File:Sandford Interantional School Primary building.jpg

English: Sandford International School is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. the school, previously called [Sandford English (Community) School], traces its origins to the early 1940s when Mrs. Christine Sandford, wanted to establish an English-speaking school for her children. The English –speaking community was very small at the time but the Ethiopian nobility also wanted access to an English education for their children. Christine Sandford was the wife of Colonel Sandford, the Head of British Military Mission to Ethiopia during World War II, who along with Cunningham and Wingate, led the British contingent that was dispatched by the British Government to help Emperor Haile Selassie I and the Ethiopian army reclaim the country from 5 year of Italian occupation under Mussolini’s Government.

Partly in gratitude for their assistance and partly because Colonel Sandford liked Ethiopia very much and returned here to live with his family, as close friends of the Emperor and the restored government, the Sandford family was granted land for farming and for building a school.

Sandford School grew rapidly, and in a manner befitting the founders and their interest in living in Ethiopia and educating their children along with Ethiopian children. From the beginning, as agreed with the Imperial Government, the school was open to Ethiopians with a reduced, subsidized system of fees to allow the attendance of Ethiopian children, including children of the Royal and other leading families. There was thus a development of education component meant to benefit the whole country, not only the few British families.

Mission

To create world citizens by empowering critical thinking, effective communication, and social awareness