← Back to homeDeutsche Schule Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Colegio Alemán de Las Palmas
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain · est. 1920 · Private
Illustration · Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Deutsche Schule Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (DSLPA) is an official German school abroad on Gran Canaria. It began in 1920 with one teacher and seven pupils; after the Second World War it was closed and confiscated, in 1947 former teachers reopened it as a school and language academy, since 1950 it has been supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1967 it was recognised as a German school abroad, and in 1977 it moved to its present campus at Lomo del Drago. Children are taken from 3 years and taught to 18: kindergarten, primary school from year 1 to year 4 and secondary from year 5 to year 12, where most follow the Gymnasium track and at the end sit the international Abitur (DIA), receive the equivalent Spanish bachillerato and may sit the Spanish EBAU entrance examination at the University of Las Palmas. Lessons are mainly in German: in primary school all subjects except Spanish and social science; up to year 6 German is taught separately as a mother tongue and as a foreign language, and from year 7 the groups merge. English and French are taught as foreign languages. There are 72 teachers, from Germany, Spain, England and other countries. The school has a school psychologist, a social pedagogue, a mediation team, an anti-bullying programme and a health coordinator who is on site all day. After lessons there are 31 activities, from chess and ballet to a big band, robotics and football with the UD Las Palmas club. The school publishes its fees for 2026-2027 in separate documents by stage.
Key facts
Programmes
German programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
German, Spanish
Languages taught
English, French
Admissions No German is needed for the kindergarten; for the Preescolar year the school advises basic German, and for primary and secondary school a child needs adequate German, because lessons are mainly in it. Admission and class placement are decided by the director or the head of the stage. Applications are made through the form on the site; the school year begins in September, and the office arranges tours and interviews all year round. The school also takes exchange pupils from Germany and other countries: only from the start of a semester, for at least 5 months, after the parents meet the stage coordinator, and German matters for them too; such pupils remain enrolled at their previous school.
Stages and year groups Grades kindergarten (from 3 years) - year 12. The kindergarten lasts three years: the first two in mixed-age groups, the third, Preescolar, in same-age groups. Primary school runs from year 1 to year 4, secondary from year 5 to year 12 with the Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium tracks; most pupils are in the Gymnasium. At the end of year 12 come the international Abitur (DIA), equivalent to the Spanish bachillerato, and the Spanish EBAU entrance examination at the University of Las Palmas. From year 10 there are electives in art, music and theatre, from year 11 French and physics with chemistry; in years 5 and 6 there is music with a wind ensemble. Preschool children arrive between 8:15 and 9:00, and afternoon activities run from 14:05 to 15:35.
Address Calle Lomo del Drago, s/n, 35018 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
ZfA · accreditationschool is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
ZfACentral Agency for German Schools Abroad
A German federal agency. It recognises a school as a German school abroad, funds it and grants the right to award the German leaving certificate. Quality is examined by a state inspection about once every six years, and schools that pass receive the mark of an excellent German school abroad.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →German programme
The German school programme. Recognised German schools abroad award the Deutsches Internationales Abitur, the German leaving certificate used for entry to universities in Germany. Behind the recognition stands the federal agency ZfA.
What this means for this school. ZfA recognition comes at levels: a school that takes pupils through to the German leaving certificate is one thing, a school with the DSD language diploma, where German is taught as a subject, is another. Which level this school holds is not stated here.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The campus at Lomo del Drago was built in 1976-1977. The kindergarten is divided into casitas, little houses with zones for different activities; children eat in a modern dining hall, with the kitchen run by Scolarest. There is a school garden. Las Palmas Bus coaches run in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon, with an escort on each and an app with GPS tracking.
Clubs and activities: Chess · Ballet · Basketball · Ceramics · Young researchers club · Reading club · Choir · Sewing · Contemporary dance · Street dance · DSLPA BigBand · Fit y Feliz · Football · Football with UD Las Palmas · Artistic gymnastics · Rhythmic gymnastics · Ice hockey · School vegetable garden · Karate · School newspaper · Painting · Robotics · Creative workshop · Theatre · UCMAS
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
There are now 72 teachers at the school for children from 3 to 18, from Germany, Spain, England and other countries. In the kindergarten and Preescolar there are 12 educators with training recognised in Germany, many with additional training in therapeutic education and social work; in primary school 13 teachers teach all subjects in German except Spanish and social science; in secondary there are 40 teachers across 16 subject areas, with a secondary teaching qualification from Germany or Spain. German in the kindergarten is taught by native speakers.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school psychologist works with all stages: learning and behaviour difficulties, emotional crises, ADHD, bullying, conflicts, careers guidance; she also advises families and runs a school for parents. The anti-bullying programme has four stages - detection, analysis, intervention, closing the case; reports can be made through the SOS box and e-mail, and the team includes the psychologist, the social pedagogue, the director, teachers of all stages and the mediation coordinator. The health coordinator is at the school throughout the school day, gives first aid and keeps records of allergies and chronic illnesses. Each bus has an escort, and the school has an ethics channel for reports.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median83 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country