History

History of QSI International School of Sarajevo

The QSI International School of Sarajevo was founded in 1997 as a response to the need of the international community working on rebuilding Sarajevo and the country after the 92-96 war. With its beginnings in a small pink house in the center of the city with only 10 students, QSI International School of Sarajevo has been continually meeting the challenges of an ever-changing community.

As QSI International School of Sarajevo’s school population continued to grow, from 10 in 1997 to over 40 students in 2000, the school was motivated to find larger premises in the Sarajevo suburb of Hotonj, about 10 minutes from the center of town. This facility was able to accommodate the school through the 2003-2004 school year, but once again the school’s growing population made another move necessary, and QSI International School of Sarajevo moved into a renovated kindergarten building in the suburb of Vogosca, Sarajevo.

The student number continued to increase, and as of 2012, the QSI International School of Sarajevo has a student population that reached the number of 120 students from over 29 countries and continued to look for a long-term facility solution for the community. As Sarajevo did not have any suitable building, we proceed with several renovations and additions to the Sarajevo kindergarten facility. In the summer of 2010, portable buildings were added that included changing rooms for PE, foreign language classes, a multi-purpose room, two classrooms, and Library. To connect this to the permanent building, a covered porch/sitting area was added. This allowed a meeting and “hang out” place, out of the weather, for middle school and secondary students. The summer of 2011 brought further additions of two science labs, additional restrooms for students and teachers, a renovated music room, and an art room.

As a part of the move to Vogosca, after 2004-2005, the school became a fully registered educational institution in the country. This was an important step in the continuing development of the school as a member of the international and local communities here in Bosnia. As a registered educational facility, QSI International School of Sarajevo now operates in compliance with local and national laws.

In 2017-2018, the student population reached 154 students.

As the Municipality of Vogosca needed the local kindergarten building for the growing number of preschoolers in Vogosca, in May 2018, The QSI International School of Sarajevo received a notice from the Ministry of Education of Canton Sarajevo, as well as from the Public Institution “Djeca Sarajeva” to forsake the actual kindergarten building and give it back to Vogosca Municipality for usage.

QSI managed to stay in the local Vogosca kindergarten for another year, which gave us enough time to find a new fitting premise for the school.

QSI had many negotiations with the government of Canton Sarajevo, as well as with many real estate agents and companies. These resulted in QSI Sarajevo renting out the building of the Social Democratic Party in Alipasina Street. We renovated it in a time of seven months and moved in.

QSI fully funded the renovation of a current facility building and maintenance of it.

During the reconstruction, QSI International School of Sarajevo has followed all practices and procedures, following all safety measures for building the school.

The campus provides an opportunity for an excellent education, where our facilities meet the needs of our international community.

In our newly reconstructed building in Alipasina Street 41, we have almost 4,000 m² and it includes the following:

• 22 Large Classrooms
• Gym
• Fitness room
• Changing rooms with showers
• School Kitchen and Cafeteria
• Two Computer Labs
• Maker Space
• Two Science Labs
• Auditorium
• Large indoor playground
• Two outdoor playgrounds for students
• Small garden
• Library with 20,000 books
• Recording studio
• Student counseling office
• Large office space with 8 separate offices

The school’s expansion has seen local and international staffing growing from 4 in 1997 to 46 in 2023.

We are looking forward to being in Sarajevo for many more years to come!