What does it mean to be an international school in 2025?
By Robert Crowther, Head of School at ACS International School Cobham
In 1924, physician and founder of UNICEF, Ludwik Rajchman, and US statesman, Arthur Sweetser, opened the doors to the world’s first international school. Its goal was a simple one – to provide an international education based on progressive educational principles.
The 1920’s was a turbulent time in Europe. World War One had decimated vast parts of the continent and many countries were dealing with significant economic challenges. Despite this, Rajchman and Sweetser’s school provided a space in which learners of different nationalities were encouraged to communicate and empathise with each other, and to begin to think internationally.
While the world, and indeed education, has changed dramatically in the past 100 years, the principles of international-mindedness remain just as important as ever. But what does it mean to bean international school in 2025? And how could enrolling your child in one ensure they are prepared to thrive in the ever-changing future?
Developing international-mindedness
Someone who is internationally-minded understands, respects, and supports people from different cultures and perspectives. You don’t have to be an expert on global politics to see why these characteristics are important on a human level – particularly amidst the ongoing global tensions and conflicts dominating today’s news.
By providing students with an education that supports their ability to truly understand, communicate and empathise with individuals from communities that are different to their own, we are able to foster a deep sense of interconnectedness and responsibility towards the global community. A robust, international education can be the key to enabling students to eventually tackle some of the biggest challenges currently facing the world.
Instilling future ready skills
According to the British Council, as many as 65 percent of today’s students will be employed in jobs that don’t yet exist. Being able to establish relationships across borders by utilising key future skills, such as empathy, collaboration and communication, will be absolutely essential to the success of the students today and tomorrow.
At ACS Cobham, we deliver the Advanced Placement (AP) alongside the International Baccalaureate (IB), which both emphasise the academic and personal development of learners, and encourage critical thinking, creativity and intercultural understanding. This allows us to look beyond the overly rigid, uninspiring UK National Curriculum, and instead, provide an education that focuses on developing students as a whole.
Curiosity, communication and connection
In a paper titled ‘The Sky’s the Limit’, which was published in 2008, the then Director General of the IB, George Walker, referenced the ‘5Fs’ of international education – food, festivals, famous people, fashion, and flags. He argued that, while they do have an influence, the 5Fs are purely the surface level elements of international-mindedness. Walker believed that we must seek to look beyond each of these five concepts if we are to truly help develop students who are equipped to create a more connected, peaceful, and prosperous world for all. This is a concept I believe in wholeheartedly.
At our school, we have addressed this by enhancing the ‘5Fs’ and introducing the ‘3Cs’ – curiosity, communication and connection. For example, looking at flags as one of the 5Fs – we cannot claim that simply raising a country’s flag at our school is helping instil international-mindedness. Instead, we seek to encourage our students to be curious, open-minded and inquisitive about the different cultures that are represented by that flag. We imbue the ability to communicate clearly and effectively within our students to enable them to use that curiosity to ask questions about the nation that the flag represents. Through those skills, we enable our students to connect to the wider world– beyond their own immediate surroundings and nationalities.
From 1924 to infinity
The concepts of international schools and international-mindedness have developed and changed appropriately with the times, but Rajchman and Sweetser’s original vision remains as important as ever. It is my responsibility to ensure that the international education we provide includes global perspectives, future ready skills and instils curiosity, communication and connection. By delivering this, we are able to provide students with the tools to be able to thrive in today’s world and leave school with a future full of opportunity.
May 2025