Good to know
Good to Know
- WIS runs on a northern-hemisphere academic calendar (mid-August to mid-June), while DHPS and most other Namibian schools run January to December — a key planning point if you're relocating a school-age child mid-year.
- WIS charges different tuition rates depending on whether a student holds Namibian citizenship/Permanent Residency (local rate) or not (international rate), so a nomad family on a visitor/work permit should budget for the higher non-local tier.
- Both schools publish updated fee schedules annually — always check the school's current official fee page directly before budgeting, as tuition changes each academic year.
- If you have more than one child, apply to Windhoek International School as early as possible — sibling applicants who complete their paperwork by January 1 get admissions priority for the following year, and several grades already run waitlists.
- Non-Namibian children legally need a study permit (or at least a submitted application for one) before/while enrolling in school here — start that process in parallel with school applications, not after.
- WIS runs an August–June academic year while DHPS and most local schools run January–December — worth mapping out carefully if you're timing a relocation or considering switching schools later.
- Homeschooling is legally recognized in Namibia, but the practical advice from homeschooling advocacy groups is to register through the Homeschool Association of Namibia (HAN) rather than directly with the Ministry of Education, since the Ministry's own form technically registers you as a private school rather than a homeschooler.
Schools And Curricula
Windhoek International School (WIS)
- Type
- International, non-profit, coeducational day school (ages 3–18)
- Accreditation
- Accredited by NEASC and the Council of International Schools (CIS); member of the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA).
- Language Notes
- French or Portuguese language acquisition begins in early years; German is offered from Grade 3 onward. An English as an Additional Language (EAL) programme is also available.
- Discounts Notes
- A 25% tuition discount applies to the third of three concurrently-enrolled (documented) siblings, and 50% for the fourth; this does not apply to the Capital Levy, Enrolment, EAL, or Special Education fees.
- Curriculum Notes
- It is the only International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in Namibia, and also the only school in the country to offer a U.S. high school diploma. It follows a northern hemisphere academic calendar (mid-August to mid-June), unlike most other Namibian schools.
Curricula
- IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) — Early Years through Grade 5
- WIS Middle School Programme (Grades 6–8)
- IGCSE, externally moderated by University of Cambridge (Grades 9–10)
- IB Diploma Programme (Grades 11–12)
- WIS American (U.S.) High School Diploma, awarded alongside the IB Diploma
Fees Confirmed
- Application Fee
- NAD 1,000
- Capital Levy Annual
- NAD 7,500
- Core Annual Tuition
- Not confirmed — the school's official fee schedule sets tuition by grade level on a dedicated page, but the specific per-grade tuition figures could not be extracted from available sources at the time of research. WIS states that non-Namibian rates apply unless the student holds Namibian citizenship/Permanent Residency, in which case a discounted local rate applies.
- Enrolment Fee One Time
- NAD 15,000
Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS)
- Type
- German-Namibian integrated private day (and some boarding) school, coeducational, ages roughly 0–19
- Founded
- 1909, making it one of the oldest schools in Namibia
- Curriculum Notes
- Students choose between the Cambridge track or the DIA/Abitur track after Grade 9; both are internationally recognized university-entrance qualifications. DHPS is supported by the Federal Republic of Germany as a German School Abroad and follows the local Namibian academic calendar (January–December), unlike WIS.
Curricula
- German stream leading to the Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung (DIA / German International Abitur)
- English (Cambridge) stream leading to the Cambridge Certificate (AS/A Levels)
- German Language Diploma (DSD I in Grade 9, DSD II in Grade 12) available to English-stream learners
Fees Confirmed
- Tuition Fee Highest Tier Annual
- NAD 66,800
Enrollment And Homeschooling
Homeschooling
- Legal Basis
- The Basic Education Act 3 of 2020 (in force since October 2023) explicitly defines and permits home schooling in Namibia, making it, per legal-tracking sources, one of the few African countries to address home education directly in statute.
- Legal Status
- Fully legal and regulated
- Who It Applies To
- Legal for Namibian citizens and, per expat-focused sourcing, for foreign residents raising children in Namibia as well, though the day-to-day registration mechanics below are what actually govern practice.
