Austria · Graz
Akademisches Gymnasium Graz is a public, co-educational day school in the city centre. It follows the Austrian AHS route to the Matura. PEP English Plus adds English to selected lower-school subjects, but it is neither an IB programme nor a fully bilingual pathway.
Akademisches Gymnasium Graz is a public Austrian AHS at Bürgergasse 15. It is a co-educational day school covering the lower and upper AHS years. The final school qualification is the Austrian Matura.
German is the main teaching language. The school’s PEP – Project English Plus class provides additional exposure to English in the lower school. PEP is not the IB Diploma and does not make the whole school bilingual.
PEP is intended for pupils who enjoy English and accept some additional effort. One first-year class follows the PEP model. Pupils still receive their regular English lessons.
English also appears in selected projects and subjects. In the first AHS year, the school highlights biology. Across the next three lower-school years, it increases English use in PE, geography, history and music.
The school says these lessons are taught by subject teachers who also qualify in English. Assessments may increasingly use English. Activities include an English Week, conversation sessions, reading and English-language creative work.
The distinction matters for an international family. A pupil must be able to study the Austrian curriculum mainly in German. PEP enriches that route; it is not an English-medium entry programme or a substitute for German-language support.
In the upper school, pupils use a semester-course system instead of conventional elective subjects. From the sixth to eighth AHS classes, each pupil completes at least ten courses. Some multi-semester language sequences can become Matura subjects.
The published registration period for the 2026/27 first AHS class ran from 23 February to 6 March 2026. It is closed. The school has not yet published dates for 2027/28.
The City of Graz lists four core documents:
The school’s own checklist is longer. It asks for originals and copies, adds the Year 3 annual report, and specifies a parent’s citizenship certificate or passport. It also asks for a guardianship order when relevant.
For 2026/27, the school defined AHS readiness as having no grade worse than Gut in German and mathematics. Gut is the second-highest mark in the Austrian grading system.
If applications exceed places, the school considers siblings already enrolled and performance in the Year 4 semester report. Home proximity receives less weight because the central site has strong public-transport links.
The criteria sheet says the school will try to place friends together. That is a class-allocation request, not a stated admission priority.
The live pages do not publish a process for entry into a later year. Families seeking a transfer should ask which year has capacity and how prior reports will be assessed. Published support services do not imply that a place is available.
The school publishes several support routes. Student and education counsellors cover learning, behaviour, personal concerns, study choices and careers. A school psychologist offers appointments for learning, anxiety, conflict, integration and personal difficulties.
There are also school doctors and a youth coach. The youth-coaching page describes help during difficult stages of a pupil’s education.
These pages confirm that services exist. They do not publish caseloads, guaranteed appointment times, English-language counselling, or the adjustments available for a particular need. Discuss those points with the school before accepting a place.
The school offers supervised care after lessons. Its published schedule combines lunch and free time from 13:30 to 15:00, study from 15:00 to 16:00, and free time until 17:00.
School teachers supervise the programme. The description includes homework help and reinforcement in German, English and mathematics. Families choose between one and five fixed days each week.
Registration is normally binding for the school year and for at least one semester. Withdrawal is exceptional. The page permits notice up to two weeks before the first semester ends, or month-end withdrawal for particularly serious reasons.
The currently displayed monthly care charges are:
| Days each week | Monthly care charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | €26.40 |
| 2 | €35.20 |
| 3 | €52.80 |
| 4 | €70.40 |
| 5 | €88.00 |
The labelled price block gives €7.90 for a standard lunch. Dietary, gluten-free and lactose-free meals are €7.80. The school says both care and meal prices may change.
There is a source conflict. The same page still refers to 2025/26 and gives an older standard-meal figure of €7.60 elsewhere. Its active forms are labelled 2026/27, so obtain the actual charge in writing.
The school does not publish a pupil tuition schedule. Families should still budget for day care, meals and school activities. Ask separately about materials, trips, ski courses and any parent-association contribution.
This is not a boarding school. The website does not advertise accommodation, guardianship or immigration services. A relocating family must therefore confirm residence, visa and adult-care arrangements independently.
Akademisches Gymnasium is a credible fit for a pupil who wants an Austrian AHS education in central Graz. PEP adds meaningful English practice without changing the school’s German academic foundation.
The main caution is equally clear. PEP should not be treated as a fully bilingual or international-school route. Ask how much English the relevant class actually uses and whether the pupil can manage German across the rest of the timetable.
The Graz guide covers the local school landscape. The Austria guide explains the wider public and private system.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
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Both schools are publicly funded Austrian academic secondary schools. GIBS offers extensive English-medium teaching and an IB Diploma option alongside the Austrian curriculum. Akademisches Gymnasium’s Project English Plus adds English in selected subjects, within a predominantly German-language school.
7 minStart with the qualification your child would actually receive. Then check its subjects, language demands, and recognition in the countries where they may study next.
7 minStart with your child and the family's likely plans. Define the non-negotiables, verify the school's claims, compare three realistic options and visit with specific questions.
7 minTuition is only one line of the budget. Separate charges from advance payments, record what each figure includes, and ask the school to confirm your calculation in writing.