Good to know
Good to Know
- Berlin's free state bilingual schools (JFKS, Nelson Mandela, the SESB network) offer genuinely strong bilingual education at no cost, but admission is highly competitive — JFKS uses a lottery with over 1,000 applicants a year for limited places, and SESB places are allocated by district and oversubscribed.
- Private international/IB schools in Berlin are noticeably cheaper than equivalent schools in London, Zurich, or Geneva, which is a real draw for relocating families, though published fee ranges vary noticeably between sources — always confirm current tuition directly on the school's own website before budgeting.
- Several flagship international schools (BBIS in Kleinmachnow, parts of the Zehlendorf/Dahlem cluster) sit well outside the city center, so factor in a longer commute or plan housing around the school rather than the center.
- Germany allows families to deduct part of private school tuition from taxable income (capped per child), and many relocating employers include school fee contributions in expat packages — worth checking before finalizing a school choice.
- Popular year groups (Class 1, Class 5/7 transitions, and IB Diploma/IGCSE years) fill up fastest; applying 6–9 months ahead of the August intake is commonly recommended.
- Start school applications before you start the housing search if possible — the two run in parallel, but the best international schools in central districts (Charlottenburg, Mitte) fill up 9-15 months ahead for entry-point years (Year 1/Reception, Year 7, Diploma).
- If you want a low-cost bilingual education and are staying long-term, look seriously at the state-funded Europa-Schulen (SESB) network and JFKS — tuition is minimal or free, but the catchment/lottery/priority-points process is bureaucratic and largely in German, and you generally need an Anmeldung (registered Berlin address) before you can apply.
- Vaccination records are a standard required document for school enrollment in Germany — have your child's full vaccination history translated/organized before applying.
- Homeschooling is not a legal fallback option in Germany even for foreign families passing through for a school year — plan on enrolling in an actual school from the start.
- Some private schools (e.g. Berlin International School) charge no application fee at all, while others charge a standard ~100 EUR non-refundable fee per application — worth checking per school since it adds up if you're applying to several.
Private International And Bilingual Schools
Berlin International School (BIS)
- Location
- Dahlem, Steglitz-Zehlendorf
- Curriculum
- IB World School; Berlin Rahmenlehrplan, Cambridge IGCSE, and IB Diploma Programme; instruction in English and German; grades 1–12; over 60 nationalities
- Notes
- Some aggregator sources cite a higher range (up to roughly €22,500–27,000 for Diploma years); treat published figures as indicative and confirm directly with the school.
Tuition
- Primary
- €12,300
- IB Diploma
- €18,240
Berlin British School (BBS)
- Tuition
- €13,100
- Location
- Charlottenburg, near the Olympiastadion
- Curriculum
- English National Curriculum combined with IGCSE (grades 9–10) and IB Diploma (grades 11–12); offers both a bilingual German-English stream and a monolingual English stream
- Notes
- 2.5% sibling discount; school uniform required; founded 1994 after the withdrawal of British forces.
BBIS Berlin Brandenburg International School
- Tuition
- €16,000
- Location
- Kleinmachnow (southwest of Berlin, outside the city proper)
- Curriculum
- Full IB continuum — Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, and Diploma Programme — plus Reggio Emilia-influenced early years; boarding available from Year 9
- Notes
- CIS- and NEASC-accredited; around 900 students from 70+ nations; on a large wooded campus outside central Berlin.
Berlin Metropolitan School (BMS)
- Tuition
- €15,000
- Location
- Mitte
- Curriculum
- Bilingual German-English IB World School: IB PYP, Cambridge IGCSE, Berlin Rahmenlehrplan (MSA), and IB Diploma
- Notes
- Oldest international school in central Berlin; one of the few truly central options for families settling in Mitte.
Phorms Berlin (Mitte and Süd Campuses)
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Mitte and Zehlendorf area
- Curriculum
- Bilingual German-English full-immersion network; Cambridge International Primary Programme, MSA, German Abitur, and US Advanced Placement (AP)
- Notes
- Over 800 students aged 2–18; heavier English concentration in early years, increasing German in later years.
