FROM LINCOLN TO ISU - Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence In Education

What a pleasant surprise it was last September to greet a woman who walked through the door of the administration building and proudly announced that she is an ISU alum. Marjon van der Kaa traveled all the way from Amsterdam to investigate conference and hotel facilities for a medical and Virology conference to be held in Kampala in 2007. During her visit, Marjon took a trip down ‘memory lane’ when she visited the first campus on Buganda Road. Her memories remain fond for her school days at ‘Lincoln’ as it was known back then.

ISU was founded as The Lincoln School in 1967 by families working for USAID. The student body has grown from a handful of students to an enrollment of 475 students who represent more than 50 countries. Our international curriculum and multi-cultural student body make ISU a genuine ‘international school.’ Today, students enjoy studying on our beautiful 33 acre state-of-the-art campus nestled in the hills of Lubowa. They are fortunate to have such exceptionally qualified teachers (60% hold a Postgraduate degree) and they are academically challenged by the highly regarded International Baccalaureate Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. 95% of our students continue their education at such institutions as University of Oxford, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, McGill University, Brown University, Princeton University, University of British Columbia and the London School of Economics.

Firmly believing that the ‘Values Learned on the Playing Field Prepare Students for Life’, Sport and after-school activities are an integral part of the educational programme at ISU. Each semester 90% of the students participate in at least one activity or sport.

Many people are unaware of how ISU over the years has had such an enduring positive influence within the community of Kampala. A major tenet of our school ethos is 'service to the community.’ Some recent examples include building homes for Habitat for Humanity, working with children at Nsambya Babies Home and the Mildmay Hospice, and our partnership with Bertina School. For its leadership in the area community service, ISU was honoured in 1999 with the prestigious Blackburn Award by the International Baccalaureate Organisation. This honour presented to only one school each year exemplifies our devotion to Uganda.

During the past 39 years, the school’s success and quality of its educational programme and services have been remarkable. In the 40th school year, our commitment to educational excellence has been reinforced. We promise to challenge our students to do their best with the best faculty, instructional practices, curriculum, extra curricular activities and educational facilities.

I invite you to visit us. You are most welcome at anytime. Please expect the same warm reception that Marjon did last September.

In partnership,

Dr. Donald Scott Groves
Head of School