Who Owns Southbank International School?

Southbank International School was founded in 1979 in London as a premium international school offering the International Baccalaureate curriculum. The school was established to serve London's large and diverse international community, providing families from around the world with access to the IB curriculum, which offers internationally recognized qualifications that support student progression to universities globally.

London has long been one of the world's most international cities, home to a large and diverse community of diplomats, multinational corporate employees, international students, and other internationally mobile professionals and their families. This international community creates sustained demand for international schools offering globally recognized curricula and qualifications.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an internationally recognized educational framework developed by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), a non-profit educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The IB offers four educational programs: the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students aged 3 to 12, the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students aged 11 to 16, the Diploma Programme (DP) for students aged 16 to 19, and the Career-related Programme (CP) for students aged 16 to 19. The IB Diploma Programme is one of the world's most widely recognized pre-university qualifications, accepted by universities in more than 150 countries.

Southbank International School was established to offer the full IB curriculum from early childhood through secondary school, providing students with a continuous IB education from the Primary Years Programme through the IB Diploma. This comprehensive IB offering distinguishes Southbank from many other London international schools that offer only part of the IB curriculum.

Over more than four decades, Southbank International School developed a reputation as one of London's leading IB schools, serving students from the international community and from British families who value the IB's internationally recognized qualifications and its emphasis on critical thinking, intercultural understanding, and global citizenship. The school built a diverse student body drawn from families representing dozens of nationalities.

Southbank International School expanded to include three campuses across London, located in Westminster, Kensington, and Hampstead. This multi-campus structure allows the school group to serve families across different parts of London, with each campus designed to support the specific educational needs of its age group and to serve the international families living in its neighborhood.

Southbank International School became part of Cognita Schools as part of Cognita's strategy to build a strong portfolio of premium international schools in the United Kingdom. Under Cognita's ownership, Southbank International School gains access to Cognita's global educational resources, curriculum development support, teacher professional development programs, and the broader Cognita network of more than 100 schools across 20 countries.