High School Principal

Dear mothers and fathers,

There are many questions in our minds as educators in such an era where technology affects our lives a lot, ethical values swiftly erode, and information can be accessed and contaminated easily. Now, it is important for us to figure how to distinguish between accurate information and contaminated information rather than how to access information. As educators, we also question what will be replaced with professions that will disappear because of artificial intelligence and how new generations should be equipped in line with the rapidly developing technology. We need to start thinking about what humanity is, how our children can become more virtuous and why more creative and unique generations should be created. What should we do first? How should a school be designed to raise well-equipped individuals not for today but for tomorrow, too?

As the teachers of Işıkkent School, we want our students to feel happy at school and enjoy being a part of the high-quality education we designed, built and realized for them. Because we know that the individuals who are not happy with their actions cannot achieve true success.

The failure, laziness and incompetence of our students are as much important to us as their success, sedulity and competence. Because we believe that the key to success in life is knowing and believing in yourself. It is not only valuable for us to raise our students as achievers but also to teach them how to persevere even when they know they will lose. 

Dear mothers and fathers, being a real school is tough. Operating like a private teaching institution “dershane” and boasting about it, loving children according to their exam results and designing a learning environment just to teach how to choose the correct answer among five options means not knowing the global values in education. At Işıkkent School, we believe that a good education involves preparing children for a rapidly changing world and raising individuals who speak multiple languages and think globally while grasping the issues in their country and finding solutions for them, too.

Please be sure that we will endeavour to explore the potential of each student and provide your children with an education that will help them find the meaning of their own lives. We strive to raise gentle students who have strong characters as well as significant ethical values. We want them to know how to create their own paths rather than following others. We aim to raise responsible and principled individuals who enjoy arts, music, literature and scientific work; are prone to teamwork and respectful to all living beings; follow academic honesty; and know how to share and take risks. Therefore, while trying to provide the best academic education, we strive to help our students have a proper and meaningful perspective on life. We believe that an exam success acquired without climbing a tree, picking a fruit, having a grass stain on your knee and petting an animal causes life to lose its meaning.

As a high school implementing the IB – DP, we believe that we give the most proper education for our students in the light of our principles, and are aware of the fact that our responsibility for our students will not be over after their graduation. We will stand by them today and forever/in the future.

Best Regards,

Our Educational Appoach

Işıkkent High School programme lasts for 5 years, including a possible 1 year in prep. The education and teaching programmes are supported with experimental and project-based work. The lessons are conducted using visual materials, technological and up to date resources. Starting from the middle school, up to Grades 9 & 10, the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and IB-DP Programme implemented in Grade 11 and 12 bring an international perspective to the overall education programme. Students learn in fully equipped classrooms. Işıkkent High School provides learning opportunities designed according to the needs, skills and interests of the students. Guidance and counselling activities are essential for students to orient themselves in an area suitable for their skills and to choose the right university for their future occupation.

Işıkkent High School offers an intensive English programme in prep classes. The aim of this programme is to enable students to effectively use English in their daily lives, and to become successful in their academic and business lives. The second foreign language programme is carried out in the same way as the English programme in languages such as Italian, French and Spanish.

Our rigorous and intensive study programme is supported by various social, cultural, artistic and athletic activities. Students are also encouraged to carry out activities that will help them acquire a sense of social community. Assessment and evaluations in high school are designed to help students reach their own goals, and prepare for the YKS exams in a well-informed way. Starting from Grade 9, teachers carry out a study programme for YKS exams. Furthermore, learning is extended through after school programmes and individual or group weekend study hours.

Learning Environment in High School

Starting from the high school, students go to their teacher’s classroom, which is individually designed for the needs of that lesson or teacher. As a result, students become active members throughout their learning journeys; and teachers guide them, while adopting the role of a facilitator. Işıkkent School approaches education as a whole, involving both a learning process and academic results, from preschool to the end of high school, and grounds its understanding and practices on a holistic approach. The school does not only evaluate knowledge through assessment tools, which are used to measure student success. It involves standards to assess comprehension, self-expression, interpretation, analysis-synthesis and evaluation skills. Through diverse implementations enriched with international programmes, what the student has/has not learned as well as the challenges that have interrupted learning are specified for the planning of compensatory studies, which aim to make up for the missing knowledge.

Our high school provides a learning environment that leads to the development of individuals, who want to be life-long learners, know how to think and work through scientific methods, and are able to apply their knowledge & skills in daily life.