International School of Western Australia

Very happy with school - were looking for a non-religious, co-ed private school that offers all the enrichment and academic standards you would expect from a private school and not disappointed so far. Amazing teachers, super inclusive environment and children have learnt so much since joining. Beautiful new campus, and good balance locals/expats. One only thing wished the autumn holidays would align 100% with the WA holidays, but otherwise great overlap in school holidays.

Oh boy, there's a lot to say about this school.

As a student who has attended this school for 7 years, here is a realistic review of the school.

Firstly, let's start with good things. This school is an inclusive school, it welcomes, all ages, all nationalities and it manages to uphold a good reputation, there's a clean campus, high- trained, professional teachers and you are provided with your own personal laptop that you can use to complete tasks and homework. This school even has after-school clubs and activities they can do at lunch or after school hours. Also, another great thing is that all grades from grade 3 up to grade 12 get to have an annual school camp, this is where students and teachers stay at a campsite and do fun activities to build friendships. This school focuses on building intelligence and survival skills. However, this school isn't all rainbows and Sunshines. Firstly, the school can't even Efford to budget school plays, they have people bring in props and make buy/make their own costumes.secondly, the school doesn't even care about their students' friendships, as somebody who felt left out and alone for my entire time here, nothing was resolved and they can't even give a decent welcoming to new students, I even recommended an idea that the school would make a bench that lonely kids could sit at to find new friends, but yet nothing, I also saw a few reviews on this school saying that they felt the same way. Thirdly, the teachers don't care about the student's safety at all, for an example during grade 6, students were expected to bring their bikes out onto the street and practice their biking skills, it all went great until the teacher went too fast and lost half of the students, the students were stranded with no supervision on the side of the road, only until an hour later were the kids finally found. Another example of this is that many kids have been selling vapes and drugs on campus and nobody has delt with it, I have even told the school faculty about this, and they said that they would deal with it, but nope, nothing was delt with. In conclusion, the school prioritizes its image and reputation, rather than the actual health of the students. If you're looking into enrolling your child into this school, think again because this school isn't some perfect high-end.school.

I enrolled to this school when I was around 4 or 5. I was a illiterate and could barely learn the abc's. The first teacher I met, my pre primary teacher hated my guts. International.who? I was a lefty and she hated me so much. Forced me write right handed, even the sport teacher. I ended up writing with my left hand because my year 1 teacher said that it was fine to do so, but now I'm stuck with right handed throwing and catching. Seriously had some trauma and remember I was 5 and 5 year old who could barely understand what the teacher was saying.

I love this school for my son! It’s amazing… I have to thank iswa because they welcomed my son in the best way, and he is happy to go to school!

Great school for our children, they are happy with the teachers and we are happy with what they learn. One of our best international school experiences.

This school was a tremendous experience for me. I arrived during April of 2018, in Year 4, with little English experience. Within half a year I was already proficient and in a year I was fully fluent. The school is extremely diverse, and the teachers are so inclusive of everyone and it’s such an amazing feeling that you are excited to go to every single class. The staff in admin are wonderful and helpful, and everyone always takes the time to help you, individually, with your learning, since it is a small school. Despite this, it doesn’t mean there are less opportunities for you to grow as an international learner. I could not have asked for a better experience and I will miss everyone at ISWA, as well as my friends in Year 8!

Great international school, with many different nationalities and also Australian families, makes the perfect mix for a diverse environment. Small classes and excellent teachers. We always feel welcome at the school and there is a real community. The IB program is excellent.

We moved to Perth from Melbourne and choose The International School of WA for so many reasons. The school is k-12 and co-ed, they offer Spanish which is useful when we visit South America (for our family), brand new campus with great facilities and the support they give to our children is just amazing!
I was so stressed out about moving schools, but the staff at the international school have made it easy and seamless.
The caring nature and open minded attitudes toward different cultures of all the parents and staff is another win for us. I really love that my kids get exposed to different cultures and can connect with children in a similar situation to our family as we are both from abroad. It has been a breath of fresh air compared to our previous school.

I have had 4 kids at ISWA for the past three years and have been very satisfied with the experience. The new campus in Doubleview is modern and beautiful and a huge upgrade from the previous premises in City Beach.

Academics at the school have been satisfactory. The school is based on the IB curriculum which tends to focus on integrated subjects. Small class sizes give it more of a boutique feel and we have felt the communication between teachers and parents have been very good.

As expats the school has served as a community hub for us in Perth and it has been the perfect blend of "international" and "Australian" for our kids and the rest of our family.