Berlin Bilingual School
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Primary in Friedrichshain, Secondary in Prenzlauer Berg
- Curriculum
- German-English immersion using the Berliner Rahmenlehrplan, International Primary Curriculum (IPC), UK National Curriculum, MSA, Edexcel (International) GCSE, and Abitur
- Notes
- Over 420 students; positioned as an affordable bilingual option relative to the larger IB campuses.
Platanus Schule Berlin
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin (Pankow area)
- Curriculum
- German-English bilingual; Berliner Rahmenlehrplan leading to MSA; arts and sciences focus
- Notes
- Runs two kindergartens plus primary and secondary levels.
Berlin Cosmopolitan School (BCS)
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Mitte
- Curriculum
- Non-profit bilingual school; IB PYP (candidate status) and IB Diploma (candidate status) alongside the German Abitur; state-authorised Grundschule and Gymnasium
- Notes
- Focus on sciences, music and dance; two campuses.
Wangari Maathai International School
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin
- Curriculum
- Public international bilingual German-English school
- Notes
- State-run, so tuition-free or near-free as with other public bilingual schools.
Swiss School Berlin (Wannsee)
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Wannsee
- Curriculum
- Bilingual German-French education with the option of the Swiss Matura or the German Abitur
- Notes
- Serves preschool through Grade 12.
International School Villa Amalienhof (ISVA)
- Tuition
- €2,520
- Location
- Heerstrasse area, western Berlin
- Curriculum
- English National Curriculum; the only international school in Berlin noted for offering A-Levels; CoIS-accredited, University of Cambridge test center
Lycée Français De Berlin
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin
- Curriculum
- French Ministry of National Education curriculum, delivered bilingually in German and French; subsidised by the AEFE
- Notes
- Founded in 1689; one of the oldest bilingual institutions in the city.
Collège Voltaire
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Kurfürstenstraße area
- Curriculum
- French-medium instruction (Ganztagsschule/all-day school)
- Notes
- Caters to children aged 3 to 15.
King Fahad Academy Berlin
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Fürstenbrunner Weg area
- Curriculum
- Arabic-language primary and college-preparatory school
Japanese International School Berlin
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Lankwitz
- Curriculum
- Japanese national curriculum, first grade of elementary through ninth grade of junior high
- Notes
- Small-group, individualized instruction.
International Montessori School Berlin
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin
- Curriculum
- Montessori method delivered in a bilingual German-English environment, grades 1–10
- Notes
- Around 110 students.
Freie Schule Anne-Sophie Berlin
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Zehlendorfer Welle, Clayallee area
- Curriculum
- Primary and university/college-preparatory school
State Funded Free Or Low Cost Bilingual Schools
John F. Kennedy School (JFKS)
- Type
- State-funded, tuition-free (jointly run by the Berlin Senate and the US Embassy)
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Zehlendorf
- Curriculum
- German-American bilingual programme; students can graduate with the German Abitur, US High School Diploma (including AP courses), or both
- Notes
- Roughly 1,700 students; admission is highly competitive with entry mainly by lottery from age 5; students must be registered residents in Berlin.
Nelson Mandela School (NMS)
- Type
- State-funded, tuition-free public international school
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Wilmersdorf
- Curriculum
- German-English bilingual, leading to the German Abitur and/or IB Diploma; UNESCO Associated Schools Project member
- Notes
- Covers Year 1 to Year 13; places are scarce and competitive.
Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin (SESB) Network
- Type
- State-funded, tuition-free network
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Roughly 35 locations across multiple Berlin districts
- Curriculum
- Bilingual/bicultural instruction from Grade 1 in nine partner languages alongside German, allocated by district (Bezirk)
- Notes
- Demand consistently exceeds supply; families apply through the district Jugendamt/Bezirk in autumn for the following August.
