NOVA International School Skopje

NOVA runs the full International Baccalaureate continuum rather than a single IB programme. Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 follows the Primary Years Programme, Grades 6 to 10 the Middle Years Programme with e-Assessment at the end of Grade 10, and Grades 11 and 12 the Diploma Programme. Students also sit College Board PSAT and SAT tests and take NWEA MAP assessments for academic progress, and the school offers the Global Impact Diploma alongside its IB pathway. Newly arrived students who need to build their English can join the English as an Additional Language programme, and the WIDA International School Consortium framework is used to track language development. University and career counselling in the Upper Secondary School supports applications abroad, including scholarships and student life overseas.

The school runs from Pre-Kindergarten 3 to Grade 12 on one campus, organised in four divisions. The Early Education Center covers PK3 and PK4 and follows the IB Primary Years Programme. The Elementary School takes Kindergarten through Grade 5, also within the PYP. The Lower Secondary School covers Grades 6 to 10 and follows the Middle Years Programme, with MYP e-Assessment in Grade 10, and the Upper Secondary School covers Grades 11 and 12 and delivers the IB Diploma Programme, with its own university and career counselling. Tuition is published separately for each of these bands, and fee levels step up as students move from Early Education into Elementary and then Secondary.

NOVA describes its purpose as nurturing balanced, informed and empathetic thinkers so that students can reach their full potential, and says it looks after the whole person rather than grades alone, from the youngest learners to Diploma students. Its stated vision is to be a forward-thinking, learner-centred community that embraces openness and sustainability in a changing world, a school that keeps learning alongside its students. Five values are set out as the basis for daily decisions: openness towards the many cultures, languages and perspectives in the community; integrity, understood as consistency, honesty and respect; collaboration through open communication and diverse ideas; balance between intellectual, physical and emotional life; and empathy, embedded in teaching so students grow into empathetic global citizens.

The whole school shares one campus on Prashka Street: two connected school buildings for Elementary and Secondary, a separate Early Education Center for the youngest learners, a sports centre and outdoor courts. Libraries are staffed by resource specialists who work with students and teachers across subjects and double as quiet study space during the school day. Science is taught in fully equipped laboratories, with laboratory materials covered by tuition, and classrooms are supplied with textbooks, art and craft materials, inquiry-based learning resources and locker space as part of the fee. Technology and library resources, including devices and digital tools, are available to students as part of everyday learning. A 3D virtual tour of the campus is published on the school website for families who want to look around before visiting.

Student Support Services bring counselling, learning support and health care together under one team. Counsellors run guidance lessons twice a month across year groups and work individually with students on wellbeing or academic progress, with referrals accepted from students, parents, teachers or principals. Learning support is provided for neurodivergent learners and for students with identified learning differences or an existing Individualized Education Program, delivered either push-in or pull-out and both one-to-one and in small groups. Two registered nurses are on duty every school day for first aid, everyday health needs, health education and screenings. A contracted bus service runs Monday to Friday with designated pick-up points, and the cafeteria prepares breakfast and hot lunch menus designed with professional nutritionists on a four-week rotation. Paid after-school tutoring can be arranged separately through the school.

Co-curricular life for Grades 6 to 12 runs through SuperNOVA, a programme of athletic and academic competition organised in three seasons and coached mainly by NOVA staff. Autumn brings soccer, with separate boys' and girls' teams in Grades 6 to 8 and Grades 9 to 12, cross country for Grades 6 to 12, badminton in both divisions, robotics for the younger division and speech and debate and maths for Grades 9 to 12. Winter adds basketball, swimming, Knowledge Bowl, MathCounts and speech and debate for Grades 6 to 8, and the spring season closes with volleyball and Knowledge Bowl. Students are expected to attend practices consistently and keep acceptable academic and disciplinary standing. House Competitions bring Secondary students, faculty and staff together for sports, quizzes and creative challenges through the year, and the Week Without Walls programme takes learning off campus.