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Early Beginning ISB has its roots as a U.S. Embassy School. It began in the early 1970’s under the auspices of the U.S. Liaison Office that opened in Beijing following the historic visits to China of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and U.S. President Richard Nixon.

That first school, located in the elevator hallway between two apartments on the fifth floor of the San Li Tun Diplomatic Apartments, had eight students and two certified teachers. An article about it in the Newsweek magazine in 1974 dubbed it The Little Red Schoolhouse.

By 1980, following the growth of other diplomatic communities, the US Embassy, upgraded from U.S. Liaison office school, merged it’s school with British and Australian Embassy schools, and together with the Canadian and New Zealand

Embassies founded the ISB. The school was located on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy, organized to provide education for the children of the five founding embassies and eventually other embassies, as space allowed.

Bound by the strict requirements imposed on it as a diplomatic school, the founding embassies struggled to meet the needs of the wider foreign community. As the business environment developed and the population of expatriates swelled, ISB embarked on several years of phenomenal growth (enrollment doubled in its second year, and annual growth for many years exceeded 25 percent)

A Dragon Rises

In 1988, ISB was officially registered as a school for diplomatic children under the auspices of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, under newly promulgated regulations, relocated to the Lido Complex of offices and housing units. At this time, the school was permitted to accept applications from all expatriate residents. However, severe space limitations meant that preference was given to the diplomatic community and citizens of the original founding embassies.

Inside ISB

A New Home

In January 2002, ISB was restructured as an independent school for foreign children under the auspices of the Beijing Municipal Education Bureau and moved from the Lido Complex to a new multimillion dollar facility located in Shunyi District, near residential complexes in northeast Beijing .

A board of directors elected from the school’s community of parents now oversees the school. By law of The People’s Republic of China, only children with foreign passports can be admitted to ISB.

In some 25 years, the school has grown from a small elementary school to a full-range elementary, middle, and high school of 1830 students from 54 nations. What began as The Little Red Schoolhouse in the 1970’s has grown into a 33-acre, state-of-the-art campus as ISB heads into the 21st century.

ISB has led the vanguard of international education in Beijing for 27 years, and today is recognized worldwide as a leader among international schools. Our students are empowered and inspired by passionate and experienced teachers;

our excellent curriculum is delivered in a framework of global awareness and responsibility. Our strong school community creates a welcoming environment characterized by a purposeful balance of rigorous academics and enriching activities, within the context of the Chinese culture in which we live.

Outside ISB

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Who Am I?

I’m a working mom, struggling to balance home and career. I was driven to make this website because I had a hard time looking for a school myself. I was working then, had no maid plus I had to be a good wife too.. It was a very hectic stage in my life. Like any other “responsible” parent, I wanted to give my son a good start. But with my schedule and my monetary resources I couldn’t go from one school to another physically. So to cut the long story short I ended up placing him in a small playgroup it just happened to be in front of the building where I used to work. The next year, I decided to transfer him to a school near home for more convenience. Fortunate for me.they all turned out to be ok.but at the back of my mind I always think I could have done better (don’t we always).