International English-speaking schools in Munich

Apart from the Bavarian International School and the Munich International School over in Starnberg, does anyone know of any other schools in and around Munich that teach kids with English as the classroom language?

Many thanks.

Related articles: International schools, English-speaking preschools

The BIS and the MIS that you mention, Marka, are the only secondary schools that teach in English. Well, not quite true, there's also the European School, but that's only open to the children of EU employees.

If your kids are younger, then there are several kindergartens and playgroups where they teach in English. I think there's another discussion on this somewhere on the board.

The European School is only open to the children of European Patent Office employees, not to the children of European Commission or European Parliament employees.

Hey! It is not quite true that the European School is only open to the children of European Patent Office employees. Actually only about 60% of the total number of students' parents actually work at the European Patent Office.

There are also lots of students whose parents work for NETMA (Nato), BMW, Panavia, Intel or the European Space Observatory. The problem is just that there are too many students and a serious lack of space which is why at the moment they are only taking new students whose parents work at the European Patent Office or NETMA, as they have some sort of contract with the school.

They are currently constructing two new buildings, so the situtation might change in one or two years. I would not bother phoning them yet though, since they do not take any reservations.

Just wanted to make that clear.
Dan

We are thinking of moving to Holzkirchen. My wife has noted that the gymnasium teaches some subjects in English. Does thius mean there are some expats living in that area? I want my daughter to be bilingual you see.

Jeremy.

I don't live far away from Holzkirchen and there are quite a few Americans living out there (Military). I don't think though (at least I've never heard of it), that there is an expat section in the Gymnasium. The closest non German school would probably be the American school in Bad Aibling. This is their webpage: Bad Aibling American School

Hi,

I am moving to Munich in January 2005 with my 2 little kids age 7 and 9 respectively, due to the fact that my new employer will sponsor first 2 years of their education at International School, I wonder which one is better, MIS or BIS? any advise is very much appreciated.

regards,
Kong Weng

At that age, I would look at which one is closer to where you live and send them there. You don't want the kids to have a 90 minute bus ride each way to school.

It doesn't really matter whether your kids go to BIS or MIS. They both follow the same, International Bac. curriculum and are both owned by the same person.

MIS is bigger than BIS, but that shouldn't really matter that much. Basically, as mentioned before, location is more important. If you will be living anywhere in the south/west of Munich, MIS will be much closer, where as in the north, BIS would be more convinient.

Unless your children would go to the European School, which is located in the south-east of Munich, but quite hard to get into at present, make sure that you don't live too far in the east of Munich, as both international schools are quite far away from there.

Dan

Hi there,

We will be moving to Munich area (Freising, or close to it) this summer. We do not speak German and my husband’s company has offered to pay tuition for international school for our 5yr old, and German classes for myself. I saw in this post that there are 2 international schools MIS and BIS, BIS being in the North, and closer to Freising is probably better idea for us. Does anybody have any experience with BIS, they can share?

Are there any other schools that might be good choice for 5 yr old who does not speak a word of German?

Your help is much appreciated!

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I am a former military person and I was stationed at Bad Aibling. Unfortunately, the station closed last year. At any rate, that school was only for the children of military personnel and Department of Defense employees.

Hana, BIS as mentioned ín the first post is about 20Km north of München in a nice little town called Haimhausen... Motorway connection is great from Freising.

Language is English so no issue.

Hana,

as already mentioned, there is not much to separate the MIS and BIS. The MIS is older and more established - and bigger, I think. Some say that it's better for older kids, since it has more experience in the latter stages of the IB.

My kids went to the BIS for two years and loved it - really loved it. It has an open and friendly atmosphere, and I always found the staff and teachers to be first class (pardon the punn).

Hope this helps,
Eastender.

Hi

I am trying to research the school options in Munich for my eldest son who will be 5 in July when we are likely to move. He is currently in the British School here in Amsterdam and we probably have to go to Munich for 2 years after which we will go to the UK.

So my knowledge to date makes me think that German schools are not an option and even the European School in the centre of Munich probably is not an option (if we managed to get in) as it would only be half days until he is 6 and would be quite a step back in terms of what he is doing this year in Reception. We have to think of not putting him at a disadvantage when we go back to the UK in 2 years. That seems to leave the MIS with the IB system being the closest thing to the British National Curriculum.

BUT its a long way out of town despite bus services which at 5 yrs I'm not wild about. So is this really the only option or does anyone have any other ideas we could look at. If we do have to go with the MIS, where does everyone live in relation to the school (surely not all the way in Starnberg), ie is there an expat area in the South/West side of the city (my husband's office is likely to be near the airport or city centre), or are the expat communities spread out?

