← Back to the rankingFrankfurt International School
Oberursel, Germany · est. 1961 · Private
Illustration · Oberursel
Frankfurt International School (FIS) is one of the oldest international schools in Europe: it was founded in 1961 by six expatriate families from international companies to provide English-language education in the Frankfurt area. It is a not-for-profit private day school with two campuses, the main one in Oberursel (age 3 to grade 12) and one in Wiesbaden (age 3 to grade 8); in total 1786 students from more than 60 countries attend, with the largest groups American, Korean and German. The principal language of instruction is English. The school was a founding member of the IB and has offered the Diploma Programme for over 50 years; the younger years (age 3 to grade 5) follow the Primary Years Programme, grades 6-10 follow the school's own programme preparing for the diploma, about 90% of students in grades 11-12 take the IB Diploma, and all graduates receive an American High School Diploma. In 2025, 97% of candidates earned the IB Diploma with an average score of 36. German is taught from Pre-Primary, French and Spanish from grade 6, and paid first-language courses are available. Roughly one third of graduates go to the US, one third to the UK and the rest to universities in other countries.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $25 498–35 434 a year
22 570–31 365 EUR
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese
Students per teacher
About 8 students per teacher on the Oberursel campus and 7 in Wiesbaden; 9 students per teacher in the primary, elementary and middle school.
Registration fee
≈ $1 695
1 500 EUR
About the fees Annual tuition for 2026-2027: First Steps for children turning 3 before 1 September, half day 11590 EUR; First Steps and Pre-Primary 22570 EUR; Primary 25305 EUR; grades 1-4 25815 EUR; grade 5 26060 EUR; grades 6-8 29750 EUR; grades 9-10 30770 EUR; grades 11-12 31365 EUR. Fees are paid in advance by 1 July 2026; by arrangement 55% by 1 July and 45% in January with a 100 EUR surcharge, or monthly with a 3% surcharge. A separate fee schedule applies to corporate partners and diplomatic missions. The Tuition Reduction Program (partial or full) is open to students from grade 1 if the family has no employer or government support and at least one parent works in the Rhein-Main region.
Admissions The school considers applications regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender or sexual orientation, but each year there are hundreds more applications than places, and many grades have waiting lists, especially the higher ones. When space is limited, applicants are grouped in four priority categories: children of employees of FIS corporate partners, expatriate children from abroad, German students from abroad, and children from local schools; within the categories siblings, returning families, children of alumni and early application dates carry weight. Applications for a school year open in January, ideally before 1 March, but are accepted all year. An interview is usually not required, though an assessment may be needed to check whether the programme fits the child. Fluent English is not required: beginner English classes run up to grade 8, and English support is available at all grades. The programme for students with special needs is limited to mild cases, and a recent psycho-educational report is required. Parents of children holding only a German passport notify the local school authority, as the school is an Ergänzungsschule.
Stages and year groups The Primary School (age 3 to grade 1) and Elementary School (grades 2-5) follow the IB Primary Years Programme; the Middle School (grades 6-8) and grades 9-10 follow the school's own programme preparing for the IB Diploma Programme (the school does not offer the MYP); grades 11-12 follow the IB Diploma Programme (about 90% of students; others take individual IB courses; in 2025, 41% earned a bilingual diploma). All graduates receive an American High School Diploma (24 credits, CAS for all students in grades 11-12). The school is an examination centre for the IB, PSAT, SAT, ACT and AP; some courses can be taken online through the Global Online Academy. In Wiesbaden grades 1-4 are taught in multiage classes (1-2 and 3-4); in Oberursel such classes are available on request.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, DP · authorised programmeNEASC · accreditationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years and Diploma programmes. The school is accredited by NEASC.
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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: PYP (ages 3-12), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →NEASCNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
An American accreditation working since 1885. For international schools it uses an approach where the visitors look first at live lessons rather than at folders of paperwork: the team works in the school for about a week. It is the only one here whose public directory honestly separates accredited schools from candidates.
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 →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
36 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2025: 118 candidates out of 136 graduates, 97% passed (world 81%), average score 36 (world 31), 36 students scored 40 or more, and 41% earned a bilingual diploma. 2024: 124 candidates, 97%, average 35; 2023: 132 candidates, 92%, average 36. The average weighted GPA for grades 11-12 in 2025 was 6.52 on a seven-point scale.
Where leavers go: University of Oxford · University of Cambridge · University of St Andrews · University of Edinburgh · University of Warwick · Princeton University · Northwestern University · New York University · Purdue University · University of Toronto · McGill University · Technical University of Munich
and others, 23 universities in the school's list in allClass of 2025: 32% went to the US, 16% to the UK, 30% to Europe, 3% to Canada, 2% to Korea, and 15% took a gap year. The school profile lists universities that admitted graduates of 2023-2025 in Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground · Makerspace
Clubs and activities: Model United Nations · Speech and Debate Club · Robotics Club · 3D Printing Club · Computer Science Association · Math Team · Odyssey of the Mind · Duke of Edinburgh International Award · FIS Herald · Media and Broadcasting · Yearbook · Student Investor's Club · French Club · Spanish Club · Scouts · Cross Country · Rugby · Baseball · Swimming · Basketball · Volleyball · Softball · Track & Field · Soccer · Tennis · Golf
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: Most teachers hold a master's degree or higher; in the upper grades all teachers have experience teaching the IB programme.
Each high school grade has about 140 students. Classes in Wiesbaden are smaller, which the school presents as an advantage for personalised learning.
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 roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school acts in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, German law and guidance from the International Taskforce on Child Protection; safeguarding is embedded in the curriculum, facilities, staff training, parent education and recruitment. There is a safeguarding lead, school counsellors and a form for reporting concerns; all employees, contractors, volunteers and visitors share responsibility for students' safety. Children up to grade 5 must be under direct adult supervision after school.
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%)95 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "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