SIS Basel: German/English education, Matura and IB options

SIS Basel is a choice for families who want German/English bilingual education and wish to keep a Swiss maturité as an upper-secondary option. It is a private, co-educational day school at Erlenstrasse 15, 4058 Basel, on the Kleinbasel side of the Rhine. It has no boarding.

Bilingual teaching and qualifications

German and English are used for subject teaching at every level. Prior bilingualism is not required: children may enter with one school language or neither. The group’s admissions information describes language support outside class or intensive courses during class, depending on level. Ask how that provision would work for your child.

The academic offer comprises kindergarten, primary, two years of bilingual secondary school, then SIS Bilingual College and/or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. College pupils may take the nationally recognised bilingual Swiss maturité, called Hausmaturität because examinations are conducted at the school, and optionally the IB Diploma. The school describes a double qualification as possible.

Specialist subjects include economics and law, biology and chemistry, and physics and applications of mathematics. Confirm the intended qualification and subject combination before admission; a bilingual education and a full IB Diploma are not the same programme.

School day and calendar

Supervision is available between 07:30 and 18:00, with lesson and care times varying by year group. After-school care is listed from 16:00 to 18:00 and carries separate charges. Ask which parts of the day are included for the proposed class.

SIS follows Basel-Stadt’s holiday calendar. Its published 2026/27 dates are:

School year / holidays	Published dates
Start of academic year	10 August 2026
Autumn break	28 September to 9 October 2026
Christmas break	21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027
Winter break	8 to 19 February 2027
Spring break	22 March to 2 April 2027
Summer break	5 July to 13 August 2027

Open houses are listed for 2 December 2026, 3 March 2027 and 22 April 2027, from 09:00 to 12:00. Check the visit arrangements with the office.

Admission

The admissions pages describe an initial conversation, one or two trial days, and a digital or printed registration form. Enrolment becomes official only once the contract is signed and the registration fee received.

Admission is possible all year, including midyear, if a class has space. The group says most August entrants enrol between February and April; that is a typical period, not a published closing date.

There is no entrance examination for compulsory schooling, from kindergarten through lower secondary. Upper-secondary transfers follow different cantonal rules. Ask Basel Admissions for the requirements of the proposed Matura or IB route rather than extending the no-exam statement to every age.

Semester fees for 2026/27

The tuition page, dated 16 March 2026, says SIS Basel is financed entirely by school fees, without federal or cantonal subsidies.

Registration is a one-time, non-refundable CHF 600 for the first child and CHF 500 for each additional child. Payment is required to secure the place, alongside the signed contract.

Tuition is billed in advance per semester. The monthly column below is the amount of each of six payments, not their combined total; it includes a 2% surcharge. Mid-semester entrants pay pro rata.

School level	One payment at semester start	6 monthly instalments (2% surcharge)
Kindergarten 1	CHF 11,640	CHF 1,979
Kindergarten 2	CHF 12,580	CHF 2,139
Primary 1 to 6	CHF 12,580	CHF 2,139
Years 7 to 9	CHF 15,740	CHF 2,676
Year 10	CHF 16,010	CHF 2,722
Years 11 and 12	CHF 17,350	CHF 2,950
IBDP Years 11 and 12	CHF 14,980	CHF 2,547

For illustration, two semesters of Primary 1–6 at the stated single-payment rate produce a calculated CHF 25,160 tuition total. This assumes the same rate for both semesters and excludes registration, care and other extras. Obtain the school’s full-year offer, particularly for the Matura, IB or double-qualification route; do not add the two senior tariff rows together without clarification.

IB examination charges and Pamoja online courses are billed separately. Pamoja provides online subject courses; confirm whether the student’s choices require them.

Sibling tuition reductions are 10% for the second and subsequent children while more than one child is enrolled. The discount applies to the younger child or children.

Optional care

The page lists these care prices but does not identify the billing period for recurring weekly bookings. Confirm whether the quoted recurring amount covers a semester or another period before using it in an annual budget.

School level	Full week (5 days)	One day per week	Single booking, per hour
Kindergarten, primary intro	CHF 2,400	CHF 480	CHF 18
Primary	CHF 2,000	CHF 400	CHF 18

A six-hour coupon booklet costs CHF 102. Ask the office how booklets, hourly use and recurring bookings work together, and request prices for any clubs.

Our view

Compare International School Basel if primarily English teaching through the IB Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes is the priority. Its Aesch and Reinach campuses also create a different commute from Erlenstrasse.

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