ISL Surrey Primary School

ISL Surrey Primary School provides an internationally-recognised curriculum, which is both academically rigorous and developmentally appropriate. 

The school offers a unique environment where every child is cared for and where learning is truly personalised.

The low teacher-student ratio supports the highly personalised approach, ensuring that each student is supported and challenged in equal measure.

This is enhanced by an embedded Mother Tongue Programme, alongside English as an Additional Language (EAL) support and Second Language Programmes.

All English-speaking children from the age of four study a second language. Mother Tongue languages currently taught include Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

A genuine international mindset lies at the heart of our community; welcoming children and their families from across the world. We celebrate and value their unique cultural identities and pupil well-being is at the heart of all school activities. 

ISL Surrey Primary uses enquiry-based learning as a guiding principle. Through deep questioning and sustained shared thinking, students are encouraged to explore their world and develop critical-thinking skills.

The school believes learning should be grounded in real-world experience so that understanding is deeper and contextualised. It offers the students challenging experiences beyond the classroom in innovative outdoor spaces and forest classrooms.

The school has also developed several community partnerships that enrich the curriculum. For example, ISL Surrey children recently worked with university students from the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM), in collaboration with a local care home, to research the effect of music on the well-being of residents.

The rigorous Maths and English programmes ensure students master key concepts, giving them the tools for success in their future studies.

The school follows the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), which challenges students’ thinking about global issues. This programme nurtures a love of learning whilst developing knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding. The recent International Primary Curriculum (IPC) accreditation report awarded the school “Mastering” level, its highest level of accreditation, placing it amongst the top seven schools internationally, and the only school in the UK accredited at this level. ISL Surrey Primary School progressed from its initial Developing level, to Mastering in all nine criteria in just two years. The school now attracts teachers from all over the world, who come to learn how a successful IPC school works.

The school is part of the International School of London Group, which has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. Other ISL schools can be found in London and Qatar. In fact, the London campus is one of the oldest IB Diploma schools in the world, with a proud history of international college and university placement.

Situated on a spacious, green, 10-acre campus in a beautiful, wooded corner of Surrey, ISL Surrey Primary still benefits from excellent transport links – 25 minutes by train to London, great road links and easy access to London airports, with comprehensive door-to-door transportation available.

The high-quality campus facilities include a 'Black Box' theatre/dance studio, a well-equipped gymnasium, two dedicated forest areas, a permaculture garden and a Reggio Emilio-inspired 'Atelier'.

Local experts have been engaged in order to provide the very best instruction available in key extracurricular activities.

These include Summerscales dance school, Prime Acrobatics Studio, Tempo Tots, multiple language schools and Woking Town Football Club. 

The school prides itself on its warm, small-school atmosphere, where students are valued, as are their parents and carers.

The award-winning transition programme supports new international families as they settle in to the British way of life. International and local students are fully represented in the school population, providing the perfect balance between stable community and global outlook.

This is particularly salient for expatriates, who can enjoy being fully immersed in a British cultural experience during their time in the UK, safe in the knowledge that their children are confident, able and prepared for whatever comes next.

Key information: 

ISL Surrey Primary School accepts pupils from Nursery onwards (age 2 through 11).  

The school day is from 08:15 to 15:30. There is a range of after-school clubs and activities available, and an extensive wrap-around care programme (07:30-18:30) in a safe and relaxing, home-from-home environment.