German European School

Willkommen, bienvenu, salve, bienvenidos, welkom, huan-yin … these are some of the languages spoken at the GESS; languages with which we get to know each other, with which we acquire knowledge and skills and the attitude required by our students to grow in independence and tolerance and become responsible citizens. This applies to children of all nationalities at our school aged from 18 months to 18 years.

Education in German

The German Section of our school (GermanSec) was established in 1971. Students coming and returning to Germany after some time can be confident of continuing their German education at GESS, being able to acquire all official school leaving certificates. We are proud of the fact that candidates sitting the year 10 exams (Mittlere Reife) and the Abitur achieve above average results and that on their return to Germany they are able to reintegrate into the German system successfully. To ensure that we can achieve this we are generously supported by the German Federal Government and are in close contact with the decision makers and institutions there.

Education in English

In our European Section (EuroSec) students from 35 different nations are educated - in English – following the curricula of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IB). We are very proud of the fact that graduates from the first IB diploma programme completed in 2008, also achieved above average results. Two of them even achieved ‘exceptional’ marks and our students are being considered by the best universities around the world for their tertiary education. This has given us great confidence for the future. To promote the cohesion of our school community we teach German and English lessons at differing levels in both School Sections.

Early years education

In our toddler, kindergarten or pre-primary groups the youngest members of our school community learn and develop together through activities stimulating social, intellectual and fine and gross motor skills. Our groups are taught by native speaking teachers to allow the children to strengthen either their German or English language skills.

What makes our work successful?

We place a great deal of emphasis on individualised support. That is why our classes are small, providing opportunities for differentiation in lessons which are aimed at allowing each of our students to fulfil their personal potential. Dedicated teachers and modern equipment in our classrooms ensure that this can be put into practice in every class.

Apart from academic excellence, the numerous and varied opportunities to engage in the creative or sporting activities as well as taking on social responsibility in community projects play an important part in our holistic education. These are many reasons contributing to our recognition as an one of the first "German Partner School Abroad".
The success of our educational work is dependent on close contact with parents as well as the continual and systematic professional development of our teachers. And last but not least, the quality of our service is continually assessed both by the external examiner sent to us by the German Education authorities (Kultusministerkonferenz) and the IB. One particularly pleasing results of our work was the accreditation as an "Excellent German School Abroad" following a German federal school inspection in January 2009. GESS was one of the first schools worldwide to achieve this.