ISSOS Values

This is the quote that inspired our mission and values:

"One hundred years from now it will not matter the kind of car I drove, the size of house I lived in or how much money I had in the bank, but the world will be a little better because I was important in the life of a child"

Forest Witcraft

Of all of our values, this is the one that comes above all others. Safety doesn't just mean physical safety, it’s about emotional safety too. Because without feeling safe in every sense of the word people cannot learn and cannot grow.

Safety relates to everything we do, from the way we set up our classrooms to the people we choose to work with, the trips we choose, the campuses we run in.

Safety is also the number one reason behind choosing our campus locations. Parents trust us with their sons and daughters, but we also want to give our students a chance to explore their independence at ISSOS, and we feel fully confident that our campus locations allow them to do that safely.

“If people do not feel safe they will not learn and they cannot grow.”
Barbara Arb

This is a big one, it’s who we are and it’s what we do.

ISSOS brings together students from all over the world with the aim of breaking down cultural barriers to create a truly inclusive global community, our ISSOS Family, where no one is judged on the colour of their skin, their race, their religion, or anything else! By helping build friendships that cross countries and oceans we help to create a greater social understanding that will in turn pass to the next generation, building a more connected and accepting world.

Our community is also about the wider network of people we work with, and the campus towns we operate in. We pride ourselves on developing meaningful relationships and hope that everyone involved with ISSOS, from students and parents, to staff members and our university partners feels safe in the knowledge that we are a good, honest and fun company.

We’re also dedicated to continuing to build our community and have a strong sense of social responsibility. As a company, we believe in giving back and are committed to giving to charities both at home and in the countries that our students are from.

“We discover that all human beings are just like us, so we are able to relate to them more easily. That generates a spirit of friendship and develops meaningful relationships.”
Dalai Lama

We believe in a balanced education and in creating a balance in everything we do. It's why we created our programme structure around subjects and activities to educate and enrich both hearts and minds so that academics, electives, sports, the arts and hobbies all have equal importance.

Traditional education settings tend to focus a lot on academic excellence and students' creativity gets left behind. It's our job at ISSOS to help all of our students rediscover their natural creativity, which is why our programmes deliver education in innovative and creative ways, encouraging every student to believe in their own greatness.

To help us deliver our award-winning educational programmes, we only employ and work with people who are experts in their fields, who share our values and who believe in what we do.

“Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world.” Nelson Mandela

Everything that we do, from the moment a student signs up to the moment they leave, must be done to the highest standard. If we do something, we do it well because we are only ever as good as our last summer school programme so we have to get it right the first time, every time.

We follow strict protocols both at head office and at our summer campuses with manuals that detail all of our procedures so that the experience we deliver is always of the quality that people expect from us. 

Our students are at the heart of everything we do so we make sure we listen to our students and their parents to make sure we always deliver the high standards they expect from us. We remain committed to our students long after the summer ends too, and we are always happy to offer advice whenever we are needed.

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” Henry Ford

ISSOS is built on providing a service to our students, their parents, our summer teams and everyone else associated with our company. We always aim to go beyond basic service, building meaningful relationships that last far beyond the summer. 

We have people that genuinely care about what we do and who care about our students, and that shows in our high standards of service. We work hard to make sure that the teams we employ and the service we provide truly are second to none. Our service is what sets us apart from others and helps us to deliver and create the Experience of a Lifetime at ISSOS.

“ISSOS is not about ‘what is in it for me?’ ISSOS exists to deliver on,‘how can I help you?”

Here at ISSOS we truly believe in work hard, play hard, because life should always be about creating balance in everything we do. Everyone involved in our programmes from the head office staff to our students and summer school teams should have fun when attending or working with ISSOS. 

Every aspect of ISSOS, from head office to the summer school campuses is full of laughter, and by making sure that we think about the fun aspect of everything we do, it helps to make sure that every ISSOS summer really is The Experience of a Lifetime.

“Life is not a dress rehearsal, let’s enjoy it.”