The beginnings of our present school started with the Port Vila Correspondence Centre in 1985 with 25 students and one full time supervisor. Most of the enrolments were secondary aged students studying distance education courses linked to schools in Australia and New Zealand. Margaret McFarlane became director in 1988.
The Correspondence Centre was established by a group of dedicated parents. In 1992, the board of directors incorporated The Correspondence Centre as a limited liability company – Port Vila International School. The setting up of the primary school was gradual, with the lower classes beginning in 1992. The school kept growing and by 1999 primary classes to Year 7 was established.
Faye Taylor joined the school as Year 4 teacher in 1997 and was appointed Principal the following year. The school kept growing with composite classes until 1999 when the primary school was fully established with single classes from Year 1 to Year 7. In 2002, the Early Education Centre (Pikininis) was set up and the distance education class was also set up off site at Nambatu. In 2004, the distance education programme relocated from Nambatu to the campus at Erakor House, Tassiriki.
2005 saw the introduction of face-to-face teaching for Years 8 and 9 at the Tassiriki Campus. This building accommodated Years 7 to 10 and the distance education class for students in Years 10 to 12. The primary school campus remained located several kilometers away at the Independence Park campus. In 2006, face-to-face teaching for Year 10 was introduced at Erakor House. In 2008, after three years of planning and fundraising the junior school moved to the current campus at Tassiriki. In 2016 Faye Taylor retired after 18 years as Principal.
From 2018, PVIS will start Senior Secondary education with its first Year 11 class, and offer Year 12 in 2018, using the SACE curriculum. The SACE curriculum is an internationally recognised Senior Secondary education qualification for Year 11 and Year 12 education. The curriculum is being delivered in partnership with SACE International and Open Access College. Students will graduate Year 12 with the Australian SACE Certificate, an internationally recognised Senior Secondary qualification accepted by overseas universities.
From its beginning as a distance education provider, PVIS has developed into a highly regarded community school. We are dedicated to providing an outstanding level of education and are proud to embrace the wonderful students and 27 nationalities represented.