Woodward Academy - Global Connections

At Woodward, our global reach is an important part of our identity.In 2014, we created the International and Global Connections program to provide even more opportunities for our students, so they gain a deep understanding of the differences that make cultures unique and the similarities that connect us all. Our program is unique in that it takes a holistic approach. Students can take advantage of travel and study abroad programs—sometimes for course credit—in a large number of countries around the world, including China, France, Costa Rica, Spain, and Italy.

We have sister schools in Australia, Venezuela, China, and France, as well as very strong ties to The Terranova School, our sister school in Mazabuka, Zambia, where faculty members and students travel every summer to provide service while learning about wildlife conservation and the economic conditions affecting Sub-Saharan Africa. Our goal is to develop a partner school in a country of every language we teach.

Each year, we welcome international students to study in our Middle and Upper Schools while staying with host families, and Woodward students can pursue opportunities to spend their junior year studying abroad. We are the first school in Atlanta to become a testing center for language proficiency certifications, which enable our students to attend universities abroad and eventually find work in the countries of their language. For more information, visit our International Admissions page.

"Before coming to Woodward, I didn't know people in other classes because we sat in the same classroom all day for all of our classes. Now I see so many different people every day, all heading to different places with different skin colors and eye colors, talking in different ways. To me, it is a brand new feeling: to actually feel the beauty of differences and uniformity at the same time."

-Phoenix Yifei Xu '19

Upcoming Trips

Every year, Woodward Academy offers a variety of opportunities for students to expand their knowledge of our global society through trips sponsored by faculty members both at the Middle School and Upper School levels. All the trips are designed with a learning element that can range from a total immersion setting to a service project.

Upper School Trips for 2018-19:

Middle School Trips for 2018-19:

Study Abroad

Students who desire to study abroad to both improve their language skills and their cultural awareness can choose between summer programs or year-long programs with one of our partners.

STUDY AWAY

In addition to the many valuable opportunities Woodward Academy provides students to travel and study abroad during school holidays and summer, the Academy also provides a limited number of exciting study away opportunities during the academic year.

Learn more.

International Language Certifications

Woodward Academy is committed to offering great opportunities to its students, and taking an International Language Exam is one way to extend what they have learned in the classroom to potential international studies and careers.

Students who qualify take placement tests in the following languages:

French (DELF)
Spanish (DELE)
German (Geothe Zertifikate)
Chinese (HSK)
Japanese (JPLT)

These tests are internationally recognized and approved by foreign governments and universities. Most of the exams follow the Common European Framework of

Reference for Languages.

International Language Certification Exams

Graduation Distinction in Global Studies

Graduation distinction in global studies explore world languages

International student admission requirements

Woodward Academy is the first school in the nation to implement the International Certification testing program for Upper School students on the HP and AP tracks for five languages.

Colegio Internacional de Carabobo
Valencia, Venezuela
Since 1998

Escuela Bella Vista
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Since 1998

Pittwater House School
Collaroy, Australia
Since 1991

Where have we traveled?

Middle School
Upper School
Summer Programs
Chorus

Dominican Republic
Since 2014

Belgium
(including Bruges)
Since 2013

Costa Rica
Since 2011

Ireland
Since 2011

England
(London)
Since 2005

Italy
(including Venice, the Amalfi Coast)
Since 2004

France
(including Paris, Provence, Normandy, the Riviera)
Since 2003

Spain
(including Madrid, Barcelona, Cataluña)
Since 2002

Cuba
2016

Ecuador
Galapagos Islands
Since 2015

China (3 trips)
Since 2009

France (2 trips, including a homestay)
Japan (5 trips)
Spain
Since 2006

Peru
Since 2005

Argentina
Uruguay
Brazil
Since 2007

Canada
Since 2008

Switzerland
France
2015

France
2013

Germany
Czech Republic
2011

Italy
Austria
2008

"The impact of studying abroad for a year in high school is hard to describe... All of my presumptions about China were tested, and many were wrong. My diet changed, my means of transportation changed, and my point of view changed. I learned about the complex and deep history of China and could see some of the places where these important events happened… The complexity of life [was] shown to me, far beyond my limited view from my life in America. As I said in my Chinese speech in the second semester: 来中国以前的女孩子和回美国的女孩子真的不一样，可是我喜欢新的我。The girl who left for China and the girl who returned to America were not the same person, but I like the new me."- Alexa Flesch '17, studied abroad 2015-2016 in China

Woodward Academy students in Ecuador during the summer of 2015.

"As Director of International and Global Connections at Woodward, I strive to help our students not only to understand our global communities better, but to experience them firsthand either on our campus or while studying and traveling abroad. With more international students attending our Academy and opportunities to travel abroad expanding each year, Woodward is continually bringing people closer around the world."

–Stéphane Allagnon