Am I Eligible?

Quality, communication, and working together

Quality must be the primary concern of IH schools, both for their commercial success and for the success of their colleagues and the brand worldwide. IH schools are also united in their commitment to the communicative approach to teaching, which means engaging students in real communication and creating opportunities for them to use language in the classroom.

If you have this commitment to quality and you share our philosophy of working together and want to benefit from a global network of like-minded professionals – then you may be eligible to join!

Qualified teachers

In order to deliver high quality teaching, it is a requirement that teachers in all IH schools are appropriately qualified. The benchmark for teachers of English is the CELTA, Trinity TESOL or IHC, but we will accept other qualifications, or a combination of qualifications, further training and demonstrated skills. For teachers of other languages we accept locally and state recognised qualifications, and encourage all teachers to undertake professional development to help them teach in a communicative way.

Class size

In order to ensure a high quality learning experience, we recommend a class size of no more than 16 students and in many private language schools the maximum may already be lower. We do recognise that in some contexts educational needs may be met with larger classes and we can make exceptions when appropriate.

Independence and flexibility

International House schools are independently-owned and managed, and diverse in how they meet the specific needs of their own clients. We are not a franchise; we do not supply ready made language courses or prescribe which courses to run, and we don’t dictate what course books schools’ use.

Benefits to Your Business

Quality, international brand and networks for sharing.

Costs

Costs of inspections, the joining fee and annual fees.

Application Stages

Four straightforward steps for you to join IH.

The Pre-Affiliation Inspection

Inspecting your school in operation.

Quality Inspections

International House’s robust quality management system focuses on helping schools deliver a great learning experience for their clients, and professional experience for their staff.

Your Own IH Brand

The IH brand confers to your business all the benefits of a global brand that has 70 years history and an excellent reputation within the language teaching and training industry.

Talk to us and start your application to join

If you would like to speak to somebody about becoming an IH school, we’d love to hear from you!