International Academy of St. Petersburg

International Academy Saint Petersburg (IASP) is a college-preparatory Christian international school, founded in 1993 to provide private education in English for international families in Saint Petersburg, including those working in business and the diplomatic service. Housed in the historic centre of the city, it offers a Pre-Kindergarten preschool followed by a full Kindergarten to Grade 12 programme, with an elementary school for Kindergarten to Grade 5 and a secondary school for Grades 6 to 12. Kindergarten, the first required year of its American programme, is equivalent to Year 1 in the British system, and children normally need to have turned five by 1 July to enter it. Graduates receive an internationally recognised diploma with US and international accreditation, and alumni have gone on to universities such as Duke, Purdue, UC Berkeley, Yonsei and Lund. Since the school opened, its students have come from more than 30 countries.

The school building contains classrooms, a science room, art and music rooms, an in-house gym for the elementary grades and a secure outdoor play area. For middle and high school sports and physical education, IASP rents two modern gymnasiums, and it provides students with computers, internet access and technical support.

An optional Extended Day Program runs after lessons from 15:00 to 17:00, with activities set each semester according to demand, such as homework support, Russian and English language, elementary soccer, a chess club, drama, piano, violin, art and digital presentations, taekwondo and ballet. A Saturday sports programme focuses on basketball, tennis and volleyball. Students also take part in a Model United Nations club and make yearly trips to Europe to sing in the international ACSI Honors Choir, compete in sports events and attend leadership conferences for students.