Berlin Bilingual School

A small, parent-founded German-English bilingual primary and secondary school in Friedrichshain, set up in 2007 by a group of expat families and grown into a settled community of around 450 children from 30-plus nationalities.

The school covers ages roughly 6 to 18 with a genuine bilingual model rather than English-as-a-foreign-language, and has an unusually high level of parent involvement. In practice it is a German state-recognised bilingual school running on the Berlin framework with strong English immersion, not a UK-curriculum school despite some directories listing it that way.

Families talk warmly about the diversity, the welcoming community, and teacher quality. It sits in a different category from the larger IB schools like BIS or BBIS, with fees lower and a more local, neighbourhood feel. For families who want bilingual continuity, are happy with the German school system, and want a small school where they will know other parents, this is the kind of place that gets recommended hand to hand. Less right for families who specifically need an IB Diploma exit.

A parent-founded bilingual school split across two east-Berlin sites: primary in Friedrichshain, secondary in Pankow. The defining trait is the income-scaled fee, monthly tuition running roughly EUR 100 to 513 depending on household income, which puts it in a different bracket from the city's full-fee international schools. Pupils sit a dual track to MSA and IGCSE in Grade 10, then Abitur and A-Levels at the top end. Parent voices skew warm on community and teachers; the most consistent caveat is that admission requires functional German and English on day one, which narrows the pool.