Our Legacy

Woodford International School was established in the mid 1950’s, before the independence of the Solomon Islands, and is one of the oldest international schools in the country. Since that time, WIS has maintained its strong sense of community.

Woodford started with about a dozen pupils and was government run, with the original location being housed in a succession of buildings in central Honiara. The NPF Plaza now stands on the original site. By the early 1970’s, the need for a new school was recognized, and in the latter half of the 1970’s, a new Woodford School project was included in the Solomon Islands National Development Plan.

This project recognized that an education system offering a curriculum meeting international standards is a critical infrastructure requirement necessary to support Solomon Islands’ objectives of attracting investment and technical expertise. In 1979, one year after the Solomon Islands achieved independence from Great Britain, Woodford School moved to new school buildings that had been designed and built with British aid.

A year later, a Board of Management was legally instituted to assume administration of the school, and in September 1989, the school’s name was changed to Honiara International School. Later the name was finalized and is now known as Woodford International School, with the name ‘Woodford’ being taken from Sir Charles Woodford (1852-1927) a British naturalist who was an instrumental figure in the Solomon Islands prior to independence and its first British governor serving in office from 1896-1915.

Woodford International School became an authorized IB World School in 2010 offering the Primary Years Program (PYP), sharing a common philosophy and commitment to a high quality, challenging, international education. Woodford believes the PYP accurately reflects and supports the overall mission providing a suitable structure and the necessary rigor to enhance the realization of the goals and aspirations held for all students.

In 2013, Woodford International School introduced the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and A-Levels to its secondary school students. IGCSE and A-Levels are administered by Cambridge International Examinations and allow students the opportunity to undertake a rigorous and internationally recognized program of study.