Cities / Kuwait City / International School of Kuwait
International School of Kuwait
ISK is an American-curriculum school in Mahboula, Block 3, offering PreK through Grade 12 with AP courses, a SAT prep centre, and a range of STEAM and robotics facilities. The school holds Cognia accreditation and Cambridge International School status, and…
In brief
The newest of Kuwait's larger international schools, opened in 2020 by the Al Ekhlas group on a purpose-built Mahboula campus. Dual American and British streams, heavy investment in facilities.
ISK sits on a 29,400 square metre site in Mahboula, south of Kuwait City, and runs from preschool to Grade 12 / Year 13. Curriculum is American-inspired with AP alongside a Cambridge British stream. Accreditations include Cognia, NEASC and CIS. Around 1,200 students. Fees sit in the upper-mid range.
The selling points are physical: a STEAM and robotics lab, FIFA-standard pitches, an indoor sports complex, large new buildings. Parents looking at ISK are choosing it against the older American and British schools, where facilities are tired but the academic track record is longer. The school is operated by Al Ekhlas International Education, a Kuwaiti group running schools across the Gulf and Egypt. Families happy to take a chance on a young school for newer facilities and a Mahboula location find ISK a serious option; families wanting proven results still default to ASK, AIS, BSK or NES.
Fees
| Fee | Age | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preschool | 3 | Annual | KWD 1,750 |
| Pre-K | 4 | Annual | KWD 2,750 |
| KG1 | 5 | Annual | KWD 2,750 |
| KG2 | 6 | Annual | KWD 2,750 |
| Grades 1-4 | 7 | Annual | KWD 3,500 |
| Grades 5-8 | 11 | Annual | KWD 4,000 |
| Grades 9-12 | 14 | Annual | KWD 4,500 |
| Security deposit | One-time | KWD 100 |
Reviews
- Marketing leans hard on facilities (FIFA-spec pitches, NBA-standard court, STEAM lab) and Cognia accreditation, but the picture from staff online is bleaker.
- Glassdoor reviewers describe bait-and-switch hiring, teachers arriving without signed contracts, and benefits and pay terms changed after arrival. One teacher said health insurance promised in the offer letter was withdrawn, and admin refused to communicate the change to other staff.
- Reviewers describe founding staff leaving over disputes with owners, and enrolment falling sharply after parents lost previously offered fee discounts.
- Reddit signal on this specific ISK is thin and mostly off-topic; bulk of detail is from employer-parent trackers, weighted negative.
- Founded 2020, so still a young, small American-stream school with limited longitudinal parent feedback online.
Head of school
Eng. Wadie Al Sayegh
Eng. Wadie comes from a family with a strong background in education, with more than 55 years of experience in managing schools in Kuwait and abroad. He held many roles in the educational sector, from board member of several educational enterprises and member of the team responsible for the restructuring of AlEkhlas National School to Chief Operations Officer and School Director at the International School of Kuwait. Eng. Wadie completed his B.S. in Engineering, his M.A. in Engineering Project Management from the University of Leeds-UK and his M.B.A. from Kuwait University.
Accreditations
- Cognia 01
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges 02
- Council of International Schools 03
Academic results
- Result could not find campus-specific exam results published on the official site