IWS is an international school, delivered online. Students work towards Cambridge qualifications with qualified teachers, in a school built to make them capable, independent and responsible as well.
IWS is equally committed to what students achieve academically and who they become as people.
2,670+universities in 99 countries recognise Cambridge qualifications
600+students this year
5 to 19the age range of our students
4recognitions and affiliations
Mission and vision
Our mission and our vision
Our mission
To design and deliver rigorous, globally recognised education that combines strong academic foundations with practices that build integrity, responsibility and the purposeful application of learning.
Our vision
A world where education develops capable individuals who act with integrity and create meaningful impact in a changing world.
The vision defines education by what it develops in a person.
Capability
Knowledge, skill, judgment, habits, confidence and the ability to act effectively.
Integrity
The ability to uphold academic, personal and ethical standards consistently.
Impact
The ability to turn learning into meaningful action, contribution and outcomes.
Five values
The five values that guide our work
Each value describes what students develop and do.
Autonomy
Students learn to make informed choices, organise their own learning, judge their progress, ask for help when they need it and take responsibility for their decisions.
Integrity
Students act honestly, uphold standards, keep commitments, take responsibility and make principled choices.
Interdependence
Students communicate, work together, contribute, ask for support and offer it, and use sound judgment when responsibility is shared.
Impact
Students use their knowledge, skills, leadership and voice to achieve things that matter to themselves, their communities and wider society.
Initiative
Students act without waiting to be asked, explore possibilities, pursue ideas, create opportunities and prepare to find their way in a changing world, and to shape it.
Our purpose
Why IWS exists
A student today can look up almost anything, so getting hold of information isn’t the hard part of school any more. These are the harder questions.
01What is worth learning?
02What is credible?
03What sequence makes sense?
04What does high-quality work look like?
05How should a student practise?
06How should feedback be used?
07How does a student stay motivated when learning becomes difficult?
08How does knowledge become capability?
09How does a student learn to make sound decisions about their own learning?
10How does education develop character, judgment, responsibility and direction?
IWS exists to answer them, in one school where the parts work together.
Our aim is to develop people who can learn well, act responsibly and make a difference.
What a student can study
Five stages, from age 5
IWS teaches students aged 5 to 19, and the University Foundation Programme takes students aged 16 and over. Each stage has its own page.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Primary School5 to 11Secondary School11 to 14IGCSE14 to 16A Level16 to 18
HousesEvery student is placed in one of four Houses after taking the House Quiz, so the fit is theirs. The Houses are the four points of the compass in the IWS badge.
ClubsClubs run online and are led by students themselves. Any IWS student can join.
Friends worldwideStudents get to know classmates from around the world and make friends across time zones.
IWS Online School is a registered online Cambridge International School. Students sit Cambridge IGCSE and A Level examinations, qualifications recognised by more than 2,670 universities in 99 countries, including every UK university.
Students learn through live interaction, guided learning, practice, feedback and assessment, taught by qualified teachers. Every IWS student receives mentoring that fits their learning model. A Mentor keeps the wider view of each student, and IWS wants every student to leave with recognised academic achievement and greater human capability.
What learning models does IWS offer?
There are three: Academy, Bridge and Foundation. Academy is the complete IWS school experience. It has 12 to 15 live lessons a week, depending on year group. Bridge is a guided hybrid learning model. It has one live lesson in each subject every week, so up to 5 a week. Foundation is a structured asynchronous learning model. It offers recorded teaching, at the student’s own time and pace.
They’re different ways of participating in the same IWS academic philosophy.
What recognition and affiliations does IWS have?
IWS has four recognitions and affiliations, and each is a different kind of relationship. IWS Online School is a registered online Cambridge International School. IWS is listed on the UK Register of Learning Providers and associated with the Council of British International Schools. Selected qualifications, including the University Foundation Programme, are awarded through OCN London, an awarding organisation regulated by Ofqual.
How do students take their final exams?
IWS does not run examinations. Students sit their exams at an approved exam centre, and we guide your family through registering.
Can students apply to universities abroad with IWS qualifications?
More than 2,670 universities recognise Cambridge qualifications, in the UK, the US, Europe and beyond. At A Level, we guide students through UCAS, personal statements, references and university choices.
How can I enrol, and what are the fees?
You can apply online, or book a consultation first and tell us about your child. The consultation is complimentary and carries no obligation. Fees depend on the programme and the learning model, and the Fees page shows where each model starts.
See whether IWS fits your child.
Book a consultation and tell us about your child. It’s complimentary and carries no obligation.
IWS Online School is a registered online Cambridge International School.
