ISP Admissions Policy

As you apply to ISP our admissions team consider several factors when reviewing your application:

• Shared Goals: We look for families whose educational goals align with ISP's mission and learning principles.
• A Thriving Environment: We want to ensure that ISP is the right place for your child to learn and grow.
• Meeting Individual Needs: We assess if your child's unique learning style and English language proficiency can be supported at ISP.
• Balancing Our Community: We aim to maintain a diverse and well-rounded student body.

To attend ISP, your child must live in the Czech Republic with a parent or legal guardian during their studies. 

ISP was founded to serve a global community and support transient international families. While we welcome local families who share our mission, we may need to prioritise based on the following criteria as we frequently have more applications than spaces at ISP. When looking at applicants we generally accept students based on the following criteria:

• Families with Siblings at ISP: If your child has a sibling already attending ISP, they will have priority.
• Transient International Families:
  • English Speakers: Families whose children are native English speakers or bilingual will be considered first.
  • English as a Language of Instruction: Families whose children have been educated primarily in English will be considered next.
  • Other Language Backgrounds: Families whose children have not been educated primarily in English will be considered.
• Host National Families:
  • English as a Language of Instruction: Local families whose children have been educated primarily in English will be considered.
  • Other Language Backgrounds: Local families whose children have not been educated primarily in English will be considered.

Applications to ISP happen throughout the year, as an international school’s students arrive and leave at various times of the year, with the main admissions occurring in August and January. 

To create a rich and dynamic learning environment, we aim to have a diverse student body. To accomplish this, we limit the number of students from any one nationality or home language (other than English) to 20% of the total school population. This helps ensure a unique balanced mix of cultures and languages that enrich the students’ learning at ISP. To determine a student's nationality and home language, we consider the following:

• Passport(s): The nationality indicated on the student's passport(s).
• Parental Nationality: The nationality of the student's parents.
• Home Language: The primary language spoken at home by the student and their parents.
• Previous Education: The language of instruction at the student's previous schools.

Please note that exceptions to this policy may only be granted by the school's Director. 

When your child applies to ISP we also review the appropriate grade placement to best meet their educational needs and context. 

Grade 1 - 12:

Your child's grade level will be determined based on their previous schooling. In rare cases, we may consider placing a student in a different grade with the approval of the appropriate sectional Principal and the Director.

Early Childhood Foundation (ECF) 3, 4, and 5:

• To be placed in ECF3, your child must be 3 years old by September 1st of the year they start. Similarly, for ECF4 and ECF5, they must be 4 and 5 years old, respectively, by September 1st.
• Rolling Admission Option for children bellow 3 years old: For children who are not old enough to apply for ECF 3 at the start of the year, but would turn 3 years of age in the period of September 1 - December 31, ISP considers early application. For early application, children over the age of 3 may join ECF 3 on November 1, and January 1 (or the nearest school day). Please note that any children joining ECF must be fully potty trained before joining the school.
  Students who join in this way MUST repeat ECF 3 the following year. For example a student over 3 years of age joining ECF 3 in January then starts in ECF 3 in August of that year and may not progress to ECF 4 (not being 4 years of age on September 1st).

Transferring from Different Calendar Schools:

If your child is transferring from a school with a different academic calendar (such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, or South Africa), they will continue in the same grade level they were in at their previous school. For example, if they completed Grade 8 in February, they will start Grade 8 at ISP in the following academic year.

Online Application: Complete the online application form on our website.
Document Upload: Upload all the required documents through our Admissions Portal. You'll find a detailed checklist of the necessary documents for each grade level on our website.
Application Fee: The Application Fee of 9,000 CZK is non-refundable and is paid as part of the application process.

IB Diploma (DP) and the Career-Related (CP) Programme
We strive to accommodate your child's preferred subjects in both the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) and the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP). To help us plan effectively, we encourage early applications and course selections. Please note that late applications may limit course options, as some classes may already be full. In rare cases, we may need to cancel courses if there's insufficient student interest.
 

Once we receive your completed application and fee, our Admissions Committee will review your child's application. The committee includes the sectional administrators and their teams who will review your child's application to ensure that ISP is the right school for them. In some cases, we may request additional information or references to make a decision.

We don't require standardised tests for admission to ISP. However, to ensure we can best support your child's learning needs and best support them when they arrive, we may ask applicants to take additional assessments or screenings. For example, students applying to Middle School (grades 6-8) or Upper School (grades 9-12) who are not native English speakers or have not been educated in English, may need to take an English language assessment. The more information you can provide to us during the admissions process the better we can support your child. 

Due to the nature of international school applications, and to maintain a diverse school population, while also ensuring a transparent application process, we review all host national (Czech) applications in April each year. At this time we know how many spaces are available based on our nationality caps, which are in place to preserve the unique diversity of our student body.  

For all applications, we make every effort to let you know our decision as soon as we can. This is typically within three weeks of receiving your completed application and fee, unless further information is required. You'll typically receive an email with our decision. When classes have limited availability you may be moved to a pool of waiting applications until a space becomes available. 
 

In the situation where you receive information that your application was unsuccessful, it is usually because we have no space available or the school is unable to support your child’s specific learning needs. In these cases you are welcome to contact us to discuss and better understand the situation.

If your child's English language skills limit their access to the curriculum, we offer EAL support services. Our experienced EAL teachers will help them improve their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.

Students who are new to English will:

• Attend additional EAL classes: These classes focus on building language skills and understanding subject matter.
• Receive support in classes: They'll also be in regular classes with their peers, with support from EAL specialists who work closely with teachers.

The EAL program has limited capacity, so we can only accept students with EAL needs if we have the resources to support them. We aim to keep the total number of EAL students in the school below 35% for this reason.

Learning Support (LS) is part of the instructional continuum of ISP services to meet the diverse learning needs of our students. 

Students who have additional needs may: 

• Attend additional Learning support classes: These classes focus on building capacity and bridging any gaps to support their core literacy, maths, and executive functioning skills.
• Receive support in classes: They'll also be in regular classes with their peers, with support from specialists who work closely with teachers and co-teach lessons.

The Learning Support programme has limited enrollment capacity and a student with LS needs will only be admitted if the program has capacity. School wide we aim to keep the number of students receiving this level of support at up to 12% of the school population. 

Supporting Documentation

If your child needs additional support, please provide any relevant documentation with your application. This might include:

• Individualised Education Plans (IEPs)
• Comprehensive Assessment Reports that show the students current level of performance and areas of required support
• Diagnosis or recommendations for therapies or evaluations

We may also interview your child or request further evaluations before making a decision. Please note that any additional evaluations would be at your own expense.

To ensure a smooth transition, it's important to provide all relevant information about your child during the application process. Any later discovery of information not previously shared during the admission process, may lead to review of our admission offer and/or future enrollment.

When considering applications from students with specific needs, we carefully review the number of students who already require support in that grade level. We'll only offer admission if we're confident we can provide the necessary support for your child's success.