The State International School is only one of two state schools in Germany were English is used…read morealmost exclusively as teaching language. As such, it is part of the Schuldorf Bergstraße and is run under the auspices of the Kultusministerium Hessen. Lessons are taught in English with the exception of German lessons (4 times a week, children being separated according to native and non-native speakers). The curriculum follows a combination of the English and Welsh National Curriculum and the International Primary Curriculum (IPS), with some input from the elementary curriculum of the state of Hesse. The school is still new (it started in 2005/06), and will grow with its pupils. In 09/10 there will be a year 6 class for the first time. Year 1 and 2 are taught together in one class (which is not exclusive to this school, but becoming more and more common in the state of Hesse). Core teaching times are from 8.45am to 3pm, with supervision (with or without extracurricular activities) available from 7.30am onwards, and from 3 to 6pm. It is not a school for children to learn English, but rather a school for English speaking children, however, not a school for native English speakers exclusively.

This is a State international school, which means tuition is VERY low (2007-08 school year is 270…read moreEuro/month for supervision fees). For english-only speaking parents, there are some concerns. Some important written general communications come in German first, with English versions coming later (sometimes much later.) (This excludes curriculum and classroom communications, which are always in english.) The teaching staff is truly international, consisting of teachers from the UK, USA, Germany, France and Jamaica. The teachers I've dealt with are good, though I understand from other parents that communication levels differ greatly from class to class. (Only one teacher in the entire school currently provides a weekly schedule and a newsletter covering the previous week's events.) The school shares many resources with the local German Grundschule, including the secretary and Headmaster, so they are commensurately overburdened and have limited availability. It is also not entirely clear as to who is responsible for what in general terms of funding/building the school receives some funding from the state (Hessen) and some costs (see above) are covered by parents and there is a non-profit group (Förderverein) who are responsible for raising money for the school from activities like bake sales and flea markets as well as courting large corporations for funding. The school is currently grades 1-4 with a new building coming later to cover years 5-12.