A plain-English guide to the most common international school curricula, what they are, how they work, and which might suit your family best.
Curriculum guide
By Nik Higgins · Co-founder & CEO
German international schools follow the German federal-state curricula (each Bundesland has its own variant), leading to the Abitur — Germany's university entrance qualification — at age 18–19. The Abitur is well-recognised globally and the schools often run dual-language tracks for non-German speakers.
Primary. Structured German-medium foundation across German, maths, sciences (Sachunterricht) and the arts. Some schools blend English-medium content from the start.
Lower secondary in one of several tracks (Gymnasium is the academic route). Broad subject coverage; second foreign language usually starts here.
Upper secondary specialising in four or five main subjects, both written and oral components. Final grade is a decimal from 1.0 (top) to 6.0.
German
Taken across Years 11 and 12 (or 12 and 13 in some Bundesländer). Strong Abitur scores are valued like strong A-Levels at UK universities and open direct doors to German, Austrian and Swiss universities.
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