Our History

Escola Suíço-Brasileira Rio de Janeiro was inaugurated. Through an initiative of members of the Swiss colony with the support of private companies and the Swiss embassy, together with the collaboration of the government of Rio de Janeiro, at the time the Federal District.

The Escola Suíço-Brasileira Rio de Janeiro became the first bilingual school in Brazil. Until then, Brazilian legislation did not recognise teaching in a foreign language.

Switzerland: The primary school Minerva Volksschule Basel starts with its first bilingual class. This is the basis of what later becomes SIS Basel. The idea of a truly immersive and bilingual school is born.

The foundations of the schools that later become SIS Zürich-Wollishofen, SIS Winterthur and SIS Zürich are laid.

The brand "SIS Swiss International School" is established and the first SIS school in Germany opens its doors in Stuttgart.

By 2010, SIS Männedorf-Zürich and SIS Schönenwerd have opened their doors in Switzerland. In Germany, SIS Regensburg, SIS Ingolstadt and SIS Friedrichshafen have started to welcome students in their bilingual schools.

SIS Brasília opens its doors, while at SIS Zürich, the first class graduates with the bilingual Matura, some students additionally with the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

In Brazil, SIS takes over ESB Rio de Janeiro, which maintains its identity but modifies its name to Escola Suíço-Brasileira Rio de Janeiro by SIS Swiss International School. In Germany, SIS Kassel opens its doors.

SIS Basel hosts the first staging of our annual International Sports Day, the SIS Cup. In Switzerland, SIS Pfäffikon-Schwyz opens its doors. In Germany, SIS takes over Internationale Schule Villa Amalienhof which continues as SIS Berlin.

Due to our strong network of schools as well as continuous process optimisation with the help of technology, SIS was quickly able to adapt to the distance learning that became necessary due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In Germany, SIS Frankfurt welcomes its first students.

After assessing emissions, our companies in Switzerland, Germany, and Brazil developed strategies to reduce CO2, aiming to offset all remaining emissions by 2029. Additionally, we have embedded sustainability practice into SIS schools by launching student-led projects at each location.