Harare International School (HIS) is an American-sponsored international school, founded on 8^thSeptember 1992, with an enrollment of forty-two students. HIS is an independent, non-sectarian, non-profit, co-educational day school established to serve the diplomatic, non-governmental organization (NGO) and expatriate community, as well as children of Zimbabwean diplomats returning from assignments abroad. The founding of the school was facilitated through a Memorandum of Understanding developed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representing the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Harare International School Association, represented by the Dean of Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations. To this day, the United States Embassy offers support for the school through an annual grant from the US Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools. HIS is governed by a seven member Board. Two are appointed by the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe and five are elected by the parent body for one or two year terms.

The first HIS campus was a house in a suburb close to the city centre of Harare. In 1994, as a result of general expansion and increased enrollment, the school began a phased relocation to its current Pendennis Road campus, which is in a northern suburb in Harare.

The pre – kindergarten to 12^th grade educational programme is modelled along North American and international curriculum guidelines. The achievement standards of the academic core curricula in language arts, mathematics, science, modern languages and social studies are designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary for successful transition to other international schools worldwide and for re-entry to the educational systems of each student’s home country.

HIS is an authorized IB World School and IB Continuum School, offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP). The PYP was authorized to start in the 2004-5 school year. The first IB Diploma courses were taught in 2004-5 with the first examinations in May 2006. HIS is fully accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA-CESS) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). Accreditation was awarded in 2000.  Re-accreditation for 10 years was awarded in 2010 and rewarded in 2016.