Busan International Foreign School

Busan International Foreign School (or BIFS) is a nonprofit international School for expatriate children residing in the Busan and Gyeongnam area of South Korea. It has over 400 students from 42 countries. Founded in 1983 (as the International School of Pusan) by a group of Norwegian businessmen, BIFS teaches children from playgroup up to Grade 12. The staff hail from the USA, Canada, The UK, Spain, Australia, The Philippines, Korea, Ireland, New Zealand, Chile, Venezuela, Japan, South Africa, India, and Singapore.
The school was renamed from ISB to BIFS as the result of a partnership between the Busan Municipal Government and the school's Board of Directors.
BIFS is one of the only schools in Korea to be authorised to offer IB programmes and it runs both the Primary Years Programme (PYP), IB Middle Years Program (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP) for Grades 11 and 12. The philosophy behind the choices of curricula is to allow students to enter BIFS and transfer from BIFS to any system in the world with the minimum of difficulty.
The school has dual accreditation through both WASC and CIS. In addition, it offers the SAT and PSAT tests from the College Board in the USA and benchmarks through the International School Assessment tests from ACER (the Australian Council for Educational Research) and NWEA's MAP (Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress). Admission guidelines are designed to ensure each class has no more than 20 students.
History
The International School of Pusan (not Busan as it is now called) opened in September 1983 with seven young pupils in kindergarten and elementary school, and two teachers. In September 1985 George Rennie became the first elected Chairman of the ISP Board of Governors. The school continues today to operate under these Articles of the Association with the Board of Governors being elected by the membership which is made up by the parents of the children attending the school. The student body grew steadily to reach 50+ children and in 1986 the school moved from Banyeo-dong to a new location in the Choryang area. At the beginning of 1990 the school moved again to school facilities provided by Tong Myong University, close to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery.
The school is a longtime member of the European Council of International Schools and received accreditation by this organisation in 1994. After the Asian financial crisis the rules in Korea changed to make it legal for foreigners to buy land. This allowed the process of acquiring a longer term site for the school to start. After site inspections and financial checks the school secured a site on Dalmaji Hill. In September 1999 the school moved into the new facilities and the grand opening took place on October 22, 1999.
By 2002 the school’s enrollment had grown to 72. Approximately half of these were in the pre-grade 1 classes. This is also the year former principal, Mr. Stephen Palmer arrived in Korea. With steadily growing enrolments, the school once again outgrew its building and expanded its campus by opening a separate Early Learning Centre in a building that used train carriages as part of the facilities.
2006 also saw the introduction of the High School programme with the start of the IGCSE from the University of Cambridge. Early in the year, ISB gained authorization to also offer the IB Diploma Programme for Grades 11 and 12. Also, after four or five years of training and preparation, ISB became only the second school in Korea to achieve authorization to offer the IB Primary Years Programme. This was also the year when the school celebrated its 125th anniversary. In 2009, ISB presented its bid to operate the new Busan International Foreign School located just outside Songjeong. It was announced on the final day of the school year that ISB had been selected. Finally in November 2009, the papers were signed and ISB was ready to transform into BIFS for the start of the 2010-11 year. ISB closed its doors for the final time on Dalmaji Hill on the 23 June 2010.
In July 2014, Mr. Kevin Baker became Head of School.
Guiding Statements
Vision Statement
Our students will develop and pursue their passions, be successful and contribute to a positive global future.
Mission Statement
We are a diverse, supportive and dynamic international school that inspires and challenges students to explore, discover and thrive in the global community to which we belong.
Tag Line
United in our Diversity, Thriving in our Individuality
We believe
• Students are to be at the center of all that we do.
• Education is the shared responsibility of our entire community.
• In being an independent non-denominational international family school.
• In being unified and respectful in our diversity.
• In providing the very best inquiry based, relevant, and experiential education for each student.
• Students are to give back through community service."
Student life
Student extracurricular activities include student government, A/V club, e-club, publications, social activism, athletics, service clubs, the performing arts, overseas trips, after school programs, sports teams, music events, Model UN, drama, environmental clubs, National Honors Society, Yearbook etc.
Student activities related with academic work are recommended by school authorities when it is helpful to apply for colleges. These activities are often student-led with staff supervision.
Facilities and location
The facilities include three libraries with media services, a gymnasium, three computer labs, art and design centres, sound-proofed music practice spaces and science laboratories. The school has a high speed Internet connection and Wifi.
The school is located on the main road between Busan and Ulsan just past Songjeong Beach. School buses serve Busan, Ulsan and Geoje Island.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu