The International School

Narratives

Educator Narrative

On the International School we seek to foster global awareness and an understanding of international interdependence and to make an active contribution to global, international and local communities. This we want to achieve by developing physical and creative ability; working in partnership with our students and their families; fostering and encouraging international—mindedness; recognizing the importance of Mother Tongue languages and supporting their development and by encouraging students to take part in a range of activities outside the formal curriculum.

“There is no difference in level and everyone passes the test.”

On the International School the classes are order due age, even on the high school. Which means that all the different levels are in the same class. And no one disqualifies. The weaker are brought along by the stronger; and there is enough space left for the stronger to fully develop themselves. This unusual arrangement of the classes is an extra challenge for the teachers.

The school as an international community

This school accepts international mobile children. It has a straight flow of 25 percent. Which means that in one year more or less a quarter of the pupils move house. The official language is English. And everyone is committed to speak a second language. Besides that, most of the trainees follow after-school classes in their native tongue.

The school as several schools

The International School has a day nursery, a primary school and a high school. There is a lot of interaction between those three age-groups. All the trainees use the huge common spaces intensively. Here they meet each other.

The school as meeting place

Community is the central main theme of this school. There’s no division in levels and all the age-groups are located in one building, around one central Plaza. Within a few weeks we’ll have a Spanish Day. All the trainees will speak Spanish that day and there will be Spanish food and music. Preceding this festival several courses will be about Spain. On that day all the classes will join each other at the Plaza. On that day the Plaza will be a festival terrain. This is an example of the project based teaching method we apply.

A while ago the smallest children of the day nursery had a fashion show in the Glasshouse, which is their own entrance and playground. From behind the glass walls the older children where looking with great enthusiasm. Later that day, in the afternoon, some of older ones where taking care of those little fashion stars. That’s an example of the volunteer work they all do. In this way the youngest learn from the oldest, and the other way around.

The school inside out

Because we are an International School the neighbours have, more than regular, the need to be in contact with the school. Very often we send our kids into the neighbourhood to do volunteer work. There’s a lot to learn in the ‘real’ world, that’s why community- and service work is an important feature of our teaching program.

The school outside in

The neighbours visit the school very often, for instance when they follow one of the many language courses we offer. In the evening, when all the children left school, the sport centre is at use by the community. It’s possible to use the sport centre, the theatre or the auditorium on its own; they can easily be isolated from the rest of the school. The neighbours use them very often. Also the parents are welcome. At the primary school they’re assisting the teachers on a regular basis. They also organise musical evening gatherings, food fairs and summer festivals.

What exemplary ideas do the designs contain that enhance learning?

A school with a heart

In this building three different schools are combined: a Playgroup, a Primary School and a Secondary School. To make it a real meeting place we didn’t choose for the regular structure of several pavilions, but for one compact building. The central heart of the school is formed by a high and elongated atrium illuminated by daylight, the Plaza, which is the symbol of the school as community. This is where all the pupils meet each other at the beginning of the day and in the late afternoon. Like a square in a city, the Plaza is THE centre, and an interesting place to go or to be. Situated around the Plaza are Media Resource Centres, art rooms, a canteen, sporting facilities and a theatre.

What innovations in the planning, programming and design process supported the realization of those exemplary ideas?

A school with a living room

Each school has its own cluster. They are divided physically, but are still visually related by the Plaza. Before the pupils enter their classroom they cross a ‘living room’. Here they hang out with their classmates. This way there’s a right balance between the joining and the division of the three different schools.

A school with overlapping spaces

The classrooms for the younger students, partly in bay windows, are situated around a safe playground with a huge sandpit. These classrooms are very transparent through the use of large glass sliding doors. Because of this, the space of the corridors is also the space of the ‘kids’. The corridors for the older students are designed for a double use as study area. Several balconies give a splendid view of the Plaza. Huge rolling-shutters provide the possibility of using part of the Plaza as a stage. With these shutters open, the galleries become part of the scenery. This is the secret of the flexibility of the building: the diversity of several teaching environments.

A school with several scales

When the pupils arrive at school, they find a manor-like green setting of this learning institution, which provides safe ‘rush-hours’ at the start and the end of a school day. Under a huge canopy the entrance stairs give comfort to the students at the end of the day while waiting to be taken home. The younger children have their own entrance and square, called ‘Glass House’. Here they can play and have their lunch. The playroom at the Glass House also has sliding doors. When the doors are open the two spaces together form a little theatre.

A school with a message

The International School wants to give its students two very important issues: to learn the importance of social issues in life and the care for mother Earth. In the building we see a lot of sustainable solutions. For instance: the floors feature a water-pipe system, cool in summer and warm in winter, cooled by a very low-energy adiabatic cooling system and warmed by decentralised low temperature heating units, combined with storage of heat (for winter) and cold (for summer) at the bottom of the building. Self-invented sunscreen blinds are part of the strong manor-like architectural image.