Greece · Maroussi
Deutsche Schule Athen combines a German curriculum with substantial Greek teaching from kindergarten through Grade 12. It leads to the German International Abitur. Admission language requirements differ sharply between primary and the Grade 7 Profile E route.
Deutsche Schule Athen, usually shortened to DSA, is a private, co-educational day school in Maroussi. It covers kindergarten, preschool, Grades 1-4 and secondary Grades 5-12.
The school describes itself as an integrated German-Greek Begegnungsschule, meaning a school where pupils from both language backgrounds learn together. The curriculum is German with a strong Greek component.
Grade 12 leads to the Deutsches Internationales Abitur (DIA). This is the German university-entry school qualification, not the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Admission to a particular university course remains a separate decision.
DSA is a strong option for a family seeking long-term German education without treating Greek as a minor host-country subject. It is especially coherent for a child who can continue towards the DIA.
It is not a beginner-German route at every age. Primary applicants need very good German before admission, although enrolled pupils receive differentiated language support.
The Maroussi location also matters. Visit at the child’s actual arrival and dismissal times, because secondary pupils may finish after the core period printed on the fee page.
For English-medium or other qualification routes, use the Athens school guide. Compare teaching language, entry requirements and leaving qualification rather than the word “international” in a school’s description.
The school includes kindergarten and preschool in its all-through structure. The fee page treats these stages separately only for optional afternoon care, which runs from 14:30 to 16:00.
Primary teaching follows a German curriculum. Compulsory lessons run from 08:00 to 13:10, Monday to Friday, with six lessons each day.
An optional supervised homework period runs from 13:30 to 14:30. Registered primary pupils can use free afternoon care until 16:00, including an activities programme.
This free primary care is different from the separately priced kindergarten and preschool provision. Ask about registration deadlines and available places.
The 2026-27 secondary FAQ gives a longer day than the fee page’s general 08:00-14:25 billing description. Grades 5-6 have 35 weekly lessons and usually finish at 14:30.
Grades 7-8 have 37 or 38 lessons. Depending on electives, pupils finish at 15:15 on two or three days each week.
Grade 9 has 38 or 39 lessons and may finish at 15:15 on three or four days. Ask for the individual timetable before fixing transport or after-school care.
German is the main teaching language. In primary, class teachers receive regular support from specialists in German as a foreign or second language.
Modern Greek is taught in separate groups for native and non-native speakers. Primary pupils with no Greek receive an additional intensive introductory course during their first months.
From 2026-27, the school is harmonising its German and Ellada profiles. The change starts in Grade 7 and grows with those cohorts through Grade 9.
German and Greek lessons remain grouped at basic or extended level. Pupils also retain a German- or Greek-language choice for social studies, history, geography and the relevant religion classes.
The primary programme names two German-language specialists and a specialist in Greek as a foreign language. It also describes assessment and planning by the school psychologist and special educator.
Children with disabilities or identified special educational needs may attend, but the page qualifies individual provision as being within the school’s possibilities. This is a capacity limit, not a guarantee of every adjustment.
The secondary FAQ describes assessment for reading and spelling difficulties. Any examination adjustment is considered individually and changes how a pupil demonstrates learning, not the academic standard.
Send current reports before applying. Ask the school to confirm available staff time, classroom adjustments, language support and any additional cost in writing.
Children of any nationality may apply. Admission depends on a place being available and German strong enough to follow lessons; primary is not designed as an introductory German course.
DSA holds primary places for its own preschool pupils, but progression is not automatic. The school checks German, overall development and school readiness, and may recommend another preschool year.
External families should contact primary leadership between October and March before the intended school year. The school usually decides in April or May, while enquiries from May onwards have limited prospects.
Contacting the school earlier is useful for planning, but the primary page says the date of the family’s first enquiry does not determine admission priority.
An in-person meeting with the child and at least one parent is normally required, including for families living abroad. Online meetings are exceptional.
For Grade 1, the child must turn six by 31 December of the entry year. Send existing school reports or kindergarten development reports with the first enquiry.
A summer transfer is preferred. Mid-year entry, a very short stay, or admission for a child already attending a Greek school in Athens is possible only exceptionally.
Profile E provides a Grade 7 entry route through a German examination. Applicants should have B1 German, an intermediate level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, when registering.
The examination itself is at B1. It has a written section covering reading, listening and text production, followed by an oral section for pupils who pass the written test.
A candidate rejected through this process cannot apply to Profile D in the same year. This makes the choice of route consequential.
For 2026, registration closed on 19 March. The written examination was on 28 March, the oral examination on 23 May, and the examination fee was EUR 140.
The 2026 application required a form, a pupil photograph and signed acceptance of the procedure rules. Families had to send the bundle to both the school secretariat and accounts office.
Those dates have passed. The school has not published a 2027 timetable, so ask when registration will open and whether the process or profile names will change.
The school’s two current fee pages disagree on the standard annual amount. The German page says EUR 6,120; the Greek page says EUR 6,160. Both cover kindergarten through Grade 12.
Obtain the applicable figure in writing. The remaining published amounts match across both pages:
| Charge | Amount | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Advance-payment tuition | EUR 5,920 | Full payment by 31 July 2026; the deadline has passed |
| Third and later enrolled children | EUR 5,560 | Confirm whether this can combine with another reduction |
| First admission | EUR 1,850 | One-time charge, subject to the return-admission rule |
| Other compulsory charges | EUR 250 | Registration 100, materials and educational visits 110, accident insurance 30, parents’ association 10 |
| Optional kindergarten or preschool care | EUR 300 | Care from 14:30 to 16:00; the page does not state a billing interval |
The general tuition line describes a core period of 08:00-14:25, or lessons according to the timetable. It does not override the shorter primary day or later secondary dismissal times.
If a pupil returns within three school years, the first-admission charge is not repeated. After four school years away, half is charged; after more than four, the full amount applies again.
This return rule is not a refund policy. Ask for the current contract, instalment dates, withdrawal notice, refund terms, meal and transport prices before accepting a place.
Choose DSA if the child is ready for its German-language entry route and the family wants the DIA within a genuinely German-Greek programme. Primary and Grade 7 admission should be planned as separate processes.
Before accepting, settle four points: the applicable EUR 6,120 or EUR 6,160 tuition, actual daily hours, available support, and the payment and withdrawal contract.
For a child without strong primary-level German, the school’s language support does not remove the admissions threshold. Ask whether a later Profile E application at B1 is the more realistic route.
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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Athens offers British, American, Greek, French and German routes. Match the child’s language and qualification needs before comparing campuses across the northern and eastern suburbs.
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.