Nelson Mandela School, Berlin

A state-funded bilingual German-English international school in Wilmersdorf, part of the Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin programme and an authorised IB Diploma school since 2005. No fees beyond IB exam costs, grades 1 to 13, students choose between the bilingual Abitur and the IB at the end.

NMS sits at the public-international intersection that Berlin does well: classes are taught in both German and English, places at the primary stage go to children from the SESB catchment by language profile, and an entrance exam runs for grades 7 to 10. The IB at senior school is genuinely free at the point of access except for the IBO exam fees.

Active families are visibly involved, fundraising for extras and bringing professional expertise into classrooms, and the international mix is real. The consistent criticism is administrative. Communication and scheduling can feel disorganised, teaching quality varies more from class to class than at a fee-paying private school, and parents who want a polished operation will find that frustrating. For families willing to lean in, the value for money is hard to beat in Berlin.

A parent with primary and secondary children at NMS said both kids are quite happy and that the school runs dedicated German lessons even at secondary level, though English dominates social interaction.
forum threads frame NMS and JFK School as the two English-language Berlin state schools, with NMS admission described as very tricky outside priority categories such as high mobility from a recent move.
The school is repeatedly cited as a free, IB-offering alternative to private options like Berlin British, BBIS and Berlin International, though some subjects must run in German under Berlin state-school rules.
During the 2021 IB exam dispute, NMS students appear in r/IBO threads coordinating with peers from BCS, BBIS and BIS Berlin, suggesting an organised and articulate IB cohort.
No recurring discipline, safety or teaching-quality complaints surface; the dominant signal is logistical, around admission and language.