The Guide
Mon, 15 June 2026

Cities / Madrid / Deutsche Schule Madrid

Deutsche Schule Madrid

Madrid's German school since 1896, graduating students with both the Abitur and the Spanish Bachillerato. Around 1,000 pupils aged 3 to 18 on a purpose-built Montecarmelo campus opened in 2015.

Deutsche Schule Madrid campus
Deutsche Schule Madrid, Other Madrid. Photograph · School

Curriculum
German
Fees, annual
EUR 5k–8k
Ages
3 to 18
Pupils
~1,000
Founded
1896

Deutsche Schule Madrid has educated Madrid's German-speaking community since 1896 and graduates students with the Abitur and the Spanish Bachillerato. Around 1,000 students aged 3 to 18 on a purpose-built Montecarmelo campus opened in 2015.

Teaching is bilingual German-Spanish with English from primary and optional French from later years, so most graduates leave with three or four languages. The Abitur is recognised in Germany and Spain and feeds students directly into German-speaking universities. Fees run roughly EUR 5,050 to EUR 7,990, materially cheaper than the British and American options in the city.

The Montecarmelo campus, in Fuencarral-El Pardo, has strong music, art and science facilities, an auditorium and a modern sports hall. Parents praise the architecture, the rigour, and the multilingual outcomes. Best fit for German and Austrian families on a Madrid posting, Spanish families committed to a German pathway from nursery, and bilingual families wanting an academically demanding European school at a non-British price point.


Annual fees

Year level Age Fee
KG1-KG3 (ages 3-5) 3 €6,800
Classes 1-4 (ages 6-10) 6 €5,050
Classes 5-6 (ages 10-12) 10 €5,420
Classes 7-10 (ages 12-16) 12 €5,830
Class 11 (age 16-17) 16 €6,390
Class 12 / Abitur (age 17-18) 17 €7,990

One-time fees

Item Age Fee
Schulverein (annual) €200
Admission Fee €1,450
Refundable Deposit - Baustein (1st child) €2,000


  • Independent review pool is small. The school sits in Montecarmelo on the Madrid outskirts after a 2015 relocation, so most available commentary focuses on the new campus rather than student experience.
  • Facilities draw the most consistent praise. Reviews single out the architecture, the Werner-von-Siemens auditorium, and the music and sports infrastructure.
  • One parent described it as expensive with limited spots, noting prospective parents should contact the school directly.
  • A separate parent comment placed Colegio Alemán among the prestigious schools attended by children of established Spanish business families, hinting at a tight social circle.
  • Aggregate parent ratings sit in the mid-band, suggesting polarised experiences below the marketing surface.

Positives

  • Campus and facilities. The Montecarmelo campus, auditorium, and arts and sports infrastructure are the most consistently praised features

Considerations

  • Cost and access. Parents flag high fees and tight admissions, with limited places relative to demand
  • Social mix. Reviews position the school as part of Madrid's established private-school circuit, with a settled local-family base
  • Signal volume. Independent parent commentary is thin compared with English-medium peers in Madrid

Leadership

Dirk Karl Pilgram

Dirk Karl Pilgram has served as the Director (Schulleiter) of the Deutsche Schule Madrid since August 2022. Born in Leverkusen, Germany, he has a long-standing career in international education, previously serving as the Head of Secondary Education at the German School of Lisbon (Deutsche Schule Lissabon) before moving to Madrid. His leadership is focused on the school's mission as a 'Begegnungsschule' (encounter school), promoting bilingualism and intercultural exchange between the German and Spanish communities. He is committed to maintaining the school's high academic standards, as evidenced by its repeated recognition with the 'Exzellente Deutsche Auslandsschule' seal. He is also known for fostering a supportive community for students transitioning through the German and Spanish educational systems.

Accreditations

  • Council of International Schools 01

  • IB Diploma 2024 average 38 points
  • A* / A at A Level 2024 52%

Calle Monasterio de Guadalupe, 7, 28049 Madrid

School website