Warsaw has a long list of international schools used by a growing number of foreign students-most of them children of diplomats and of people working for multinational companies.

The most popular international schools in Warsaw are those with English as the language used in class. Most of these elementary and secondary schools rely on the British syllabus that leads up to the International Baccalaureate (IB) certificate.

International schools are a natural option for those foreign students who only have a rudimentary knowledge of Polish and would find it difficult to attend ordinary Polish schools. Even children of immigrants from Asia and Africa, who speak neither Polish nor English, choose schools with the British syllabus because they usually plan to leave Poland after some time and move further west.

Most international schools offer Polish only as an extracurricular subject, with no more than two to three classes per week. Still, most children quickly master the basics of Polish and understand spoken Polish because international schools frequently organize team-building trips and events involving their Polish peers.

Those foreigners who want to learn Polish can choose to study under separate programs whereby they attend Polish-language classes and classes in their native languages at the same time. One example is the German-Polish Willy Brandt Deutsche Schule Warschau. Principal Heike Briesemeister says, "The goal of the school is to enable German-speaking students to obtain the German baccalaureate certificate and the equivalent certificate of their host country, which in the case of Poland is the matura certificate." By virtue of an international agreement, certificates from the Willy Brandt Deutsche Schule Warschau are recognized in both countries, Briesemeister says.

In international schools, Polish-language programs are arranged according to the syllabus followed in all Polish schools, and so the students can take Polish exams in Polish, geography, history and other subjects on equal terms with Polish students.

Many foreigners have problems with these subjects though. "This year, my son Adam took the Polish matura exam," said Renata, an English teacher at the Stanisław Witkiewicz High School in Warsaw. "He was born in Dublin when I emigrated from Poland 20 years ago. He started studying in Warsaw only two years ago. In the international school he went to he had the most problems with history and social studies. He had never been interested in the political and economic realities of Poland and so until the last moment we were uncertain how the results would come out. Thankfully, he passed his English exams perfectly thanks to his childhood years spent in Ireland and applied for enrollment at the English Institute of Warsaw University."

The extent to which foreign students master the material for their "Polish" exams depends on their motivation and the time spent in Poland. Just two or three years of studying the "Polish subjects" may not be enough. Foreigners who do the complete education program, which covers preschool, elementary school, junior high and high school, tend to have a totally different approach.

The teaching methods in international schools are completely different from those used in Polish schools. Classes are usually held in small groups of students, which makes the teacher-student relationship much closer than in Polish schools. Classes for those studying under the British syllabus involve textbooks and school aids imported from Britain.

Problems with the language barrier are usually resolved through integration and team-building activities. Examples include the annual Science Picnic held on the New Town Square and the Schuman Parade, during which students from international schools march next to their Polish colleagues along the streets of Warsaw.

The principals and managers of international schools are aware that the educational prospects of their students depend on where their parents go from Poland. Most of the time, Poland is just a brief stop on their long-term career agendas. However, some of these students may return to Poland one day, so one of the main tasks of international schools is to build a positive and friendly image of Poland.

International elementary, junior high and high schools in Warsaw

English
American School of Warsaw
202 Warszawska St., Konstancin-Jeziorna
www.asw.waw.pl

Canadian Primary School of Warsaw, 7 Bełska St.
www.canadian-school.pl

International American School, 18 Dembego St.
www.ias.edu.pl


International European School-Warsaw, 75 Wiertnicza St.
www.ies-warsaw.pl

Meridian International Schools, 66/74 Wawelska St.
www.meridian.edu.pl


St. Paul's British International School of Warsaw, 14 Zielona St., Piaseczno
www.stpaulswarsaw.tripod.com


The British School No. 1, 15 Limanowskiego St.
www.thebritishschool.pl

French
Ecole Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 16 Nobla St.
www.saint-exupery.pl

Lycee Francais de Varsovie, 13 Konstancińska St. (preschool and elementary school)
4/6 Walecznych St. (high school)
www.lfv.pl

German
Willy Brandt Deutsche Schule Warschau,
2 W. Rutkiewicz St.
www.wbs.pl


Japanese
Japanese School at the Japanese Embassy in Warsaw
7a Kormoranów St.
www.japoland.pl/gakko

Italian
Warsaw Montessori School, 4 Szwoleżerów St.
www.warsawmontessori.edu.pl


The American School of Warsaw was established in 1953 as the first school for foreigners in Warsaw with English as the language of instruction. In its first year, the school had 12 students who spoke nine languages. Today, the school has 840 students of 45 nationalities.

The annual tuition fee at the American School of Warsaw ranges from $17,000 (grades one through five) to $21,000 (grades nine through 12).

At the Willy Brandt Deutsche Schule Warschau, the annual tuition is zl.20,000 for the German program and zl.12,500 for the Polish program.

A total of 5,000 foreigners are studying at universities and academies in Warsaw; 70 percent of them are citizens of countries east of Poland. The average annual tuition for non-EU citizens in Warsaw is 2,500-3,000 euros.