International School Basel

ISB was founded in 1979 by Janet Galli, an American entrepreneur, as a response to a perceived need among expatriates for English-speaking schooling. The school began life with just 15 students and in a single schoolhouse. Student numbers grew rapidly, and at one point the School rented premises at 13 campuses in the Basel region. By 1995, ISB had become an IB World School, offering the Diploma Programme (DP) of the IB. By 1999, the School became a not-for-profit company, known as the International School of the Basel Region AG. That year it broadened its scope to include the IB Middle Years Program (MYP). In 2002, Reinach—the first of ISB’s three current campuses—was opened. In the same year, ISB began to offer the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). In 2007, the purpose-built campus at Aesch opened to accommodate the Junior School. Since 2012, students in the early years of the MYP have attended the campus at Fiechten. In the 35 years since its inception, ISB has grown exponentially and today educates over 1400 students representing approximately 60 nationalities.^[6]

ISB is an authorised International Baccalaureate (IB) World School.^[7][8] The School is accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). ISB is authorised to be a PSAT and SAT testing centre and is also an examination centre for the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM).^{[citation needed]}

ISB was one of the 14 international school selected to pilot the IB Global Politics course.

International School Basel is authorised as a private school in the canton of Basel-Landschaft.^[9] Its International Baccalaureate programmes (PYP, MYP, DP) are not part of the Swiss public education system (Volksschule or Mittelschule) and are not formally recognised by the canton of Basel-Landschaft^[9] or by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).^[10][11]

The international educational foundation the International Baccalaureate (IB) was founded in 1968. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.^[12] From 3 to 19 years, International School Basel students study the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum through three programs (Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma). Many ISB students belong to families who anticipate periodic relocation from one city or country to another. Studying the IB curriculum allows students joining an IB school in a new location the flexibility and opportunity to continue their education as seamlessly as possible. As an authorised IB World School, ISB welcomes regular evaluation by the IB and undergoes reaccreditation with the international agencies CIS^[13] and NEASC.^[14] The School’s IB scores are consistently above the world average^[15] and many ISB students choose to continue to tertiary education in colleges and universities in Europe and the USA as well as in Switzerland (see ISB in Basel, above). Although the language of instruction is English, students also study German (with French and Spanish options). Typically, more than a quarter of ISB students go on to achieve an IB Bilingual Diploma at the end of their studies.^{[citation needed]} The enrollment fee is CHF 4,500 for new students and for those returning after an absence of more than 14 months.^[16] Annual tuition fees range from CHF 14,270 to CHF 37,680 for the academic year 2025/26.^[16]