Preparing for life
From critical thinking and adaptability to collaboration and self-leadership, life skills are essential to help students to thrive, whichever path they take after school.
Together, with Camtree and 15 ISP schools around the world, we led a groundbreaking research project focused on developing the most impactful ways to teach, practise, and build life competencies.
Explore our Life Competencies Report to find out more.
Why life competencies matter
Stronger communities
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Global career opportunities
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Access to top universities
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Academic achievement
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Wellbeing
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Understanding life competencies
The ISP Big 5
We have identified 5 key life competencies:
- Cognitive
- Global
- Digital
- Self-Leadership
- Interpersonal
These are known as ISP’s Big 5. Each competence is linked to three distinct skills, creating a framework of 15 life skills that our students develop throughout their school years.
Cognitive skills
“I can lead my own learning through creative problem solving, confident communication and organising my time and resources.”
Critical Thinking – Creativity – Curiosity
Interpersonal skills
“I can build positive relationships with others and work effectively as part of a team to achieve common goals.”
Social-emotional – Communication – Collaboration
Self leadership
“I can manage my emotions and identify my areas for growth, using my motivation and resilience to set goals and take steps to achieve them”
Wellbeing – Learning to learn – Confidence
Digital skills
“I can use digital tools and technology safely and responsibly to create, collaborate and innovate”
Literacy – Responsibility – Innovation
Global skills
“I am curious about and respectful of different countries and cultures, and engage with local and global issues to take action for the wellbeing of people and planet”
Citzenship – Action – Intercultural understanding
Our partnership with Camtree
To support this work, we have partnered with Camtree, part of Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge, to create a digital library of research, resources and teaching frameworks.
Camtree is the world’s first platform helping teachers and school leaders improve learning through research and reflection.
This collaboration empowers our teachers and schools to innovate their practices, explore new methods, and share findings globally. By integrating research-backed strategies, ISP schools provide transformative learning experiences that prepare students to excel both in and beyond the classroom.