Many thanks for any advice.

Louise Holland from Holland

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Louise,

The European school has 2 long days from the first class onward (Tuesday & Thursday) and 3 from the 3rd class.

What about the BIS (Bavarian International School) which is nearer to the airport, it also follows the IB?

hi all,
my husband and i are moving from berlin to munich and so concerned about the schooling issue. it's basically our biggest concern regarding the move.
we've already done countless nights of surfing, spoken to the schul und kultusreferat, and finally made an appointment with the isarschule.
basically, i know that the 2 international schools are frightfully expensive and the european school is imposs to get into. i really want him to receive a well-rounded education in a joyful learning environment, and ideally for his english skills to develop at a grade/age appropriate rate... and not feel like an alien because of his bilingual background. but i'm afraid there's no other school that offers this in munich:(
i know a lot of english-speakers send their kids to public schools. could anyone tell me if they are happy there? did they have problems adjusting as non-germans? are there other english speakers in their schools? are there any neighbourhoods and/or schools in munich that have a higher %age of english-speaking foreigners? do you have english tutors for your kids?

sorry to bombard everyone with my questions. ANY advice will be much appreciated...

Busy Bees International Preschool

A NEW English International Montessori Preschool to open in Gauting/Starnberg, south of Munich, Germany, by Sep-07;

Please see our homepage still under construction at www.busybees-preschool.de for details or e-mail us if you would like more information to info@busybees-preschool.de

Many Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you.

Hello everyone. This is our inaugural journey to evaluating whether we can capitalise on an opportunity to transfer to Munich for 18 months from Australia but unfortunately, the available schooling options are proving to be the biggest challenge! Please correct me if I am wrong but it appears that unless your children can speak German, then you must part with over 13000 Euro for each child (10 yo & 12yo) to attend one of the international schools. Probably could manage this if we didn't need to eat or need a roof over our heads... let's hope I'm worth it and my employer comes to the rescue!

Hey there,
No one seemed to mention Phorms, or maybe I just didn't see it.. Phorms is a new bilingual primary school opening up (in the Bogenhausen area, I believe) this fall. It is different from BIS and MIS in that the tuition is sliding scale (so your kids won't be stuck with a homogenous class of folks), and the location is central. Their enrollment might be full, but you could look into it.

Thanks for the lead Brooklyn, you are correct in saying there is a new school opening in Sept 2007 unfortunately for us though, it will be a Grundschule so it won't cater for my childrens' ages. There are a few others in Germany and their fee structure is much more affordable so if anyone's interested their website is www.phorms.de

Hi,

we are thinking of moving to Munich with our two kids (a girl aged 4 and boy aged 10). We have had a read through previous forum posts and have seen that there are plenty of English speaking kindergarten's that our daughter could attend, but it seems that for our son we are limited only to the two international schools. We would be based in the North west of the city so therefore that only leaves the BIS as an option. I have contacted the school to discuss costs etc. and found them to be very expensive. Does anyone know of any alternatives?

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All "English" schools will be expensive as they are private and self-funding. You might want to check out PHORMS which is bilingual, but also not cheap. Don't exclude the possibility of standard German school. At the age of 10 you might be surprised how quickly your child will learn a second language if thrown in at the deep end, and if you approach it properly he will be given all sorts of additional language training to adapt him quickly to the new school. It doesn't suit every child, but if he does take to it, bilinguallity will be a very valuable asset in future life, and he may even be able to help you with your own integration.

Regarding PHORMS, I've been told that it is very difficult to get in. The school is new and for 1st grade they had over 600 applicants for only 40 spots. 20 of those spots went to siblings so only 20 really existed for new students with no ties. Also, have been told as an international student it is more diffucult to get in. Interviews are done. Ideal candidate is German child who speaks English and has international exposure. My daughter had 2 classmates apply and the international student was denied while her German classmate was accepted. BIS and MIS are your best English school options. It is very expensive but you may ask your employer or your husbands if they would sponsor him. Many of the students who go to the big international schools are sponsored.

I know there is an international French school but one friend who applied was declined since they (the family) are not French. So check your countries embassy website for suggested schools.

As the other Toytowner mentioned German schools are an option but depending on your child's personality and academic discipline, it maybe difficult for your child to be immersed in a language and school system he is not use to. He will pick up the language really fast if he does go to a German school. I've been told by various moms that most kids within a year start to really understand German and speak a good amount.