My son has been at ISWA for nearly two years (year 1 now).

As Perth locals, we were attracted to the fact that ISWA was non-denominational and has an array of cultures attending the school (plus it is still a relatively small private school).

Honestly, we can't fault the school, now with a brand new campus and such a great student/teacher ratio, our son is flourishing.

We're looking forward to our daughter joining the ISWA family in the coming year!

We are very happy with the school, everyone is very welcoming, we have only met fantastic staff, the teachers are great, IB curriculum is well taught at least on primary! And the small international community is like a family away from home!

Thank you for your hard work in creating a loving, inclusive and excellent educational environment for our three boys in both Primary and Secondary School! ISWA's small class sizes ensure our boys receive the individual attention they need and help them connect closely with their peers. The IB curriculum, taught by highly experienced teachers, encourages their independent thinking and focuses on not just intellectual development, but social, emotional, physical and personal development as well. Our children thrive under new Principal David Gee and his team of dedicated teachers and staff, and moving to the brand-new campus in July 2020 will only add to the experience. We've lived in 4 countries, have attended 7 International Schools and ISWA is our favourite by far!

My daughters been in ISWA since  kindergarten and is just finishing pre primary.   I know she looks forward to going to school everyday. Her schooling has been first class and her teachers have been outstanding. It has been a great all round experience.

Joined the school at the start of the year. There were some incidents which may be recognised in others' reviews.

What I will commend is the staff and the management of the school in these unprecedented times. I can't fault the effort and communication from the management and individual teachers.

Since January there has been a big positive shift in the culture of the school, but from day 1, my kids have loved attending.

Think of it as a bespoke small community school. Feels like a 2nd home, and so pleased the kids are back!

I've taught in schools located in the UK and Australia and working at ISWA has been my favourite! The youngest children walk with pride as they pass the "big kids" classes. The older students start conversations with teachers and visitors because they feel valued. All students wear smiles and have a disposition of ease. This School offers a unique sense of belonging from the teachers to students and parents. I hope you love ISWA as much as the current families there.

I enrolled my daughter and son into year nine and six respectively. My son was very bright and ahead of all his classes, yet the school refused to provide him with extension classes. He complained that the teacher was always resentful and angry whenever he 'showed off' his mathematical ability. He has lost all interest in mathematics since, and has fallen behind. My daughter in year 9 was very much behind in her ability, yet almost half her teachers would make her feel ashamed of it. She came home everyday hating herself and was less talkative at the dinner table. Both were bombarded with homework, and would receive detentions for something as simple as having socks that were 'too short'. They have been to many IB and MYP schools, and said that there experiences there were much different, with completely different lesson focuses and attitudes towards students. I took them out after only six months as the school refused to even listen to my complaints, and I wasn't the only one complaining.

I was enrolled here for 6 years bullied every single day and after years of asking for help about it they did nothing about it, but then they fixed it the day before i left the school for good, also the buildings are just falling apart.

My son was enrolled at this school and did the AP system. Some of the teachers didn't teach him to any acceptable standard and we had to blow several thousand dollars on tutoring for several subjects. We were not alone in this struggle, with other parents saying the same. Very disappointing considering the price.

The Facilities at ISWA have not been changed since it was the city beach highschool in the 1970s. There are mold on the walls, and the gym is falling apart. Some rooms even have exposed Insulation. The airconditioning in half of the buildings does not work and the school is to conservative of their money to fix it. Finally, the whole ground is a tripping hazard with parts of the floor uneven at every other tile. Ofcourse the school would rather blow all of their money on promotions, and scam parents into sending their children to a low quality school. Also some of the teachers have no background in what they teach, even in High School. Do not come here!

My children have been attending this school for 5 years and I am very grateful for the excellent education they have received over the years. ISWA has consistently ranked very high in the NAPLAN results. This is even though, unlike other local schools, ISWA never prepares for the NAPLAN test. ISWA also scores very well in the ATAR and in the last academic year has had students scoring above 99 with one student scoring 99.95. My children have attended other local schools, as well as other private schools and the level of education at ISWA is the best to date. I have seen bullying, drug abuse and racism in some of the other private fee paying schools in Perth and I can assure you that the protective culture at ISWA is second to none in preventing students facing such abuse. The sports facilities at ISWA are poor but I am sure that this will improve as they move into their new school site next year. ISWA is also a small personal school and their student numbers will never be competitive in sport. However, ISWA concentrates on academic excellence and this will go far in helping my children achieve their goals in life.