- Curriculum Flexibility
- Namibia has not yet set out specific mandatory curriculum requirements for homeschoolers at the lower grades, per legal-tracking sources, which is why internationally-portable options like the Cambridge/British curriculum are commonly used by homeschooling families, though whether such a curriculum formally satisfies the Act's 'legally approved academic curriculum' language is not settled and is described by at least one specialist provider as an open legal question rather than a guarantee.
- Compulsory Schooling Age
- Education is compulsory from the first school day of the year a child turns 6 until the last school day of the year they turn 18 or complete secondary education.
- Local Homeschool Community
- The Homeschool Association of Namibia (HAN) is a genuinely documented governing/support body for homeschoolers in Namibia (covering both individual homeschoolers and homeschool centres), providing guidance on registration and curriculum choice and functioning as the de facto local network — multiple independent sources (HSLDA and CambriLearn) both name HAN specifically rather than a generic regional homeschooling scene.
- Registration Requirement And A Real Ambiguity
- The Act requires an application to the Minister of Education for homeschool registration, generally within about 10 school days of the start of the school year or of the child turning 6. However, multiple homeschooling-advocacy sources (HSLDA and CambriLearn) flag a practical catch: the Ministry's own registration form registers a family as a private school rather than as a homeschooler, which could legally bind them to government curriculum requirements if those are ever enforced — for this reason these sources report the Homeschool Association of Namibia (HAN) recommends registering through HAN instead of, or alongside, the Ministry.
General Enrollment Notes
- Timing Reality
- Enrollment formally cycles at the start of the school year, but schools catering to international/expat families (notably WIS) explicitly accommodate mid-year arrivals — the real constraint is grade-level seat availability, not calendar timing.
- Typical Document Checklist
- Across Windhoek's private/international schools, expect to need: child's passport, proof of a Namibian study permit (issued or at least applied for) for any non-Namibian child, birth certificate, and previous school transcripts/reports.
International Bilingual Schools
Early Years (age 3) through Grade 12
- Curriculum
- IB Primary Years Programme, IB Middle Years Programme, IB Diploma Programme, and American High School Diploma; NEASC accredited; the only IB World School in Namibia
- School Name
- Windhoek International School (WIS)
- Contact Process
- Families are advised to email or call the Head of Admissions to arrange a virtual call or in-person visit before/alongside submitting the online application.
- Academic Calendar
- Northern hemisphere calendar, school year runs roughly August to mid-June — this is different from most other Windhoek schools, which run January–December
- Required Documents
- Online application form, passport copies, and proof that the child either holds or has at least applied for a Namibian study permit (mandatory for all non-Namibian children per government requirement), plus previous school reports for transfers.
- Admissions Timing And Waitlist Reality
- WIS accepts applications year-round and explicitly allows enrollment mid-year since it caters to relocating international families, but several individual grade levels are oversubscribed with active waitlists, so waiting until you land in Windhoek to apply risks missing a seat in popular grades. Admission priority order favors siblings of current students who applied by January 1 for the following year, so families with more than one child should apply as early as possible.
Pre-Reception through Grade 12, day and boarding options
- Curriculum
- Bilingual German-Namibian dual-stream school; German stream leads to the Abitur (DIA) or Haupt-/Realschulabschluss, English stream leads to the Cambridge Certificate, with German language certificates (DSD I/II) available to English-stream learners.
- School Name
- Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS)
- Academic Calendar
- January to December (southern hemisphere calendar) — note this is out of sync with WIS's August–June year, which matters if a family is transferring a child between the two schools mid-relocation.
- Admissions Timing And Waitlist Reality
- DHPS is a large, well-established school (over 1,000 students) with a structured, calendar-year intake; specific current waitlist lengths for foreign applicants were not confirmed in available sourcing — families should contact the school directly well ahead of the January intake, and expect German-language proficiency or willingness to develop it to matter for placement in the German stream.
- Contact Notes
- Office reachable by phone Tuesday–Friday mornings and Monday until mid-afternoon local time; admissions inquiries go through the school's own office rather than a generic online-only form.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed September 2026
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Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.