International school in Karlovy vary – Carlsbad International School

I met the representative of the Czech school Carlsbad International School during the exhibition ALPHE in Germany in the fall of 2017. It is a young school – only in May of last year school released the first students from International Baccalaureate program. Studying IB program in Europe continues to be in high demand and the Czech Republic is a good alternative to IB schools in Western Europe to prepare students for prestigious European or American Universities.

From my interview with a representative of the Carlsbad International School:

L: What people need to know about Carlsbad International School?

R: We are a young school, which is located in the Spa town of Karlovy Vary, 2 km from the city centre. Carlsbad is a small school, which accepts maximum of 100 people. Now school has 75 children from 26 countries. The ratio of teachers to students is 1 to 4 that allows us to create small classes, average of 8 people. Last May we had the first graduation and students graduated from the International Baccalaureate program with an average GPA 32. Most of the graduates went to study in European Universities, also went to England, Italy, France, Germany, some remained in the Czech Republic.

L: Who are your students? At which age do you take children to the school?

R: Our school has 40% of Russian children, then children from the Nordic countries and Mexico. The Czechs there were only two students. We take the kids to school starting from age of 13, it's our 9th grade. In Ukraine usually at that age kids just finished grade 7. If the child has perfect English, we can accept him to 9th grade in the IB program. Alternatively, after grade 7 the child would go to the annual intensive English program in Carlsbad and then join 9th grade.

L: What foreign languages do you offer in school?

R: Students can choose German, French or Spanish as second foreign language. If a child wants to learn another, we will find teachers in the other school or deliver it online. We have an individual approach to each child.

L: What can you tell me about the school campus?

R: We have a spacious campus with modern sports infrastructure. Of sports facilities we have 14 tennis courts and a large gym. Many sports included in the program: football, volleyball, Golf. If the student wants something there- we can drive the child into Karlovy Vary. The children have five sport lessons and social events during the week. We have a professional tennis school our teacher helps to coach the Czech national team on tennis. We also offer classes of triathlon, which lead one of our student to bronze in Olympic Games in Sydney.

L: Tell me about school accommodation

R: Students live in residences, in rooms for 2-4 students but so far there is not one room shared by 4 students. Every student can select the room and roommates himself. The residence has apartments, where each apartment has 1-2 bedrooms. Students eat in the dining room three times a day main meals and 3 times a day snacks.

Each weekend we organize excursions. In addition, children can go to town with friends after informing school personnel.

L: do you have Summer programs and the opportunity to come for 1 semester?

R: There is a summer program for children from 9 to 17 years but to day camp we accept children from 5 years who travel with parents, grandparents to have health treatment or stay in Karlovy Vary and bring a child to the school to attend classes in English and participate in activities in the camp. In the day camp we offer only English and Tennis but for older children from 9 years we offer English plus Cinema, Golf or Tennis.

A camp English plus Cinema – one of the most popular program. The camp is only in the first week – simultaneously with film festival in Karlovy Vary. On this program children go to the opening of the film festival, go to watch films. Our a summer camp attracts about 100  international students.

Students can also come to trial semester from August to December or from January until the end of June. For those who are planning to enter the school we offer 3-4 trial days to stay in Carlsbad for free and experience the school. Students can take entrance exams and the Skype interview in agents offices, no need to write tests in school.

L: Are there problems with obtaining student visa to Carlsbad?

R: Now we have an individual immigration officer at school who is looking after visa, he is a former Director of the Karlovy Vary immigration police. In 2017, two Ukrainians have received visas and went to school. Therefore, in recent years our students had no problems with the visa.

In Carlsbad International School almost half of the students are Russian speakers and this should be considered when entering the school. On the other hand, the children feel comfortable and IB results for last year show that the school knows how to teach children. Interesting sports program – professional Golf, tennis and triathlon. If you are considering a school in Central Europe – take a close look at Carlsbad International School.