1, 1968, the Foundation of The Inter-Community School was established under the Swiss Civil Code. 1970-1986 In early 1970 the municipality of Dübendorf, a suburb near Zurich, had just completed the construction of a new primary school, but only required half of the rooms. ICS was offered the use of the other half of the building for one year, while another more permanent location was sought. In April 1970, the lower primary classes moved out of the lakeside villa in Zurich to the new temporary facility in Dübendorf. The upper primary classes remained in Regensdorf during this period. At the same time, the board of trustees had found a farmer in Zumikon who was willing to sell ICS some of his land. The contract for the purchase was signed in November 1970. After receiving two major loans from Credit Suisse and the Union Bank of Switzerland, ICS was ready to build its own facility. Construction began in November 1971 and was completed in December 1972. When the winter term began in 1973, the entire school was under one roof - this was the Primary School building. 270 students were now enrolled at ICS. In 1977 additional land was purchased, and extensions to the Primary School building were done in 1979 and 1982. Shortly thereafter in 1985, a library and kindergarten were built. The 1974 'Brink Report' by the Board of Trustees formulated plans for the development of a secondary school at ICS. The first pavilion was erected in 1987 as the first secondary school classroom. Academics The medium of instruction is English, but all children above Kindergarten must study German. From grade 6, students are also required to study a third language (French or Spanish). The academic curriculum of the school is based upon the programmes of the International Baccalaureate, and ICS is the only Zurich area school authorized to offer the IB programmes at all levels. The IB programmes are designed to facilitate transition to and from national education systems and entry into universities around the world. Class maximum size varies between 16 and 24 depending upon grade level and there is a student-teacher ratio of approximately 8:1. Just under half of the student body is composed of native speakers of English, and the school has a programme of English as an additional language (EAL) and learning support. References External links Official homepage Online Curriculum Centre Educational institutions established