Frankfurt International School: campuses, language support and full costs

Frankfurt International School, or FIS, is a not-for-profit day school with campuses in Oberursel and Wiesbaden. It teaches in English and offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma in Grades 11–12 alongside its High School Diploma. Wiesbaden ends at Grade 8, so families choosing it need to plan the later move to Oberursel.

FIS is a strong option for families seeking an English-medium education with a choice of high-school qualification pathways. The main practical questions are the campus journey, English support after Grade 8 and the full cost of the first two years, including the capital assessment.

Choosing a campus

In Oberursel, the primary campus is at Alfred-Lechler-Straße 10, a short walk from the elementary and upper-school campus at An der Waldlust 15, 61440 Oberursel. The upper school covers Grades 6–12. Primary children therefore use a different entrance from older siblings.

Wiesbaden is at Rudolf-Dietz-Straße 14, 65207 Wiesbaden, with First Steps through Grade 8 on one site. FIS describes it as the smaller campus. The enquiry form allows a campus preference or no preference; compare the journey from home and work before deciding.

Neither campus offers boarding. Arrange a tour of the relevant year group, including ordinary classrooms and dining arrangements. Ask about the internal transfer process if your child might move between campuses.

The school describes a broad extracurricular programme, including primary strings, Grade 4 virtual reality, drama, design technology and coding. It publishes 40+ activities, roughly 50 upper-school organisations or service groups, 11 sports teams and 50 annual volunteering opportunities. These counts describe different kinds of provision and should not be added together as a single activities total.

School stages and qualifications

First Steps accepts children who turn three before 1 September, with half-day and full-day fee options. Pre-Primary and the separately named Primary year precede Grade 1. The school uses the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) in its early and elementary education.

Grades 6–8 are offered at both campuses. Grades 9–12 are in Oberursel. Every high-school student works towards an American High School Diploma; FIS is accredited by NEASC, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Approximately 90% also pursue the IB Diploma, according to the school.

These are distinct qualifications. Ask the counsellors which diploma and subject combination will meet the requirements of the universities your child may apply to, especially in Germany. For a pupil who would find the full IB Diploma unsuitable, discuss the High School Diploma route directly.

FIS reports a 2025 average IB score of 36. It also describes a historical graduate destination split of roughly one-third United States, one-third United Kingdom and one-third elsewhere. Neither figure guarantees an individual outcome. Global Online Academy courses offer additional course choices.

English and German

The published English Language Acquisition (ELA) programme supports pupils through Grade 8. FIS describes WIDA English-proficiency assessments for Grades 1–12, but assessment availability does not establish a support programme in every grade.

At Oberursel’s primary campus, support mainly takes place through co-teaching in the regular classroom. First Steps and Pre-Primary emphasise play, social interaction and classroom immersion. From the Primary year, pupils at Level 1 receive small-group support five times a week.

In elementary school, Grades 2–5, the published weekly small-group provision is:

English support level	Sessions per week
Level 1	6
Level 2	4
Level 3	2

Wiesbaden uses small groups and co-teaching through Grade 8. Ask how these arrangements fit the child’s assessed level and timetable.

The reviewed material does not establish a Grade 9 or IB-entry English threshold. Obtain the required level and available support in writing before applying to those stages. For German, ask about teaching hours, grouping and provision for pupils who arrive during the year. English-medium schooling alone does not tell you how much German a child will learn.

Admissions and support needs

FIS describes admission as potentially highly competitive, with published priorities and waiting lists; some applicants wait a year or longer. This is not a current waiting-time estimate for your child’s class. The school recommends applying soon after 1 January for the following August and accepts applications throughout the year.

The school year runs from mid-August to mid/late June. Its guidance for pupils coming from a March–February school calendar, including Korea and Japan, says August entrants normally continue in their current grade; midyear entrants are placed in the grade they have just completed. Confirm the individual placement.

The application instructions request:

• Passport or birth certificate, a passport-sized photo and the FIS medical record with immunisations.
• School records for the past two years in English, plus a teacher recommendation for Grades 1–12.
• Standardised testing results and psycho-educational reports where applicable.

