Cities / Istanbul / Deutsche Schule Istanbul
Deutsche Schule Istanbul
Istanbul's oldest continuously operating foreign school, founded in 1868, DSI sits in the heart of Beyoğlu and awards the German Abitur alongside the Turkish Lise Diploması. Instruction is in German with Turkish and English, and fees are means-tested on family…
In brief
The historic German-curriculum high school in Beyoğlu, founded in 1868, leading to the German Abitur and a route into German-speaking universities.
Deutsche Schule Istanbul is a high school only, ages 14 to 18, including a preparatory year. It is jointly answerable to the German Federal Ministry of Education and the Turkish Ministry of National Education. Instruction is in German for most subjects, with Turkish Literature and Social Studies taught in Turkish, and English as a second foreign language.
Turkish students enter via a national selective exam where successful applicants typically score among the top 250 nationally, so the academic intake is filtered. Graduates leave with both a Turkish high school diploma and the Deutsches Sprachdiplom, and those who sit the matriculation exam earn the Abitur, opening up universities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Fees sit around 494,000 to 1.5 million TRY. Families pick this school for the German university pipeline, not as an expat international school.
Fees
| Fee | Age | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hazirlik / Prep Year (annual, new) | 13 | Annual | TRY 1,500,000 |
| Grade 9 (annual, renewal) | 14 | Annual | TRY 1,389,330 |
| Grade 10 (annual, renewal) | 15 | Annual | TRY 625,044 |
| Grade 11 (annual, renewal) | 16 | Annual | TRY 542,798 |
| Grade 12 (annual, renewal) | 17 | Annual | TRY 494,508 |
Reviews
- Discussion is dominated by current students and graduates rather than parents. The school is consistently grouped and Turkish forums with Istanbul Erkek Lisesi, Galatasaray, Robert Kolej and Saint Joseph as one of the city's most selective high schools.
- Selectivity is hard. Turkish applicants reach the school through a national entrance exam, with admission concentrated in roughly the top 250 nationwide.
- Alumni describe the academic load as demanding and the language model unusual: maths and natural sciences taught in German, social sciences in Turkish, mandatory English. One graduate said preparing for German universities was the school's biggest practical advantage.
- Independent parent voices are essentially absent. Main schools directory shows zero reviews. The available signal is student-led and skews positive about academic rigour and university outcomes; pastoral or admin complaints are not surfaced in public English- or Turkish-language forums.
Head of school
Georg Leber
Georg Leber (born 1968) is the Director of the Deutsche Schule Istanbul, a position he has held since August 2024. A qualified German high school teacher, he studied Latin, Geography, and Educational Science at the University of Cologne. Before his appointment in Istanbul, Leber served as the principal of the Schönborn-Gymnasium in Bruchsal from 2019 to 2024 and previously led the Deutsche Schule der Borromäerinnen in Cairo, Egypt (2015-2019). His professional background includes leadership roles in the European Jesuit Schools network and as a coordinator for Abitur examinations in the North Africa and Middle East region. In his current role, he emphasizes the school's mission as a cultural bridge and its contribution to German-Turkish relations.
Accreditations
- Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen 01