← Back to the rankingDeutsche Schule Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden · est. 1612 · Private
Illustration · Stockholm
Deutsche Schule Stockholm (Tyska Skolan in Swedish) is a German school abroad and at the same time an international school recognised by the Swedish state. The German St. Gertrud congregation received the privilege of running a German school from King Gustav II Adolf in 1612, so the school calls itself the oldest in Stockholm; its tradition in its present form was resumed in 1953. It is a bilingual encounter school (Begegnungsschule): German and Swedish children learn together, and since 1977 Swedish and international children starting without German have also attended. About 600 students of 26 nationalities attend. The pathway: a bilingual kindergarten from age 1, two förskoleklass preschool classes, primary grades 1-4 where both languages are taught from day one, and a German Gymnasium from grade 5 to 12 ending with the German International Abitur (DIA) and, if requirements are met, the Swedish gymnasieexamen. From grade 5 all subjects are taught in German on German curricula, except Swedish, Swedish history, social studies and geography, taught by Swedish teachers on Swedish curricula; this is about 15% of lessons. Each year has two parallel classes. Germany recognises the school and awarded it the label Excellent German School Abroad; its curricula are approved by the German Standing Conference of Education Ministers (KMK).
Key facts
Programmes
German programme · National programme
Admits from
1 year · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
German, Swedish
Languages taught
English, French, Latin
Class size
up to 23 children in a preschool class and up to 25 in grade 1, with two parallel classes in each year
About the fees The school does not state tuition fees for regular students on its website: it says it is financed mainly by subsidies from Germany and by school funding from municipalities, paid for children with a Swedish personal number. Guest students from German schools pay 55000 SEK for each term begun in the 2026-2027 school year. A partial charge may be made for learning materials, and parents pay part of the cost of compulsory overnight class trips. Kindergarten places are allocated by the City of Stockholm.
Admissions The school admits children who fall into the categories of the Swedish law on international schools: a German-speaking child living in Sweden for a limited time; a child who attended a German-language school abroad and wishes to complete education in Sweden; a child expected to leave Sweden for an extended period for another German-language school; a child who speaks the school's language of instruction daily with a guardian with enough knowledge to follow lessons; a small number of other children under certain conditions. The preschool class (two classes of 23 children, 120-150 applications a year) takes children turning 6 in the year of admission, if the family speaks German or Swedish; places are allocated by law by siblings and waiting time, applications run from week 41 of the previous year to week 3 of the admission year; this round opened on Tuesday 6 October 2026. Moving from preschool class to grade 1 is not automatic: separate admission, two classes of up to 25 children; when oversubscribed, priority goes first to German-speaking children who have already started primary school on a German curriculum, then siblings of students, then children from the school's preschool class. Grades 2-11 admit only to vacated places, applications in weeks 11-15 for an August start, with no waiting list; German and mathematics at grade level are required, shown by German reports or short entrance tests, and for grades 9-11 the KMK checks formal requirements. Grades 10-11 usually have places. Newcomers must learn Swedish. Students from German schools may attend as guests for a term to a year if places remain.
Stages and year groups Kindergarten (ages 1-5) on the Swedish preschool curriculum Lpfö 18, in German and Swedish. Two förskoleklass preschool classes under Swedish law; the last such intake will be in August 2027, after which Sweden replaces the preschool class with a new grade 1. Primary grades 1-4 (Grundschule), two parallel classes: reading and writing first in the child's stronger language, the second language taught as a foreign language, both languages 6 hours a week; Swedish subjects on Swedish curricula. Gymnasium grades 5-12 on German curricula for schools abroad approved by the KMK: grade 10 is the introductory phase, grades 11-12 the qualification phase, on a 15-point scale. In grade 10 students may leave with the Mittlerer Schulabschluss (Realschulabschluss). In grade 12 the German International Abitur (DIA): at least 10 subjects, compulsory German, Swedish, English, mathematics, bilingual history, ethics, PE, music or art; 5 exams, up to half may be taken in Swedish. Plus the Swedish gymnasieexamen in the natural science (NatNat, NatSam) and social science (SamSam) programmes, with the right to award it granted by Skolinspektionen. German language diploma DSD I in grade 7, Latinum after grade 11.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
ZfA · accreditationWDA · part of the alliancePASCH · takes part in the programmeIts core is the German curriculum for schools abroad leading to the DIA (Deutsches Internationales Abitur); alongside it runs a Swedish upper-secondary programme with the gymnasieexamen. The Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA) lists the school as a German school abroad (Deutsche Auslandsschule). The school is a member of the World Association of German Schools Abroad (WDA). 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 →WDAWorld Association of German Schools Abroad
An association of the owners of German schools abroad: in essence an industry lobby and a service organisation. It runs no inspections. The condition of admission is a recognised German certificate, but that recognition is granted by the German state, not by WDA.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to an association of school owners. There is no inspection of its own behind it: the badge rests on a decision of the German state and adds nothing to it. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
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.
National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
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
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Chess · Basteln (crafts) · Innebandy (floorball) · Tanz (dance) · Kunst-AG (art club) · Foto-AG (photography club) · Jugend debattiert (youth debating competition) · Känguru der Mathematik (maths competition) · Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik (national mathematics competition)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers80
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: all teachers are certified (legitimerade); about 85% of lessons from grade 5 are taught by teachers with German teacher training, Swedish subjects by teachers with a Swedish degree
The school has more than 80 German and Swedish staff, and all teachers are certified. 16 teachers are seconded from Germany for several years. Primary has about 200 children and 18 teachers, the Gymnasium about 340 students and about 40 teachers; after-school care has 15 bilingual educators.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A Swedish-style school health service: a nurse, health checks and vaccinations; a counsellor for psychosocial issues, consultations with qualified psychologists for students, teachers and parents, and a special needs teacher for learning difficulties. Outside visitors are not admitted during school hours for safety reasons.
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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median95 "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