ISP Admissions Policy
The International School of Prague (ISP) is committed to a fair and transparent admissions process and wishes to accept all interested, eligible applicants.
Admission shall not be denied because of nationality, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, or religious beliefs. Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the Admissions Policy below, or read all details in one document here.
Admission Process
We are proud of our progressive approach to education. Applicants should carefully review the school’s Mission and our learning principles (“Learning@ISP”) to ensure that our educational approach is the right fit. If you have any questions about whether ISP is right for your family, our Admissions officers and educational leaders are keen to help you in your decision making.
Admission Process
Admissions criteria
Admission is broadly based on the following criteria:
- There is a good fit between a family’s educational goals and ISP’s Mission and learning goals;
- There is a likelihood that the student’s learning and wellbeing will flourish in the ISP learning environment;
- The student’s individual learning and/or English language needs can be met by ISP support services;
- ISP can maintain balance and diversity in classes and across the school.
ISP students must live with at least one parent or a designated legal guardian while they are studying at the school.
Prioritisation in times of limited capacity
ISP was founded to serve a global community of transient expatriate families. While the school welcomes local residents who believe in our mission, we reserve the right to give admissions priority to expatriate families over those with a viable local alternative. Therefore, admission of qualified students is prioritised in the following order.
- Families with siblings currently at ISP (including newly admitted students);
- Transient international families (English mother tongue or bilinguals);
- Transient international families (with history of English as language of instruction);
- Transient international families (with or without history of English as language of instruction);
- Host national families (with history of English as language of instruction);
- Host national families (without history of English as language of instruction).
Diversity
To ensure a rich English-language learning environment and our international character, we limit admissions to no more than 20% of any one nationality/mother tongue (other than English) in any grade level, section and across the entire school. We use the following criteria to determine nationality/mother tongue:
- Passport(s) held (holders of multiple passports must indicate this information on the application);
- Nationality of parents;
- Mother-tongues of both parents and child;
- Language of instruction at prior schools;
Grade Placement
Other than in the Early Childhood Foundations grades ECF3, ECF4, and ECF5, we determine the appropriate grade placement by the student’s official education to date.
Grade placement in ECF3, ECF4, and ECF5
Students wishing to enter grades ECF3, ECF4, or ECF5 must be three, four, or five years old, respectively, before 1 September of the year of entry to the grade.
On a case-by-case basis, we may permit students whose birthday falls between September 1 and 15 of the year of entry to enter the ECF3, ECF4, or ECF5 programme at the beginning of the year; however, parents should be aware that there is a higher chance that we may require such students to repeat the grade the following year.
Grade placement when transferring from schools with different calendar
Students transferring from a country with a school year that follows a different calendar than ISP (e.g. South Korea, Japan, Australia, South Africa) must continue at the same grade level which they have just completed. For example, a student who completed Grade 8 in February at their former school would be placed in Grade 8 for the remainder of the academic year at ISP (which ends in June). We do not believe that it is in the best interest of such a student to enter Grade 9 and matriculate from that Grade in just a few months.
Application Process
We accept students throughout the academic year, dependent on space and the fulfilment of our admissions criteria.
The application is completed entirely online, and all required documents should be uploaded through the Admissions Portal. The website provides a detailed checklist of documents for each school section and grade (exact requirements vary depending on the age of the child). We consider applications to be complete after we have received all of the required supporting documents and the Application Fee. Information on tuition and fees and details about the ISP Scholarship programme can be found here.
Application Process
The review process
As soon as we receive the completed application, the student’s file undergoes a detailed review by our Admissions Committee. This committee includes sectional principals, counsellors, learning support specialists and other members of the educational team. Certain applications may require some additional steps if we feel it is necessary to enable us to make a decision.
Testing
There is no standardised admission test for entry to ISP. However, to ensure that the school can meet a student’s learning needs, we may require further testing/screening. For example, students applying to our Middle School (grades 6-8) and Upper School (grades 9-12) whose mother tongue is not English are required to take an English language assessment (see the chart below).
