International College

Today, IC is one of the world’s largest international schools with a student body of 3550 and boasting an excellence in education throughout the Middle East. But it was once a humble boy’s school in Smyrna, Turkey which despite many struggles, had grown to become a beacon of distinction in Asia Minor.

The story of IC started in 1891 when Canadian Protestant Minister Reverend Alexander MacLachlan opened the “American Boys School” in Smyrna, Turkey.

After several name changes, it finally became known as the International College in 1903 when it was chartered by the Common Wealth of Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the American University of Beirut, which had established a Preparatory department as a feeder school to the university in 1872, was thriving and was expanding its campus to accommodate the younger students.

By the early 1930s, however, the Prep student enrolment was dwindling. Then AUB President Bayard Dodge began looking for a way to reorganize the Prep and attract a wider array of students.

Back in Smyrna, IC was facing its own set of troubles and finally shut down in 1934.

Dodge immediately invited IC to come to Beirut and affiliate with AUB’s Prep school.

In 1936, IC re-emerged as International College –  in Beirut. The union was an instant success as in its first year alone, 901 students from 37 countries, and of 16 different religious sects enrolled.

Over the next few years, IC became an international school welcoming students from all over the Middle East and beyond who came as boarders living in Thomson and Sage Halls.

In 1956, IC officially separated from AUB and became an independent entity.

In 1967, girls were admitted, officially making IC a coed school.

During the Lebanese Civil War, IC remained a beacon of tolerance for the whole of Lebanese society. Students and teachers of all religious sects continued to attend classes in Ras Beirut. In 1988, a satellite campus was constructed in Ain Aar to accommodate the children of alumni in that area. The Ain Aar campus continues to serve students from preschool through middle school. In 1997 IC achieved dual accreditation by the European Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.