We knew that OSC was the right school for Rithvik when we read the school’s mission statement, “OSC develops the whole person as a responsible learner striving for personal excellence within a culturally diverse school.” Like all parents we were keen to send our son to the best school in town that provides great education but more importantly we were keen for Rithvik to develop a holistic approach to education and life. 

I was happy to see that students at OSC are encouraged to look beyond classroom learning and embrace opportunities to discover their personal strengths. This encouragement helped Rithvik to step out of his comfort zone to contest the SGA election, to take up a challenging personal project, to pursue academic challenges, to become a MUN delegate and to initiate his community service project.

As his parents we are particularly proud of Rithvik’s MYP personal project on eco-friendly housing and solar energy, as he addressed a critical global issue with good insights. Rithvik’s interest for earth and environment has continued to grow since then and I see this as “responsible learning”. 

Most importantly, Rithvik learnt to care for community that lies beyond his home and school. His passion for community service, enthusiasm for leadership roles and dream “to make a tangible difference to the community” through service activities is an extension of the “whole person” that OSC strives to develop. 

Perseverance, collaboration, hard work and responsibility are a few of the qualities Rithvik has developed over the last three and half years at OSC. Rithvik’s ability to persist despite challenges, to care for community and global issues and most importantly, his belief that “Failure is not his destiny” give me the confidence that he will continue to be a “responsible learner” and strive for “personal excellence” going forward; thanks to the values instilled in him by his teachers, curriculum and invaluable experience at OSC.
- Sandhya Reddy, from India (2011)

Twelve months have passed since Veronica left OSC and the time has just flown away. We had a wonderful winter in Finland, over one meter of snow for four months, cold and truly beautiful – just like the winters used to be in my childhood. Quite often I and Veronica went cross-country skiing in the evenings on the forest tracks passing our home. Veronica is also enjoying her freedom to move around without us parents watching her every step as this was the case in Sri Lanka – in that sense this was the right time to come home for us.
 
Veronica has been attending the European School of Helsinki which follows the European Baccalaureate as there are no available IB secondary schools available. Most of the courses are in English, however 1/3 of them in French which has been a bit of a challenge. During the year Veronica has repeatedly noted how good the standards and teaching at OSC actually were and how much she learned during the four years there. This has also been noted by her present teachers as the work Veronica is producing – just using the normal standards she learned with you – exceeds anything that her schoolmates are able to come forward with. Naturally Veronica is still working hard but I have to say we all understand now how grateful we should be for having had her at OSC.. Veronica will probably continue one more year at the ESH after which she will apply into some of the IB High Schools of which there are plenty of.
 -John Ekelund, from Finland (2011)

"My family’s association with OSC goes back to the late 1960s.  At that time the school was known as Overseas Childrens’ School or OCS and was located in a rented premises down Muttiah Road in Slave Island.

I was enrolled into OCS in 1973 and at the time was the first Sri Lankan nationality student to be given admission to OCS.  As such, the policy of the school at the time was only to accept students of foreign nationalities.  My admission to the school came about as a result of my older sister, Sabine who was born in England and therefore carried an English Passport being admitted a few years earlier (1967).  I was not allowed admission to the school that time as I was born in Sri Lanka and carried Sri Lankan nationality.  However, my parents lobbied the school Board of the day to allow me admission on the basis that I was a sibling of a student already enrolled in the school.  I am proud to hold the distinction of being the first ‘Sri Lankan’ student to have gained admission to OCS.

I recall at the time, the school was very small, had an intimate environment and there were only six students in my class.  As the total student population was very small, everybody knew everyone else and I have fond memories from that time.

OSC has transformed incredibly from the school I attended in the early ‘70s to what it is today - a beautiful purpose built complex, and what I would imagine is the best school of its kind amongst international schools in Sri Lanka.

Prior to admitting our two kids to OSC, they were schooling in an extremely good private school on the Goldcoast in Australia, and we have now had the opportunity to compare the standards of education and schooling between that and OSC.  We can confidently say that the education they are receiving here at OSC, the attention that they are getting due to the smaller school population and the excellent standard of education, is better than the private school they were attending in Australia earlier.  We are very happy with the teachers and the way the school approaches all round development of the students.

If there were any negatives, it would be in relation to sports, where the opportunities appear to be limited as well as the lack of other extra curricular activities like a Cadet Corps.  Another aspect of the school that we are getting used to is the lack of uniforms. As we feel that this tends to create a bit of a casual approach to personal presentation.

We also find the school environment to be very cosmopolitan and beneficial to our kids, being able to interact, appreciate and learn from so many different cultures and nationalities."
- Stefan Furkhan, from Sri Lanka/Australia

"OSC provided a caring, nurturing and challenging education environment, from elementary school to middle school, for all three of our children. Having come from a different curriculum, our whole family faced adjustments. The staff and leadership of OSC helped us understand the unique advantages of the IB programme and our children thrived. We still miss OSC and highly recommend it!"
- Parent, from United States

"I am at a point where I worry if I will ever like another school as much as I like OSC! The school has provided the most supportive, most cohesive and most progressive educational environment for my children. Its focus on the "whole" of the child, on encouraging life-long skills of independent thinking, responsibility, curiosity, compassion, love for learning and understanding of differences have been very important to all our family and what we want our kids to learn. My compliments go to the local teachers my daughters have had who have taught me and my children a great deal."
- Parent, from United States

"Liam and Anneke have attended OSC for three years in elementary school. As we move to another international school, I believe they bring with them a strong foundation in IT and in a method of self-learning which was encouraged at OSC. They have confidence in performing/presenting before their peers, and have flourished in their foundation years. Thank you OSC."
- Parent, from United States

"OSC for us is not just a school but an integral part of our everyday lives, the joy our children find in every school day, makes the 6am start worthwhile! The diversity, approach to teaching and knowledge of their host nation has made our stay in Sri Lanka truly a family learning experience."
- Parent, from United Kingdom

Since my kids entered OSC, every single day of my life has been filled with happy surprises. Day by day, my kids are getting more independent, having their own opinion, having more confidence through their experience and becoming better communicators with their friends in a multicultural environment. Especially through their own difficulty of language, my kids have been learning to be patient when they communicate with others and getting to know the importance of listening to others and caring for them in order to understand them better. I appreciate all the teachers who keep encouraging my kids. They always try to understand my kids using not only language, but also with their heart. I know that your teachers and school gave my kids a great change in their life. For these reasons, I am happy in Colombo because I am happy with our school OSC.
- Parent, from Japan