Curriculum and Instruction.
The school team includes the principal, vice principal, head of curriculum and instruction, IB coordinator, middle school leader, homeroom teachers and subject teachers; the website names more than 15 teachers.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
✓Anti-bullying policy
Child Protection Policy: criminal record checks are required on hiring (the Icelandic sakavottorð for applicants resident in Iceland), staff receive regular training on recognising and reporting abuse, the school has a well-being team (Lausnateymi) of the principal, the Positive Discipline coordinator and the student support coordinator, a school nurse and an anti-bullying action plan. Concerns are reported to the local child protection agency under Icelandic law.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 Value for money (6%) scored at the median90 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country