Grade Level |
Proficiency Requirement at time of Admissions |
Assessment(s) used |
Skills Assessed |
Purpose of Assessment |
---|---|---|---|---|
PK-KG |
None |
Interview, Pre LAS KG = WIDA |
Listening, speaking |
Placement |
Grades 1-5 |
None |
WIDA |
LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING, WRITING |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 6-7 |
None |
WIDA |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 8 |
Social language + Basic Academic |
WIDA |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 9-10 |
Social language + Basic Academic |
WIDA + Academic listening and vocabulary tasks |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 11-12 |
Proficiency |
WIDA + Academic listening, vocabulary and written tasks |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
The admissions decision
Support services
We do not charge additional fees for support services (English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Learning Support).
Support services
- English as an additional language (EAL)
- EAL Admissions Requirements and Assessments
- Learning Support
English as an additional language (EAL)
We provide EAL support for students whose current level of English (speaking, listening, reading, or writing) limits their access to the curriculum. Our EAL specialists work to increase students’ English proficiency through a literacy and language-based programme. It is a “sheltered immersion” programme in which students develop their English skills within the regular curriculum. The EAL support we are able to provide depends on the number of students already enrolled in EAL at the relevant grade level.
EAL Admissions Requirements and Assessments
There is no standardised admission test for entry to ISP. However, to ensure that the school can meet a student’s learning needs, we may require further testing/screening. For example, students applying to our Middle School (grades 6-8) and Upper School (grades 9-12) whose mother tongue is not English are required to take an English language assessment (see the chart below).
Grade Level |
Proficiency Requirement at time of Admissions |
Assessment(s) used |
Skills Assessed |
Purpose of Assessment |
---|---|---|---|---|
PK-KG |
None |
Interview, Pre LAS KG = WIDA |
Listening, speaking |
Placement |
Grades 1-5 |
None |
WIDA |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 6-7. |
None |
WIDA |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 8 |
Social language + Basic Academic |
WIDA |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 9-10 |
Social language + Basic Academic |
WIDA + Academic listening and vocabulary tasks |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Grades 11-12 |
Proficiency |
WIDA + Academic listening, vocabulary and written tasks |
Listening, speaking, reading, writing |
Admissions & Placement |
Learning Support
Learning Support is part of the instructional continuum of services we provide to meet the diverse learning needs of our students. The exact number of students we can support is dependent on the resources the School has available at any given time.
Supporting Documentation
Parents or guardians of any applicant who requires additional support must submit complete supporting documentation with the application. Such documentation might include an Individualised Education Plan (IEP) that outlines the level of support required, Assessment Reports, that show the student’s current level of performance, and any diagnosis or recommendations for intervention and accommodation (such as occupational therapy and/or psycho-educational testing).
As part of this process, we may interview the applicant, and the Admissions Committee may request that a psycho-educational evaluation be conducted before we make a decision.
Please note
During the application process, it is not in the student’s best interest to withhold information that would allow the school to determine whether it can support the student’s learning and wellbeing. If, after admission, it is discovered that such information existed but was not provided, we reserve the right to withdraw our offer of admission or to not offer re-enrolment.
Level of Support Provided
We support students with Mild Learning Difficulties (MLD) who require “accommodation” but not “modification.” Accommodations do not fundamentally change instructional level, content, or performance criteria during instruction or assessment, while modifications bring different benchmarks, modified curriculum and performance criteria.
Given appropriate accommodations, a student with MLD functions within the regular classroom and focuses on the same learning outcomes as all students. We do not have a programme for students who require a self-contained learning environment or a completely separate curriculum.
When reviewing the application of a student with specific needs, the Admissions Committee takes into consideration the current number of students receiving learning support in that grade. Despite a diagnosis of MLD, we will only offer admission when the Admissions Committee determines that we can provide the level of support required for the student to be successful.
GDPR
ISP recognises its duty to protect personal information and will process personal data in accordance with all existing legislation. For more information on Data Privacy, visit this page of the ISP website.
Please note that information provided in applications that are not completed or are otherwise unsuccessful is destroyed within two years of its submission.