International School Award

The Connecting Classrooms programme realises the importance of equipping educators with the necessary skills to lead and develop an international dimension in their schools, but it also exists to recognise the efforts made by schools and individuals in this field.

Perhaps you or your school is eligible for the International School Award (ISA).

Sign up for the British Council Schools Online e-newsletter (see useful links below) to find out about which awards are available in your country as soon as they are launched.

Download our guide  (50KB) for more information or visit the International School Award pages on British Council Schools Online.

Recognising and rewarding

The ISA is a prestigious badge award for schools that can bring an international dimension to teaching and learning. The framework will help you and your colleagues to introduce or develop your school’s international dimension though:

• a framework for international partnerships and global learning
• recognition for teachers and their school
• opportunities to raise the school’s profile.

The ISA is designed to work alongside your existing curriculum. It’s based around the idea that a partnership will flourish if the international work is integrated with everyday classroom activity. Work that tackles global themes does not necessarily require extra effort. The ISA encourages a truly embedded approach. Experience shows that this makes it much easier to engage the whole school, particularly other educators and the senior management team.

Three steps to success

The ISA is the British Council’s principal accreditation scheme for schools and has been running successfully in the UK for over 10 years. Currently, more than 3,000 schools have accreditation which lasts for three years. There are three steps to the Full award: Foundation, Intermediate and Full.

To achieve accreditation, schools are required to submit a portfolio that shows evidence of their international activities and the impact they have had, alongside examples of their commitment to global learning at an institutional level.

Support and advice

Support is available to help you in your application throughout the school year and up to the July submission deadline.

Click here for all the templates, forms and support you need.

You can contact us for advice in the following ways.

• If you are in the UK, please e-mail us at schools@britishcouncil.org or phone: 020 7389 4620.
• If you are in a country outside the UK, please contact your local British Council office. 

Please note: some users are currently experiencing technical difficulities with application forms. If this applies to you please fill out a word version of the form and email to us diretly on isa@britishcouncil.org or 0207 389 4620. Application deadline has been extended until 15 March 2013.