Germany · Hamburg
This is Hamburg, not Starnberg and not Oberursel. Germany’s first international school, a day campus in Groß Flottbek. English in class, German from Grade 1. The public fee PDF on the site is from 2018. Ask admissions for the live schedule.
Dieses Porträt steht noch auf Englisch. Die anderen Sprachen kommen Schule für Schule.
Curriculum laut Schule:International Early Years Curriculum · International Primary Curriculum · IB Primary Years Programme (candidate) · IB Middle Years Programme · IB Diploma Programme · IB Career-related Programme
Unterrichtssprachen:English, German from Grade 1
The International School of Hamburg is a not-for-profit day school on Hemmingstedter Weg 130, 22609 Hamburg, in Groß Flottbek, across from the Botanical Garden. The about page calls it an independent, non-profit association. Phone: +49 (0) 40 8000 50 0. Admissions: admissions@ishamburg.org.
Do not mix it up with Munich International School in Starnberg or Frankfurt International School in Oberursel and Wiesbaden. Those are younger cousins. ISH’s about and alumni pages say it was founded in 1957 as the first international school in Germany — a one-room school of 50 near the Alster, later this purpose-built campus. FIS opened in 1961. MIS opened in 1966. If the posting is Hamburg, this is the older house.
It is a day school. Nothing on the official pages describes a boarding house. If the contract has not found a flat, this campus will not absorb the child. The useful conversation is the western suburbs, the three HVV school buses, and the chip card Hamburg residents use on ordinary public transport.
The about page’s snapshot is about 800 students from over 60 nationalities, ages 3 to 18. The homepage currently prints 63 nationalities, a 6.5 : 1 student–teacher ratio, 155 universities, and a 31.9 average for students who earned the IB Diploma in 2026. The alumni page still says “over 730” and “over 55” nationalities. Treat those as the school talking about itself on different days, not a census we counted.
The useful questions are Hamburg questions. Can this child work in English in the year you want? Will they actually learn German after Grade 1? Is Junior School still on the International Primary Curriculum while the school is a PYP candidate? And can you pay what the live Schedule of Fees says this year — because the public PDF on the site is from 2018, and we are not going to pretend those euros are current.
Families on Hamburg contracts who want an English-medium path from age three to the IB years, with German from Grade 1, and who can live within reach of Groß Flottbek. If a waiting list appears, the apply page is first come, first served, with priority to international students who would be unable to cope in the local German school system, and whose parents are on a limited-time assignment in Hamburg. It is also a school that now prints a Financial Aid page.
It is not a German Gymnasium. The IB page calls the Diploma a recognised pre-university course for mobile students. Whether this subject package is allgemeine Hochschulzugangsberechtigung in Hamburg is a counselling conversation. Ask once for the IB subjects, once for a later move to another Land.
The apply page says who the school cannot admit: students who need a self-contained special-education programme; students who cannot cope with the physical limitations of the building; students with a poor previous scholastic or behavioural record. Learning Support, the FAQ says, can work with mild to moderate needs. Test that in the room.
The campus page gives numbers you can walk: 41,000 sqm of grounds and a 19,000 sqm building. The official brochure on the site says students returned on 11 January 2010 to a new building, and that a three-storey West Wing opened on 29 August 2015.
At the heart of it is a Performing Arts Centre with a 400-seat aula. Science has seven laboratories. The Saalfeld Family Library holds about 45,000 items. Outside: three gym halls, a climbing wall, a fitness studio, a 100-metre track, a full-size soccer pitch. Falcons teams play NECIS; intramural sport starts in the youngest years. Tennis, cricket and hockey sit next door at the Rot-Gelb Club. A swim hall is a short bus ride away.
Two playgrounds — one only for the youngest — and a Secondary lounge. The cafeteria holds 300 seats. Since 2023 catering is Katerine GmbH; ordering is cashless through foove. Kiosk 8:00–16:30. Hot lunch 11:30–13:40. We are not inventing a meal price.
In July 2025 the sustainability page says ISH became a certified Eco School, Umweltschule Europa. Two bee colonies, Grade 9 bird boxes, a ban on single-use plastic bottles. Ask to see an ordinary classroom and the dining room, not only the aula.
Think in three bands. The FAQ prints the clock. The calendar page prints the year.
Early Years, ages three to five. Early Years 1, 2 and 3. Play-based International Early Years Curriculum. EY3 adds Foundations phonics, Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, Number Talks and Math in Focus. Specialists teach Music, PE and Library; EY3 also meets IT and EAL. Principal for Early Years and Junior School: Dr Maha Frangieh. Clock: 8:30–15:00.
Junior School, Grades 1–5 (ages 6–10). The Junior School page still describes the International Primary Curriculum — Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, Math in Focus, IPC units, plus specialists in Music, German, PE, Library and ICT. Grade 2 has an overnight local trip; Grades 3–5 go on 3- to 5-day trips in Germany. Same clock: 8:30–15:00.
