International College, Beirut

International College, Beirut was founded in 1891 by Alexander MacLachlan in Smyrna, Turkey. It was chartered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1903. The school moved to Beirut in 1936 to a campus contiguous to the American University of Beirut. The school became co-educational in 1957. A second campus in neighbouring Ain Aar was opened in 1988 and enrolls students in Kindergarten-Grade 10.

Throughout its history, International College, Beirut has prided itself on being inter-cultural and non-sectarian. All applicants for admission have been judged regardless of race, colour, sex, religion, physical disabilities, or national origin.

The Pre-Kindergarten - Baccalaureate II curriculum offers four diploma programs: American college preparatory, French Baccalaureate, Lebanese Baccalaureate and the IB Diploma program. English and French are the main languages of instruction. In the lowest grade levels Arabic is also a language of instruction. Four divisions, Pre-school, Elementary, Middle and Secondary, allow for more of a sense of community within the larger IC campus. The core curriculum leads to a college preparatory course of study encompassing English, Arabic and French, Mathematics, social studies, science, art and music, and physical education.

The main 9.8-acre campus in Ras Beirut houses four classroom buildings, three libraries, an administrative building and a house for the president of the school. Science laboratories and computer facilities are plentiful. Outdoor courts and athletic fields accommodate the PE courses and intramural and interscholastic athletic programs. There is an additional campus in Ain Aar for 800 students, pre-school through middle school.

The International College, Beirut has an Educational Resources Center whose main purpose is to organize professional development activities for faculty and staff and an outreach program for teachers and schools in Lebanon and the Middle East Region.

International College, Beirut has approximately 12,000 living alumni/ae, of whom well over 1,000 reside in the United States and Canada. Throughout the Middle East, Europe and North America, thousands are holding positions as physicians, business executives, scientists, and government officials. A number also teach from the pre-school through the university levels at institutions around the world.