The requirements are slightly different: at least one of the parents has to be French or French-speaking, or the family has to have some professional links with France, e.g. being on temporary secondment to Germany and planning to go back to France (or another French-speaking country), or awaiting a posting to France - this allows children to continue their schooling in French without interruption or to prepare to join a French-language school once they leave Germany.

My friend's family is American but they do speak French and her child is fluent in French (6 year old). They were denied admission and she said it was because they were not French and as far as I know are not going to a French speaking country after they leave Germany.

Hi thanks for the reply.

From reading other threads I was under the impression that it would be very difficult to get a non german speaking child into a german school. Is there a minimum criteria for language proficiency for entrance?

Has anyone one else had experience in doing this? I would be concerned that the year or so that it would take my child to grasp the language would mean that he gets left behind in other aspects of his education. I have no doubt that ultimately it would be great for him, but have reservations about his happiness and ability to settle quickly in his new environment.

Sorry if my post wasn't clear on that point: by "French-speaking" I meant "native speakers" (e.g. French-speakers from Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, francophone Africa) and not someone who happens to be fluent in French.

Hello. We moved to Munich 5 months ago and my kids (age 9 and 11) attend BIS. I know that it is expensive (my husband's company pays for it), but I think it is well worth it. The school has been fantastic and my kids have transitioned really well with the help of the school. The parents and support groups are also fantastic. I would not recommend putting your 10 year old into a German public school. If you need any other info, please feel free to contact me and I'd be glad to talk to you about it.

It is a requirement that the authorities comply with the educational needs of your child. In the first instance they would probably provide intense language lessons and then integrate him into a local school, possibly with additional extra-curricular language training. For some children it works well, for others it can be a bit of a struggle. It depends on the child and his/her level of interest in the new style of education. I've known 10 year-olds soak up the language and become fluent within a year, such that they end up providing interpreter support to their parents. If you are coming from the UK don't forget that kids there start school at age 4-5, whereas in Germany it's more like age 6-7, so it maybe the year he needs to catch up with the language simply brings his educational abilities into line with his local peers

MIS and BIS are undoubtedly good in many ways, but frighteningly expensive and beyond the reach of most mere mortals, unless sponsored by their employer.

YL6

We moved here in 2006 with 2 children grades 1 & 3. We met with a German grundshcule in Munich and they told us language assistance is available for grade 1 students, but that is all. There would be no language assistance for children above grade 1. Therefore, it would be up to us to hire a tutor for our older child to help him through school. Because we intend to return to the US, we also considered that we would need a private tutor to continue their English/Grammar studies.

Because I, the mom, didn't speak German (at the time), it also meant that my communication with the teachers and administrators would be difficult & limited. We were concerned that sending our children to German school would mean 1 year adjustment to the new system; and more than likely set them back at least 1 year from their peers back home. Therefore, our best choice was to go to the international school.

We chose MIS, and have been more than happy. Yes...it cost an arm & a leg! We won't be here forever, and I have no regrets in our choice.

Perhaps this will help someone trying to make this difficult decision. I know we struggled quite a bit with this decision.

BTW: through conversation with other moms, I've heard of a German school in Pullach where they send the internationals that the rest of the German schools don't want to deal with. Fact or fiction...I don't know??? From what I gathered, it didn't seem like the environment I was looking for, but then I didn't further investigate this.

I live in Pullach and I never heard of such a school. The Pater Rupert Mayer don't want chioldren who don't speak good german (I called them when we moved here and the person I spoke to said, in a very Christian attitude , that they didn't want any foreign kid...)
When we moved here I went to speak with someone from an office for school integration for foreign students (around the Goethe Strasse, I found the thread in TT) who said that kids age 8 and over can't really just go to any school, but need to go to school where they get special language support. I believe they end up in classes where there is no german native. This would be the case for Grundschule. Apparently, as the guy told me at the time (2006), there is no special language support classes in any gymnasium and in any realschule. This means to me that if your child is already 9 or 10 and arrives here with no german, also if he learns well in 1 year of grundschule he has very little chance to get into a good secondary school.
Another thing: I could already speak german at the time, but made (and still make) grammar mistakes. The guy from the office said that the school expects the family to help with homework and stuff, so a not perfect german spoken by the mother can be an issue...guess what? We are going to get empoverished but nevertheless put our kid in MIS...

Does anybody have an idea of how much it costs for a kid to attend the International school (MIS)?
I would like to send my child there, but I cannot find info regarding the fees

Thanks!!!

From Mr. Lodge site - don't know whether the info is reliable but here it is, at least to give you an idea: Munich International School

and don't forget the frightful entrance fee that you have to pay for the first 2 years of attendance: the first year is 4.800 Euro for each child, the second it is slightly less...