General Information
The International School Hannover Region is a co-educational day school enrolling students from Kindergarten (age 3) to grade 12.
The school's founders included members of the expatriate community in the Hannover region, interested public and educational officials, and German business persons, all of whom believed that the Hanover region required an international school in order to develop its potential as a cultural and commercial centre. Ultimate responsibility for ISHR is vested in a non-profit company (GmbH) while operational and policy matters are the provinces of the School Board, which includes elected parent and faculty representatives as well as appointed members from the GmbH and the Förderverein.
Located near the centre of Hanover, the school occupies purpose-built quarters on a spacious, green campus which includes the main school administration building, three wings of classrooms, a well stocked library, sports facilities, music and drama rooms and an auditorium, a playing field, computer and science laboratories and kindergarten facilities, as well as a large attractive dining room equipped with a professional kitchen.
The Faculty
The school employs approximately 60 teachers with a variety of national backgrounds, most of whom are full-time. The majority of faculty are native English speakers with previous experience in national and/or international schools. The Director of the school and Chief Executive Officer is appointed by the GmbH with the advice of the School Board. The administration includes a Head of School each for the Early Years, Primary and Secondary levels, a Business Manager, Site Manager and administrative staff.
In the belief that the quality of the school is directly related to the quality of the faculty, ISHR strives to engage and nurture energetic, talented, and empathetic teachers whose primary aim is the success of the youngsters in their charge.
The Students
The school presently has more than 500 students on roll. Students at ISHR fall roughly into three categories:
(1) those from expatriate families who are temporarily or permanently residing in the Hanover region
(2) those from German families who have one parent from abroad
(3) those from German families who have attended international schools elsewhere and anticipate moving abroad within the next 2-3 years or have
other solid reasons for attending an international rather than a national school.
There are over 30 nationalities on the student body, the largest concentration coming from Germany, Britain, the United States and Japan.
The Status of the School
The International School Hannover Region is an independent school, which serves the multi-national community of the city of Hannover and its surrounding areas. ISHR belongs to the European Council of International Schools (ECIS), and to the Association of German International Schools (AGIS). It is the only International School in Lower Saxony following all three IB (International Baccalaureate) programmes, The PYP, the MYP and the IB Diploma.
The school has the status of an “Ergänzungsschule”.
The school receives financial assistance from the Land of Lower Saxony and from the City of Hanover. In addition, the school benefits from donations of sponsors and grants from the Förderverein. School fees are charged but, on account of the financial help mentioned above, the fees are low in comparison with other international schools. Financial assistance is also available for those families with a need for the school but who are unable to afford the full school fees.
Location of the School
The school campus is near the centre of the city behind the historic Rathaus (Town Hall) in an area adjacent to the picturesque Maschsee.
The school is easy to reach both by public transport and by car. The tram stops are only a short distance away, with trams and buses running at regular intervals.
The School Day
The school day for all students starts at 8.25. The Early Years students finish at 14.45 from Monday to Thursday and at 13.30 on Fridays. Primary students finish at 15.00 from Monday to Thursday and at 13.45 on Fridays. Secondary students finish at 15.10 from Monday to Thursday and at 14.20 on Fridays.
All students are welcome to join the “Sport Verein International School Hannover” and participate in a wide variety of after school activities.
Class enrolment rarely exceeds more than 20 students. Students who are not fluent in English are provided with special ESL (English as a Second Language) classes until they are comfortable in reading and writing the language. The school also employs trained special education Learning Support teachers to cope with the special needs some students may have, as well as a full time School Counsellor, and an Academic Counsellor.
Parent organization and support
An active parent group organised as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) contributes to the school in many ways through fundraising, sponsorship of social and other events, a welcoming committee for newcomers, and a monthly newsletter. Parental support both formal and informal is very much a feature of ISHR life as parents assist the school in many areas such as the library, the Learning Assistance Programme, and the extra curricular programme.
Regular conference days between parents and their children‘s teachers are part of the school schedule and those with particular concerns will find faculty and administration readily available for consultation.