Read the linked priority policy and disclose any employer participation in FIS’s corporate partnership programme. Ask whether an interview is required for the particular application.

The FAQ raises a Sondergenehmigung, or special permission from the local Schulamt education authority, for children with German passports. Ask admissions and the authority what applies to your family.

The school requests relevant learning-needs reports but that does not guarantee it can provide every form of support. Discuss the current reports with the proposed campus and ask which services it can provide. The fee sheet confirms additional charges for learning support or occupational and speech therapy beyond normal provision; obtain those costs before accepting.

Annual tuition for 2026/27

The tuition page and its 2026/27 information sheet list:

Stage	Annual tuition
First Steps, half day	€11,590
First Steps / Pre-Primary	€22,570
Primary	€25,305
Grades 1–4	€25,815
Grade 5	€26,060
Grades 6–8	€29,750
Grades 9–10	€30,770
Grades 11–12	€31,365

Registration, down payment and capital assessment

These charges overlap in the website summary, so they must not all be added to tuition:

Item	Amount and treatment
New-student registration	€1,500; also applies after an absence of at least one year. Not refunded if the application is withdrawn or transferable to a future year.
Returning-student re-enrolment	€350; non-refundable and subject to re-enrolment conditions.
Down payment	€2,000, credited towards tuition. Due within 10 days of the acceptance letter to secure admission or readmission.
Capital assessment	€6,600 for 2026/27, payable annually in the first and second years for new pupils from Pre-Primary upwards. Funds capital investment and is non-refundable.

The webpage’s €3,500 “registration and down payment” is €1,500 + €2,000, not another fee. The down payment is not refundable if the application is withdrawn after the ten-day period and cannot be transferred to a future year. If a family cannot yet pay it, the pupil returns to the waiting list.

Calculated example: a new Grade 6 pupil attending the full year under the standard fee schedule pays €29,750 tuition + €6,600 capital assessment + €1,500 registration = €37,850, before transport and other extras. The €2,000 tuition advance is already within that total.

The capital assessment is annual, so €6,600 is not a combined two-year charge. The following year’s rate can change. Prior capital payments are credited for pupils returning after an absence of at least one year. A departing pupil who attended 65 school days or fewer in the departure year pays half that year’s capital fee.

Payment arrangements

Plans assume a full year’s attendance. Early departure triggers a revised final invoice under the school’s proration rules and invalidates the plan. The information sheet requires at least three weeks’ written notice of the leaving date, including across holidays. Read its month-by-month refund and late-entry table before assuming that unused tuition is refundable.

The school also publishes a tuition-reduction programme, a separate corporate/diplomatic partnership fee schedule and tax information. Check the applicable scheme before using the standard total above.

Transport and meals

The general bus webpage describes more than 50 routes, 90 localities and 240 stops, with an approximate annual range of €2,000–€3,400. The dated 2026/27 fee sheet instead lists 35 Oberursel routes and 10 Wiesbaden routes, with zone fees of €2,215–€3,425 and €2,650–€3,680 respectively. Use the dated zone table and obtain a quote for the actual stop.

There is also an eligibility difference: the bus webpage offers half-price one-way travel through Grade 2, while the 2026/27 sheet limits it to Grade 1 and below. Grade 2 families need written confirmation. Late buses run Monday–Thursday for Grades 6–12 in Oberursel, and Tuesday and Thursday for Grades 6–8 in Wiesbaden, subject to sufficient demand.

The lunch page lists Oberursel meals at €5.00 vegetarian, €5.80 meat/fish, and €5.50–€8.00 for food prepared at the counter. In Wiesbaden it lists €5 for First Steps–Grade 5 and €5.50 for Grades 6–8, ordered weekly and billed monthly. Confirm the current menu prices; annual spending depends on use.

Our judgment

Choose FIS if you want English-medium schooling, substantial extracurricular choice and the option to combine a High School Diploma with the IB Diploma. It is especially important to check the English support transition at Grade 9 and the later campus change if starting in Wiesbaden.

If your family may qualify for Category I at the European School Frankfurt, compare that school’s European Baccalaureate pathway, tuition exemption and admission conditions. These are different systems; neither a fee exemption nor a campus visit settles language placement.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.