Schools
International College’s history, evolution and growth has led to where the school is today. IC consists of six school offices, across the two campuses of Ras Beirut and Ain Aar. Catering for over 3,600 students, the separation of schools is naturally a necessary situation. These consist of:
· Ras Beirut Campus: Pre-, Elementary, Middle and Secondary Schools
· Ain Aar Campus: Lower and Upper Schools
The Preschool is a three-year cycle that offers an English or a French program to children ages 3, 4 and 5, while maintaining a strong tradition of teaching Arabic as the native language. The early childhood program addresses the whole child through an integrated approach and aims to develop a close relationship between educators, parents and classmates. The learning environment provides a warm, friendly and joyful atmosphere which advocates itself to learning through inquiry. Children are encouraged to construct their own knowledge in an environment that advocates this inquiry approach. All content is taught using the target languages of Arabic, English and French and works within the IB Primary Years Program curricular framework. There are nearly 500 students in the Preschool in Ras Beirut.
The Elementary School covers grades one through five (ages six to eleven). Again, a close relationship between educators, parents and students is very much sought after. The medium of instruction is in either English or French, depending on the track chosen for the student, and Arabic is mandatory for all students and consists of two periods per day. A special Arabic program is made available to IC students who have lived abroad and qualify for exemption from the regular programs. Both the English and French tracts follow an integrated approach to acquiring knowledge using the Primary Years Program (PYP) framework. An activity-based, inquiry approach to education is emphasized, which allows each student to learn through play, discovery, experimentation and questioning. There are typically around 800 students every academic year at the Elementary.
The Middle School, with over 750 students, is a four-year cycle covering grades 6 through 9. It offers three programs: the Lebanese Program, preparing students for the official Lebanese Brevet examination; the College Preparatory Program, an English medium non-Brevet program; and the French Program, which is a non-Brevet program taught in French that prepares the students for the official French Baccalaureate examination. All programs require the teaching of Arabic, English, French, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, Arts, Information Technology (IT), Music and Theatre. Grades 6, 7, and 8 also receive Technology instruction.
The Secondary School, with close to 730 students, follows a three-year cycle made up of four separate programs: The Lebanese Baccalaureate Program, which follows a curriculum set by the Lebanese Ministry of Education; The French Baccalaureate Program, which follows a curriculum set by the French Ministry of Education; the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program; and The American College Preparatory Program (CPP), a non-baccalaureate diploma program. Students follow a challenging academic program and graduate tri-lingual. Part of the curriculum for all Secondary students includes mandatory participation in the Community Service Program.
Click here for the Secondary School's Teacher-Parent Meeting Hour Schedule.
IC's Ain Aar campus holds two schools. The Lower School for students from nursery to Grade 3 and the Upper School for students from Grade 4 to Grade 9 inclusive. The Lower School has 385 students and the Upper School has just over 460 students each academic year. Both Ain Aar schools follow the same curriculum as applied in the Ras Beirut campus.