Charles Dickens Grundschule
- Type
- State-funded SESB Europa-Schule primary
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf area
- Curriculum
- German-English bilingual primary (feeds into Berlin British School's shared campus)
- Notes
- One of Berlin's established bilingual 'Europe Schools' at primary level.
Quentin Blake Grundschule (QBES)
- Type
- State-funded, tuition-free
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin (SESB primary)
- Curriculum
- German-English bilingual instruction beginning in Grade 1, with classes split between native German- and English-speaking teachers
Romain-Rolland-Oberschule
- Type
- State-funded, tuition-free
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin
- Curriculum
- French-German bilingual, preparing students for the Abi-Bac; two classes are bilingual French-German from age 5
Schiller-Oberschule
- Type
- State-funded Europa-Schule secondary
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Berlin
- Curriculum
- Dual German-English instruction (French also offered); students take the Abitur and Mittlerer Schulabschluss (MSA)
Peter-Ustinov-Schule
- Type
- State-funded, tuition-free
- Tuition
- €0.00
- Location
- Charlottenburg
- Curriculum
- Bilingual German-English Integrierte Sekundarschule (ISS) for Year 7 to Year 10
Enrollment And Homeschooling
- Overview
- Berlin's international and bilingual school sector has grown quickly with the city's expat, tech, embassy and biotech population, and the most established schools now run genuine multi-year waitlists for the most-requested entry points (Reception/Year 1, Year 7, and IB Diploma entry). Families relocating to Berlin should treat school admissions as a parallel-track priority alongside the housing search, not something to start after arrival.
- Waitlist Realities
- Waitlists are real and vary sharply by school and campus location. Berlin International School and BBIS hold the longest waitlists for Reception, Year 7 and Diploma entry, while BBIS's satellite-town campus tends to have a shorter waitlist than the inner-city schools. Public bilingual routes like JFKS and the SESB network add their own bottleneck: JFKS runs a lottery with citizenship-based priority, and SESB places depend on district catchment and priority-point allocation rather than simple order of application.
- Capital And First Payment Timing
- Once a school contract is signed, an initial payment — often covering an admissions fee plus the first one to three months of tuition — is typically due within a few weeks of signing, generally 4 to 8 weeks before the school start date, and this payment is usually non-refundable.
Homeschooling
- Legal Status Germany
- illegal
- Legal Basis And Detail
- Germany enforces Schulpflicht — compulsory school attendance, not merely compulsory education — meaning children are legally required to attend an approved school in person; German law does not permit homeschooling based on parents' religious or pedagogical convictions, and exemptions are granted only in very limited circumstances (chiefly documented medical reasons), and even then rarely. Violations are typically treated first as an administrative offence, escalating to fines, with enforcement and process varying somewhat by Bundesland (federal state), and this applies to resident foreign families as well — the requirement is tied to residing in Germany with a child of school age, not nationality.
- Local Homeschooling Community
- No genuinely documented, legally operating homeschooling community or co-op could be confirmed for Berlin, which is consistent with the underlying legal status: because homeschooling as a full substitute for school attendance is not permitted, there is no aboveground local support network of the kind found in countries where homeschooling is legal. Any groups practicing home education in Germany reportedly do so facing legal difficulty rather than as an established, sanctioned option.
- Practical Implication For Nomad Families
- Families intending a longer stay in Berlin with school-age children should plan on enrolling in a public, private, or international school as the primary schooling pathway; unschooling or full homeschool substitution is not a legally viable long-term option here, unlike in some other countries.
Application Fees Typical
- Examples
- Berlin Bilingual School and BBIS both charge a non-refundable 100 EUR application/trial-day fee (BBIS credits this toward the school contract if enrolled); Berlin International School charges no application fee at all.
- Typical Fee
- €100
- Note
- Fees vary by school; several established schools charge a one-time, non-refundable application/testing fee, while some charge none.
