International School of Latvia
Piņķi, Latvia · est. 1992 · PrivateThe school opened in 1992 and was officially registered in 1994 with 35 students; in 1997 it moved to the former horticultural school campus in Bulduri, and in 2010-2011 to its current campus in Piņķi. IB authorisations followed in 1998-1999 (PYP and MYP) and 2004 (DP), with the first DP graduates in 2006. Today ISL teaches the full IB continuum: Early Years (2-6 years), PYP (6-11 years), MYP (11-16 years) and DP (16-19 years). The school enrolls more than 400 students of 45-plus nationalities, the average class size is 18 students, and teachers come from more than 15 countries. Over 30% of DP graduates score 36 points or more out of 45, and in 2022 one graduate achieved the maximum 45 points. The school belongs to CIS, CEESA and NEASC.
Key facts
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationNEASC · accreditationCEESA · part of the associationWhat stands behind each entry
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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. 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. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything else.
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 →An American accreditation working since 1885. For international schools it uses an approach where the visitors look first at live lessons rather than at folders of paperwork: the team works in the school for about a week. It is the only one here whose public directory honestly separates accredited schools from candidates.
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 →About thirty international schools in the region. It runs conferences, teacher development and competitions between schools: robotics, football, volleyball, debating. An accreditation from CIS, NEASC, MSA, WASC or Cognia is a condition of entry here, not an outcome.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to the association. CEESA runs no inspection of its own, but a school is not admitted without somebody else's accreditation - so the school holds one, and that is what to look at. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →