Focus 

Cultural diversity

Day fees 

$31,300–$45,800

Pupils 

850

Ages

1–18

Academics

Average International Baccalaureate score of 35.5.

Spear’s Review

The Inter-Community School Zurich (ICS) opened its doors in 1960 as the city’s first international school. Welcoming 80 students, it made the commitment that it would ‘strive for excellence’. It now has more than 850 students across 55 nationalities. 

As an IB World School, students are provided with ‘a solid set of flexible skills essential in meeting the academic and social challenges they face as they prepare to enter university’. The school claims that its students perform significantly better on the IB diploma exams than the world average. 

ICS is the only Round Square school in Zurich. Round Square is a network of schools, each of which are committed to cultivating compassionate leadership among students. Recent Round Square projects in which ICS has participated include helping abandoned animals and volunteering at schools in Nepal and Tanzania. 

Head teacher

Lucy M Gowdie is the seventh head of school at ICS, joining in August 2022. She has a master’s degree in international education and policy from the University of Sydney and more than 20 years of experience in national and international education. Prior to her role at ICS, she was deputy head of Peninsula Grammar School in Melbourne, Victoria.

Accessibility

Zurich Airport; 30 minutes

Location

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