Previously, it had been the 'British Army School' in Schönbrunn barracks and catered for the children of the British occupying forces in Vienna.

The English School moved into Grinzinger Straße 95, a premises found with the help of the British Ambassador, Sir James Bowker, the legal advisor at the Embassy Walter Rhodes, and Vienna's Deputy Lord Mayor, Hans Mandl.

In 1974, some families of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) started sending their children to the school.

The Vienna International Centre (UNO City) is leased to the United Nations for 1 Austrian schilling (7 euro cents) per year.

A year later, secondary school moved to Peter-Jordan-Straße, where it remained until the custom built present campus was opened in September 1984 with Maurice Pezet as director.

It is located on Straße der Menschenrechte, two hundred metres away from the U1 Kagran underground station and the Donau Zentrum Shopping Mall.

A primary school magazine known as The Mole was also started under the guidance of secondary students during the 2012–2013 academic year.

The emphasis is on developing community awareness and concerns and acquiring the skills to make an effective contribution to society.

Each year the primary school students collect food, clothing, shoes, toys, school supplies, and toiletries to donate to Project Centipede, which personally distributes the gifts just before the December holidays to the children and their caregivers in Romania, India, Hungary, Ukraine and Austria.

VIS also operates a Fairtrade group aiming to promote the purchase of products that tries to guarantee a better return and quality of life for farmers in lesser economically developed countries.