Typical Application Timing
- Detail
- Demand for kindergarten and Year 1 places is high; families typically apply 12 to 15 months before the planned start. Berlin International School and BBIS hold the longest waitlists for Reception, Year 7 and Diploma entry, and one guide recommends applying at least 9 to 12 months ahead of your start date for the most competitive year groups (Year 1, Year 7 and Diploma entry).
- School Type
- Established private international/IB/bilingual schools (e.g. Berlin International School, BBIS, Berlin Metropolitan School)
- How Far Ahead
- Most sources converge on 9 to 15 months ahead of the intended start date for the most competitive year groups.
BBIS Berlin Brandenburg International School
- Detail
- Families can start an application to BBIS at any time, with a one-time, non-refundable application fee of 100 EUR due per submitted application; this is credited when the school contract is signed and may be waived in individual cases.
- How Far Ahead
- Rolling admissions, but earlier is safer given demand
Berlin International School (BIS)
- Detail
- BIS accepts applications all year round with no deadline, and also accepts new students mid-year (except Grade 11), but because there are usually more applicants than open spaces, families are advised to submit their application for the beginning of a new school year as early as possible, before April. No application fee is charged.
- How Far Ahead
- No fixed deadline, but apply before April for a new school year given oversubscription
Berlin Bilingual School (BBS)
- Detail
- For Grade 1, registration for the 2026-27 school year had to happen between August 15 and September 15, 2025, with registrations outside that window not considered; admission is explicitly not on a first-come, first-served basis. For Grade 7, the deadline is the end of March of the enrollment year, with decisions notified by March 31; Grades 2-6 and 8-13 are processed on an ongoing basis depending on availability.
- How Far Ahead
- Fixed annual registration windows, not first-come-first-served
- Detail
- Admission is extremely competitive, with over 1,000 families applying each year for entry at age 5; entry is primarily by lottery, with priority given to US and German citizens and a waiting-list policy for other nationalities. Students must be registered in Berlin (Anmeldung) to apply.
- School Type
- John F. Kennedy School (JFKS) — free German-American public bilingual school
- How Far Ahead
- Apply well over a year ahead; entry is lottery-based and highly oversubscribed
January application window for the following September
- Detail
- The state Europa-Schulen and bilingual public sector have a January application window for the following September; families should gather proof of Berlin residency, an employment contract and any sibling-school connection, since these schools follow strict allocation rules where parental priority points matter.
- School Type
- State bilingual Europa-Schulen (SESB network, e.g. Nelson Mandela School)
Kita (daycare/preschool) voucher — Kita-Gutschein
- Detail
- Apply at the Jugendamt of your district of residence 2 to 9 months before your desired start date; processing takes around 6 to 8 weeks and the voucher is valid for 7 months to find a Kita place. Every child from age one has a legal entitlement to a Kita place, though securing an actual spot in practice depends on availability.
- How Far Ahead
- 2 to 9 months ahead of desired start
Required Documents Commonly Requested
- Completed application form, signed by both parents (or proof of sole custody)
- Copy of passport, plus visa or residence permit for non-EU nationals
- Birth certificate
- Last two academic years of school reports/report cards
- Most recent standardised test results where available (e.g. MAP, ERB)
- Vaccination record — mandatory in Germany
- Anmeldung confirmation (proof of registered Berlin address)
- Reference letter from the previous school, especially for selective bilingual/IB programmes
- For bilingual-track applicants: German language proficiency evidence — bilingual schools typically expect at least A1-A2 German from Year 2 onward, rising to B1/B2 for older students in fully bilingual programmes
Berlin has one of the largest concentrations of international and bilingual schools in Germany, spanning free state-run bilingual programmes, income-scaled independent bilingual schools, and fully private IB/British/American-track schools. Many of the best-known private and international campuses sit outside the immediate city center — in Dahlem, Zehlendorf, Kleinmachnow and Wannsee — while a smaller cluster (Berlin Metropolitan School, Phorms Mitte, Berlin Cosmopolitan School) is genuinely central in Mitte.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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