Getting to Grips with English-speaking Education in Munich
“And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel, And shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school.”Not many people look back on their schooldays with unalloyed pleasure, but at least Munich offers a respectable selection of good schools and, with a little luck—and a not insubstantial amount of money—you can give your child an excellent education in English.
The academic backbone of many English-speaking schools in Germany is the International Baccalaureate. This course of study, culminating in an exam that is taught for the age range of approximately 16–18, was originally the school-leavers’ qualification in France. In the 1960s it was adapted by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) for students who are geographically mobile, allowing them to gain an internationally recognized qualification—the curriculum includes elements not only of the French diploma, but also of the German Abitur, the American Advance Placement system and the English GCSE and A’levels. The IBO has expanded its program in recent years so that children can now be part of its educational program from the time they begin elementary school until they leave school at 18. For more information on the IBO visit www.ibo.org.
The Munich International School (MIS; Schloss Buchhof, Starnberg, Tel. [08151] 36 61 20) takes children aged 4–18 and follows the curriculum of the IBO. The maximum class size is 23 and lessons are full-day. English is the first language, but that does not mean that young children need to be fluent English speakers when they are admitted to the school: courses in English as a second language are available for non-native speakers up to high school. From that level onward students are expected to have a basic grasp of English. Fees at MIS are as follows: there is a nonrefundable entrance fee of €4,600 for the first year per pupil and €1,300 for each of the following two years. In addition, you can expect to pay annual tuition fees of between €11,000 and €13,500. Potential students are invited to attend an interview and will also be given a school-readiness and language-proficiency test. For more information on MIS visit www.mis-munich.de.
Located 20 km north of Munich is the Bavarian International School (BIS; Schloss Haimhausen, Hauptstrasse 1, Haimhausen, Tel. [08133] 91 70) with around 600 pupils. As with MIS, the curriculum is based on the IBO program. Class sizes vary from 18 at prereception to 24 for grades 1 to 12. The lingua franca is English and there are English lessons for those who are not fluent. The Website, www.bis-school.com, has detailed online handbooks for both parents and students that explain how BIS is run. Annual fees range from €10,150 for the prereception class to €12,900 for grade 12. The initial entrance fee is €4,000 for the first year and €1,600 a year for the following two years.
Another alternative for parents wishing to educate their children in English, or in any of a number of other European languages, for that matter, is the European School in Munich (Elise-Aulinger Strasse 2, Tel. 62 81 60). The school is one of 13 dotted around Europe—there are three in Brussels alone—which are run jointly by the governments of the Member States of the European Union. The school in Munich takes children from ages 4 to 18 who can graduate with the European Baccalaureate certificate. Fees range from around €2,200 to €4,150 a year. It is probably advisable to begin your research by enquiring at the school reception about admission chances. <<<
