Cities / Berlin / Internationale Lomonossow-Schule
Internationale Lomonossow-Schule
A bilingual German-Russian K-13 group with two Berlin campuses, in Tiergarten and in Marzahn-Biesdorf, founded out of a Russian-speaking parent community, MITRA, in 2006 and 2007. Around 580 pupils across the two sites, all the way through to Abitur.
In brief
A bilingual German-Russian K-13 group with two Berlin campuses, in Tiergarten and in Marzahn-Biesdorf, founded out of a Russian-speaking parent community, MITRA, in 2006 and 2007. Around 580 pupils across the two sites, all the way through to Abitur.
Lomonossow runs primary, lower and upper secondary in both locations, with the gymnasium licence allowing students to sit the Abitur on site. The model is full bilingual immersion in German and Russian, with strong heritage-language teaching for Russian-speaking families and intensive German support for newcomers.
Independent parent voice is thin in English, and the user base is heavily Russian-speaking with limited overlap into the wider expat circuit. The school reports above-average results in Berlin gymnasium rankings. Practical fit is narrow: a strong choice for families wanting serious German-Russian bilingual education and Abitur access, less obviously the school for families looking for an English-medium international curriculum.
Reviews
A bilingual German-Russian school across three Berlin sites, with the Marzahn campus authorised to award the Abitur. The bilingual model and Russian-style structure draw families from Berlin's Russian-speaking community; the most consistent parent concern is whether children leave with German strong enough for a German university. Since 2022 the school has sat inside a difficult public context: the Marzahn building was firebombed in March 2022 and targeted with anti-Russian graffiti, and Berlin authorities and the school itself responded by reasserting an intercultural identity rather than a national one.
Positives
- Bilingual reach. Russian-speaking families talk about children who genuinely read, write and speak both languages, with Russian literature and a sizeable share of subjects delivered in Russian alongside the Berlin curriculum.
- Structure and discipline. Parents arriving from CIS countries or unhappy with their local state school describe Lomonossow as familiar territory: marks, homework, expectations, a longer day until around 4pm.
- Three-campus footprint. Sites in Tiergarten, Marzahn (Brebacher Weg) and the newer Allee der Kosmonauten campus cover most of the city, with Marzahn carrying through to Abitur.
Considerations
- German-language depth. The most repeated criticism from Russian-speaking parents is that the German environment is thinner than the bilingual label suggests, and some leavers have needed extra German preparation before German-language university study.
- Staffing. Parents talk about teacher churn and recruitment that leans on word of mouth, including being asked at admission whether they know anyone who could teach.
- Geopolitical context. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine the school has had to navigate hostile attention, including a Molotov-cocktail attack on the Marzahn gym entrance and Russophobic graffiti weeks later. The school presents itself as intercultural rather than national, and Berlin's district authorities publicly condemned both incidents.
Academic results
- MSA Secondary school leaving certificate of complete general education
- Abitur German high school diploma