Located in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, the Seoul Foreign School is a K-12 college preparatory school founded in 1912 by Christian missionaries to Korea. It offers both an American and British style education to international students with an emphasis on "Christian values." The school is located in Yeonhui-dong

Yeonhui-dong

Yeonhui-dong is a dong neighbourhood at the center of Seodaemun-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It is an area in Seoul near Yonsei university, and actually the name Yonsei comes from the combination of Yeonhui and Severance .A strategic position during the Korean War , the area...

, Seodaemun-gu

Seodaemun-gu

Seodaemun-gu is a gu located in northwestern Seoul, South Korea. The name derives from Seodaemun, meaning literally "Great West Gate", which was once located in the district...

.

Divisions

British School

Head Teacher: Dr. Timothy Gray, MBE

The British School (SFBS) offers a curriculum based around the English National Primary Strategy and National Curriculum for Reception to Year 9. SFBS spans Year 1 to Year 9. Children in the British division participate in a sporting competition in the South East Asia and Asia region that is open to all British schools in the area. There are children from over 50 nationalities at the school.

Elementary School

Principal: Mr. John Gaylord

The elementary school (SFES) offers a curriculum based on standard U.S.-style grade school education. Grade levels include Pre-K to 5th grade. School uniforms were introduced to SFES in the school year 2008-2009. The Seoul Foreign Elementary School offers specials for every student including Music, Korean, Information Technology, Library, Art, and PE. New building completed in 2008/09 school year includes a new cafeteria, 400 seat performance hall, media center/library, classrooms and spirit store. Every elementary classroom teacher utilizes a Smartboard and various other technology in their classroom.

Middle School

Principal: Lynn Gaylord

Assistant Principal: John Hill

Counselor: Dale Swanson

SFMS offers a course of study to students in grades 6-8 based on the philosophy of the National Middle School Association

National Middle School Association

National Middle School Association is an international education association dedicated exclusively to the middle level grades.With more than 30,000 members in the United States, Canada, and 46 other countries, NMSA represents principals, teachers, central office personnel, professors, college...

 (NMSA). Like the elementary school, all classrooms have a Smartboard. Students are offered a choice of music classes, such as Choir, two different bands, and a percussion ensemble. The 3 three language classes: French, Korean, and Spanish. In addition, ESL students or struggling students can take a learning lab instead, which is basically a study hall. At the end of the day, Middle School students take advisory, which is a group of students that helps others and is a group of students which go together

High School

Principal: Kevin Baker

Assistant Principal: Jeff Marquis

IB Coordinator: Stuart Kent

Athletic Director: Jim Milliken

The high school (SFHS) offers a western style curriculum that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...

 (WASC). The high school is also authorized to offer the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) program through Cambridge International Examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program from the IBO. Graduates from Seoul Foreign School attend universities and colleges throughout the world.

Music program

All students from kindergarten through 8th grade take music as a core part of their curriculum. The school offers band, choir and orchestra classes as well as IB music and a band program. Both the Middle School Symphonic Band and the High School Wind Ensemble have won numerous awards and acknowledgements in the field.

Performing Arts Facilities

The Lyso Center for Performing Arts is a 10 million dollar complex dedicated to the performing arts. It includes large rehearsal rooms for band, choir, and orchestra, as well as ensemble and individual practice rooms. There is also a keyboard/composition lab. The main theater seats over 700 people, has a hydraulic orchestra pit, a turn table, and a removable large Wenger acoustical sell. There is also a Black Box theater with flexible seating up to 200 people. Robb Hall is a mid-size theater and has seating for 450 people.

Discovery Week

Each spring all High School students participate in Discovery Week, a week-long educational experience that focuses on study beyond the classroom. Led by High School faculty members, a wide variety of courses take place within Seoul; others take place in different countries throughout the world.

Athletic Facilities

Seoul Foreign School has an indoor sports complex which houses two gyms, each with several basketball court

Basketball court

In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...

s, indoor volleyball courts, as well as one weight training/fitness room. Also, located outside are two more basketball courts (next to the soccer field). More basketball courts can also be found on the British school playground. There is an artificial turf soccer (football) field, a sandpit for long jump, and a running track. There is also an indoor pool and two tennis court

Tennis court

A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...

s are situated above it. Two more tennis courts are situated adjacent to the British school playground. There is also a gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 room for various uses ranging from acrobatics workout to ballet practice. An additional four tennis court

Tennis court

A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...

s are located on the roof of the cafeteria.

Extracurricular activities

Seoul Foreign School supports a number of activities. At the HS level, an academical activity is the AMC (American Math Competition) competition with three levels of competition: 8th grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade. SFS High School has an active Model United Nations activity with weekly meetings and two meets annually (one in Seoul and the other in Beijing.) A Speech and Debate team also represents SFS with forensic meets with local and area schools. SFS Middle School participates in an area Spelling Bee, KMO and other clubs. There are also sports and other after-school activities, such as the Jazz Band/Ensemble, chess club, instrumental private lessons. Film club is also a popular club that meets on Mondays to create films and at the end of the year, hosts a film festival with all of the profit going to GIN (Global Issues Network). Additional activities are sponsored by each division's "Senate", or Student Council. These activities include dances, swims and various other events throughout the school year.

Recently, the 2010-2011 Girls Varsity Soccer Team of Seoul Foreign School won the All-Girls APAC Super Tournament hosted by Shanghai American School Pudong, beating 12 other teams, undefeated.

Finances

Seoul Foreign School is a private non-profit organisation. Although they have no specific obligations to publish their financial data, SFS recently published a financial report for the year ending on June 30, 2008 where total revenue was $3,393,043 and payroll was $1,884,055.

Children whose parent/s are pastors of various Christian denominations may receive tuition for free or at discounted price.

Christian Emphasis

SFS focuses on Christian values which are promoted in a variety of ways. The influence of Christianity originated in 1912 when missionaries first-founded the school and continues today.

Notable alumni

• Ken Jennings
  Ken Jennings
  Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows...
  
  : holds the record for the longest winning streak in the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy!
  Jeopardy!
  Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
  
  
• Ien Chi
  Ien Chi
  Ien Chi is a Korean American filmmaker. He is the director of the short film "Tick Tock" which won the Best Picture and Best Director awards at Campus MovieFest 2011 - the world's largest student film festival. It is currently the most viewed and highest rated film of Campus MovieFest of all time...
  
  : Korean American filmmaker, 2011 winner of the Best Director and Best Picture awards at the world's largest student film festival: Campus MovieFest
  Campus MovieFest
  Campus MovieFest is the world's largest student film festival. Created in 2000 by four Emory University students, and originally called iMovieFest, Campus MovieFest utilizes Apple Computer laptops, iMovie and Final Cut Pro to give college and university students with all levels of filmmaking...
  
  
• Eddie Shin: Korean singer and actor. Recently re-debuted with an Asian-American singing group, Aziatix.
• Jessica Da Hee Lee: Korean singer; Debuted in 2011 as a part of the group, C-REAL.

External links

• Official website
• Official KAIAC website