International Academy of St. Petersburg, Russia

International Academy began in 1993 as a school for Christian, English speakers in St. Petersburg, Russia. Originally named the International Christian School of St. Petersburg, or "ICS," it cooperated with the Russian Christian School, or "RCS," to exist as a part of Kargel & Baedeker School. In 2007, the two schools split, and International Christian School took a new name - International Academy.

Before 2004, ICS was near Ligovskiy Prospect Metro station. Often referred to as the "Red Building," the school was on the second floor of a building which it shared with RCS. After numerous problems with the organization from whom ICS was renting the building, the school moved to a school building on Krestovskiy Island.

In the building on Krestovskiy Island, ICS was on the third floor; RCS on the second; and the administrative offices, library, lunch room, and science labs were on the first. There was a small gym attached as well.

When at Krestovskiy, the school had three classrooms for the primary grades - first and second, third and fourth, and fifth and sixth. There were two small rooms for language studies, two multi-purpose classrooms, a computer lab, and a math room. There was also a bathroom, a principal's office, a teachers' lounge, and a secretary's office.

The land surrounding the school when at Krestovskiy was wooded and fenced in with a large park nearby. By the time ICS moved in, the surrounding area was being developed and under heavy construction.

After leaving K&B in June 2007, the school's next location was between Gorkovskaya and Petrogradskaya Metro stations in a shared building from Fall 2007-Spring 2009. Upon moving, the school renamed and became International Academy.

The school moved once again in 2009, this time to a unique, former church building on Vasilyevsky Island. This was IA's home for 5 years until November 2014. The top floor featured a large open area in the center with domed ceilings and chandeliers still prominent, surrounded by classrooms used by grades 7-12. The second floor housed the elementary classrooms and art. The first floor included an eating area, computer lab, offices, and a music room. The music room was used by the bands, choirs, and drama classes.

From November 2014 until March 2020, IA was located in a renovated building near Metro station Ploschad Lenina. Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, IA had to finish out the 2019-2020 school year via distance learning, which resulted in the school being packed up and moved prior to the end of its lease and the onset of stricter COVID-19 restrictions.

Since August 2020, IA is located in a newly-renovated building near Metro station Petrogradskaya.

The average class size is around 12 students for the elementary grades, 7 for middle school, and 5 for high school. The student to teacher ratio is low. The majority of IA's graduates have attended colleges in America, but others have enrolled in colleges/universities elsewhere. Enrollment fluctuates year to year but has been around 80-100 for the past several years.

The schedule is made at the beginning of each year. Priority is given to larger classes and seniority is also highly considered. Because of the low student to teacher ratio, hand crafting of schedules is sometimes possible.

In July 2018, IA officially became accredited with the Association of Christian Schools International. IA then was accredited by Middle States Association in October 2018.

International Academy's mascot is the "Guardians." The school's predominant sport is basketball, with boys and girls varsity teams offered, but co-ed indoor soccer has been offered since Fall 2017. IA enjoys a friendly rivalry with Hinkson Christian Academy (Moscow). In the past, high school co-ed volleyball is offered in the spring for a one-month mini-season. IA athletics seek to glorify God through sport, adopting Colossians 3:23 as its philosophy - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as for the Lord and not men."

In the boys varsity team's infancy, the team struggled to gain momentum and frequently finished in the bottom places in tournaments. However, in the 2010-2011 basketball season, the team had a breakthrough year with a record of 14-5. This is currently the greatest number of wins in a season in the school's history. The 2011-2012 team amassed a 13-1 record - the highest winning percentage in school history. Both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 teams defeated schools much larger in size, along with the St. Petersburg city champions for both non-sport school teams and sport school teams. The boys basketball program has had at least two of its former players play at the collegiate level - one in the U.S. and the other in the U.K.

The girls varsity team began in 2014-2015 as a combined team with Anglo-American School of St. Petersburg, competing under the name "Panthers." The team amicably split later in the year to form the first girls varsity team in the school's history. The team began its first full season for the 2015-2016 school year.

The school's mascot has undergone multiple changes over the years, beginning with the "White Knights" (a double entendre off of St. Petersburg's famous White Nights), followed by the "Cossacks" until the end of the 2014-2015 school year. The school decided to choose a new mascot following their move into their Ploschad Lenina location during the 2014-2015 school year and the mascot "Guardians" won the school-wide competition. The athletic logo was updated then as well.

Depending on the interests of staff and parent volunteers, activities vary year to year. Current activities are as follows: - Indoor soccer - Basketball - Choir - Musical - Yearbook - Model UN - After-school program

International Academy of St. Petersburg website

• List of higher education and academic institutions in Saint Petersburg

• Official Website