Hold the PYP sentence at the same time. The about page says the IB Primary Years Programme (age 3–10) — in candidacy. The homepage dated a “PYP Candidate School” note 17 December 2025. The learning page, the day we read it, still said Early Years and Junior School use IEYC and IPC. That is a tour question: what is actually in the classroom this year, and when do they expect authorisation?
Secondary School, Grades 6–12. Principal: Paulina Aguilera. The FAQ starts Secondary at 8:15. Coats and bags in lockers; first-two-period books to homeroom. Day still ends at 15:00. Grades 6–10 follow the IB Middle Years Programme. Grades 6–8 take English, German, Mathematics, History, Geography, Science, Visual Arts, Music, Drama, PE, Design and ICT. French or Spanish begins in Grade 6. Grades 9–10 keep English, Mathematics, German and PE, then elect from the sciences, humanities, languages, Design, Drama or Music. Grades 11–12 may enrol in the two-year IB Diploma Programme or the IB Career-related Programme, “upon departmental recommendation.” ISH has offered the IB since 1979; latest five-year review 2022. The homepage’s 31.9 for 2026 is the school talking about itself.
Accreditation on the about page: CIS and NEASC, most recently evaluated in 2022. Confirm the live cycle.
Published calendars: 2025/26 first day 21 August 2025, last day 25 June 2026 (half day). 2026/27 first day 20 August 2026, last day 24 June 2027 (half day). Current parents get the full timetable on the Community Portal.
After 15:00, most activities run to 16:30. After School Care for ages 3–11 is Monday to Thursday, 15:00–18:00, except vacations, training days and public holidays. The FAQ starts the After School Programme at 15:15. Holiday camps sit in the August, October, February and April gaps. We are not inventing a camp price.
Instruction is in English. That is the easy sentence. The rest is why families stay or leave.
German starts in Grade 1. The FAQ is explicit: it is not taught in the Early Years. From Grade 1 it is a Junior School specialist subject, then a Secondary core through Grade 10. If you want a child who can live in Hamburg rather than only commute through it, test this on a tour.
English as an Additional Language starts in EY3 / P3 and runs through Grade 10, during the day. Junior School uses push-in and pull-out: beginners typically 7 pull-out classes plus 2–3 push-in periods a week; intermediates typically 4 plus 2–3; advanced students are monitored in class. Secondary newcomers are tested on arrival and sit MYP Language Acquisition at Emergent, Capable or Proficient. There is no published English gate for Grade 9 of the kind some other German internationals print. Still ask what “can profit from international education in English” means for this child before you pay the application fee.
French and Spanish begin in Grade 6. Mother Tongue is a different contract: ISH finds a teacher and a room; parents pay the tutor. Junior School currently names after-school Dutch, French, Spanish and extra German. In the IB years a child may take Language A with a privately funded teacher, or a school-supported self-taught Language A at standard level. Ask who teaches your language this year. The school does not print that price.
The about page still invites parents to the Parent Teacher Association. The FAQ now also names a Parent Engagement Team (PET) for social and fundraising events.
The FAQ publishes a cap, which is more useful than “small classes” on a homepage. Maximum 20 in Early Years. Maximum 24 in the rest of the school. We are not inventing an average inside those walls.
Inquire first if you want a tour. That form is not an application. Admissions officers the site names: Margaret Metzler and Karolin Mutzel. Then apply online — new students only, not re-enrolment.
The portal wants a student questionnaire, family and employer details, a health form, proof of two measles vaccinations (German law, before the child can attend), a Learning Support form even if you need nothing, two years of reports, a photo, a passport or official ID, a confidential teacher recommendation, and — for Grades 6–12 — an English placement test. Grade 9 and above also need an official transcript. Diagnosed needs: psycho-educational reports and IEP/IÖP documents, with English translations if needed.
Application fee: €500 per child. That figure is on the current apply page. Required before they process the file. It does not guarantee a place.
The completed file goes to the section principal. Offers come by email. Learning support, financial aid, or “special circumstances” may take longer. Mid-year entry is allowed; admissions is rolling.
Placement for the youngest is a hard 1 October cut-off: three for EY1, four for EY2, five for EY3, six for Grade 1, on or before that date. After that, readiness, maturity, history and motivation. Families arriving in the second semester from a different school-year calendar — the FAQ names South Africa, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand — are usually placed back in the grade they have just finished.
If a waiting list is needed, reread the apply page’s priority sentence. We are not guessing how long that list is this August.
We looked for a 2025/26 or 2026/27 Schedule of Fees on the official site. We did not find one. The public PDF that still lives under /uploaded/documents/ is a 2018–2019 schedule. Those euros are not current. We are not printing them.
What the live pages do say:
Application fee, current apply page: €500 per child. Confirm it has not moved the week you apply.
