[1][2] ISH was founded in 1965 by Phyllis Powers, a British expatriate, to educate the children of diplomatic missions' staff.

[3][4] ISH is the only accredited school for children of expatriates in Havana that offers education through the medium of the English language.

The International School of Havana enrols (November 2020) some 260 students from 47 nationalities and academic programmes taught in English, that run from the pre-kinder (age 2½) to grade 12 (pre-university graduation).

[citation needed] ISH has been trying to put their students into different types of sports such as football, basketball, tennis, swimming, and many others.

[citation needed] The professional staff is composed of 35% expatriate teachers from Canada, England, Wales, the Netherlands, Germany, India, Australia and other countries and the remainder are recruited locally.

[citation needed] Ongoing training is supported by an academic staff professional development programme.