Welcome to the Pre School and Primary School of the British International School Istanbul.Whether as a new or prospective parent, we hope you find our website informative, and it addresses any questions you may have. The information here can paint only a broad and limited picture of the school. We do hope you will visit us if you can.

We are always delighted to show visitors around, and to explain the rich and varied life created here.


We are proud of our many achievements. Academic standards are high. All students are encouraged to strive for their best in planned learning opportunities provided by excellent teachers. We ensure that students experience a broad curriculum. Sport, music, art and drama feature prominently.


We have over 55 nationalities at our School and this is celebrated in our International Week. Similarities between cultures are discussed and presented in class. We have other theme weeks throughout the year, for example Environmental Week, Mathematics Week and History Week to highlight areas of the curriculum.


We have a very active Student Council who meet every week to discuss issues in School. They also arrange an exciting event each term for all the students in the Pre School and Primary School to raise money for a local and overseas charity, for example the Winter Bazaar, Valentines Disco and Summer Beach Party.
We have many House events throughout the year. For example, our Swim

ming Gala, Cross Country Running and Sports Days.

With the help of our House Captains, the points are added up each week in our assemblies for Cedar,

Maple and Oak House and the winning House is presented with the Houseshield at the end of the year.

A Yearbook will be presented to you at the end of the year which records all these events for your family to enjoy.We have a long list of clubs each term for example swimming club, waveboarding, skipping,
chess, art and eco club. Students can choose different clubs in the three terms.


We also have private clubs of horse riding, Taekwondo and Hapkido which continue throughout the year. We are strongly committed to partnerships between home and school. The learning of students is improved significantly when these links are effective. We are a ‘listening school’, and actively encourage parents to share their concerns with us on a regular basis.

We have Parents Evenings in October and April and reports are given to you in December and June.

You will be invited to Assemblies, Concerts and Awards Ceremonies that your child is participating in. If you have the time, we would like you to hear readers, help us with a club, help us on a trip or become a member of our active PTA.


The PTA organise our Summer Fun Day each year.If you choose BISI for your children, teachers here will do their very best to ensure they are happy, safe and well prepared for life in the 21st century.We look forward to meeting you.

Welcome Message from the Secondary School Director

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Secondary Department of the British International School Istanbul for our 2011 – 2012 Academic Year.  Rising student numbers have led to increases in staffing and in buildings since I took over the helm in August of 2010 and BISI continues to move forward. 

We are now a fully accredited member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), one of only 33 schools worldwide to have achieved this distinction.  As I write we are undergoing the process of joint accreditation with the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).  This involves us undertaking a self-study process involving all members of our community, the Board of Governors, the School Leadership Team, Teachers, Auxiliary Staff, Parents and Students.  In February of 2013 we will be having a visiting team come to assess the school and our practices and we hope to gain full accredited status with these august bodies shortly thereafter.

We take particular pride in our English as a Second Language programme, often taking in students with little or no English and turning them into young people who are able to use the language with confidence in a very short space of time.  We will be improving this in the 2012 - 13 Academic Year with an increase in the number of ESL professionals in the school allowing us to operate a full ESL withdrawal group where necessary.

In September we opened our new building, a purpose built block housing both the Creative Arts and Mathematics departments.  There is also a combined Fitness Suite and Dance Studio contained in the same building.

My team of 38 teaching professionals and I will be working very hard to improve upon what is already both a happy and very successful school.  The results gained in the 2011 external examinations for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) were very pleasing.  The challenge facing us now is to improve upon the results of last year.

We are ready to rise to that challenge and with small class sizes and a first rate group of professional international educators I am confident that we will be successful.  I would like to extend an invitation to all prospective parents to visit us at the school in order to see what we are doing for our students, who come from over 50 different nationalities, and what we can do for your children.

You will find a campus upon which students are happy, inquiring learners; teachers who provide interesting, innovative, child-centred lessons; a campus where staff and students work together to make education a rich and rewarding experience for everyone.

William Bradley

Secondary
 School Director &
Zekeriyaköy Campus Principal
williambradley@bis.k12.tr