When money is due. The FAQ: if you start at the beginning of the year, fees are due 1 August. If you start mid-year, within 14 days of the invoice. No credit cards. Bank transfer only. The FAQ says the bank details are on the Schedule of Fees — the document admissions will send you, not the 2018 file.
Financial Aid income bands, as the Financial Aid page itself prints them, tied to the 2024–2025 full-tuition schedule. For a one-child family the top income threshold is €150,000 gross, “with allowances for families with multiple children.” Reduced annual tuition on that page:
| Gross income from | Gross income to | Annual tuition on the FinAid page |
|---|---|---|
| €0 | €50,000 | €3,300 |
| €50,001 | €75,000 | €7,700 |
| €75,001 | €100,000 | €11,600 |
| €100,001 | €110,000 | €13,750 |
| €110,001 | €150,000 | €15,900 |
| above €150,000 | Full tuition (2024–2025 schedule) |
Assets other than the primary residence can push the fee up: nothing under €100,000; then €1,000 / €2,000 / €3,000 / €4,000 in €100,000 steps; above €500,000, full tuition. At least one parent must be employed in or near Hamburg. Families with significant employer support for school fees are not eligible. Request the form from finaid@ishamburg.org during the application. They consider it only after an offer. Both parents or guardians sign one PDF. Awards last one year. Approval stays provisional until last year’s official tax return arrives. Funds are limited. This table is tied to 2024–2025 full tuition, not a promise for 2026/27.
Buses. Three HVV school buses around the outer Alster and HafenCity, Grade 1–12. Cost “differs every year.” Ask admissions. From 1 September 2024 Hamburg-resident students travel free on ordinary hvv (under-sixes already did).
After School Care. Two packages, invoiced to the end of the current trimester, also open to non-ISH children. No prices on the page. Write afterschool@ishamburg.org.
Lunch, music lessons, mother-tongue tutors, NECIS trips, IB exams. Extra, and not printed as a current euro list we can trust.
A first-year Grade 6 is not “about the 2018 number plus a bit.” Write to admissions and ask for this year’s Schedule of Fees before you resign a flat.
The Student Support Services Team screens after a teacher referral. The department names Learning Support, school and college counselling, independently contracted speech and occupational therapists, and school nurses. MYP and DP students may be eligible for inclusive assessment arrangements. The apply page’s “no self-contained programme” line still stands. Ask, in the room, whether ISH can staff what your child actually needs — and what that would cost.
Head of School, on the pages we read: Dr Alan Knobloch.
Ask where a January arrival sits at lunch in week one. Ask how German is grouped from Grade 1. Ask whether Junior School is living in IPC, in PYP candidacy, or in both. Ask who teaches Mother Tongue in your language this year. Ask how many Grade 11s are on the full Diploma versus the Career-related Programme. Ask what “mild to moderate” means for this file. Ask for the current Schedule of Fees, not the 2018 PDF. Ask which of the three school buses — or which S-Bahn plus walk — fits your street before you rent. The FAQ says most families live from Othmarschen and Nienstedten through Blankenese and Rissen, or west of the Alster, and that a flat next to school can be hard to find.
If you might stay in Germany, ask the Hochschulzugang question twice.
We are not saying ISH is the best school in Hamburg. We are not guessing a waitlist. We are not printing 2018 tuition as if it were 2026. We are not inventing a cafeteria price, an ASC package price, or a 2026/27 capital fee. The homepage’s IB average and the “first in Germany” line are the school talking about itself.
Write to admissions and ask for the live fee schedule before you resign anything. This is a map. The school still has to be the right Tuesday. Phorms Campus Hamburg is the other Hamburg climate — bilingual Abitur on Wendenstrasse, not IB.
Offizielle Seiten und Dokumente, die wir gelesen haben. Wenn eine Zahl für Budget oder Bewerbung zählt, öffnet den Link und prüft, ob er noch gilt.
Freundliche Orientierung, kein Antrag. Termine, Gebühren und Programme ändern sich. Alles bei der Schule prüfen.
Hamburg ist kein einzelner internationaler Campus. Es ist ein älteres IB-Haus am Botanischen Garten und ein bilingualer Abitur-Campus in der Mitte. Fragt, welches Papier das Kind halten wird, und mit welcher S-Bahn ihr leben könnt.
16 minDie Buchstaben auf dem Abschlusszeugnis zählen. Sie sind nicht das ganze Kind. So unterscheidet ihr sie ohne Kopfschmerz — und ohne so zu tun, als bliebe jede Tür offen.
16 minIhr braucht keinen perfekten Algorithmus. Nur ein paar wahre Dinge über euer Kind, eine langweilige Liste am Kühlschrank — und den Mut, einen schönen Campus zu ignorieren, der nicht passt.
15 minDas Schulgeld ist die Zahl auf der Startseite. Das PDF ist die Zahl, die im März kommt. Hier steht, wie ihr die zweite lest, ohne einen Euro, eine Krone oder eine Frist zu erfinden.