Deutsche Schule Sofia (DS Sofia) is a German school abroad near the centre of Sofia for children and young people aged 5 to 19, one of about 140 German schools abroad. It was founded in 2008 by German-speaking parents in Bulgaria with the support of the German Embassy and the ZfA (Zentralstelle fur das Auslandsschulwesen); 105 students and 24 preschoolers came in the first year, and today there are more than 400 students. The school holds the Excellent German School Abroad quality seal and calls itself a school where German and Bulgarian cultures meet. Teaching follows German curricula; from grade 1 all subjects are taught in German, Bulgarian language and culture are studied separately and English as a foreign language. A two-year preschool gives Bulgarian children the German they need for grade 1. After grade 12 students sit the Deutsches Internationales Abitur (DIA), the German university entrance qualification; after grade 10 they can obtain the Realschulabschluss and, where needed, the Hauptschulabschluss. The school is run by a non-profit parents' association.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $7 388–7 614 a year
6 540–6 740 EUR
Programmes
German programme
Admits from
5 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
German
Languages taught
Bulgarian, English
Class size
up to 14 children in preschool groups, up to 15 in preschool classes
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 paid in one annual instalment: preschool 6540 euro, primary 6580 euro, gymnasium (grades 5-12) 6740 euro; paid in two equal instalments 7194, 7238 and 7414 euro respectively. Fees cover teaching, textbooks and workbooks, homework support, compulsory activity groups and sport, and project weeks. Food, transport and out-of-school and holiday activities are extra.
Admissions Admission is through an admissions procedure that depends on age and level; applications are made in the first three weeks of January, and children with good results are admitted if places are free, otherwise put on a waiting list. Preschool: children turning 5 in the year of entry, no German required; a 30-minute assessment of language, social behaviour, motor skills, logic and concentration, 28 places in two groups of 14. Grade 1: an individual interview checking German, logic, early maths and fine motor skills, online for families applying from abroad; grades 2-4 likewise, taking the previous school and places into account. Grades 5-10: written tests in German, maths and English and an oral part, sometimes trial days; good to excellent German is required, and the head decides. Grade 11: no later than the start of grade 11, usually from German-system schools, case by case. Once admitted, parents pay an admission fee, sign a contract and join the parents' association.
Stages and year groups A two-year preschool (Vorschule): a group of up to 14 children and a preschool class of up to 15. Grundschule: grades 1-4, two classes per year. Sekundarstufe I: grades 5-10 (5-6 are the orientation stage, with central tests in grade 10); students can take the Realschulabschluss (Mittlere Reife) after grade 10 and, where needed, the Hauptschulabschluss after grade 9. Sekundarstufe II: grades 11-12 with the Deutsches Internationales Abitur (DIA): five exams, three written (German, maths or English and one more subject) and two oral or presentation exams; Bulgarian is among the upper-school subjects. Teaching follows German curricula in German; the school names no Bulgarian national programme, matura or Bulgarian diploma.
Address 5 Zhetvarka Str., 1113 Sofia
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
ZfA · accreditationPASCH · takes part in the programmeThe Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA) lists the school as a German school abroad (Deutsche Auslandsschule); graduates sit the German International Abitur (DIA). The school is part of the PASCH network.
school 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 →PASCHSchools: Partners for the Future, an initiative of the German foreign ministry
More than two thousand schools in about 120 countries. A school cannot apply for itself: participants are chosen by German agencies in agreement with the embassy. Very different schools sit under one mark - full German schools abroad, and ordinary national schools that simply teach German well.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to a German support programme. By itself the mark means neither a German curriculum nor the right to award a German certificate: of the two thousand PASCH schools, about seventeen hundred hold no such right. Look for a ZfA status next to it - that is the one that is about this. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
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
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio · Playground
Campus: The school is near the centre of Sofia, on Zhetvarka Street. A library on the 4th floor with books for all levels, magazines, films and audiobooks in German and English; biology, chemistry, IT, art and music rooms; a canteen (catering by Furisto, menu planned with the school nurse), a schoolyard and separate preschool rooms. Grade 9 has iPad classes.
Clubs and activities: Model United Nations · Jugend debattiert (debating competition) · Jugend musiziert (music competition)
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 sizein the key facts above
The preschool has a qualified German-speaking teaching team, with a Bulgarian-speaking assistant in each group and class. Primary has small groups and a strong role for the class teacher. A pedagogical adviser supports teachers and students with special needs; teaching quality is reviewed by German federal inspectors (BLI).
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
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A qualified nurse, on duty from 8:00 to 16:00, gives first aid and oversees hygiene and the menu; she gives medicines only for chronic and allergic conditions with written parental consent. The school is extending a prevention programme from preschool to upper school with outside partners; the pedagogical adviser supports students with special needs.
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 data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data67 "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 8 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
Sofia, Bulgaria · est. 2008 · Private