← Back to the rankingGymnasium Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld, Germany · est. 1779 · State
Illustration · Birkenfeld
Gymnasium Birkenfeld is a state Gymnasium of Rhineland-Palatinate and the only Gymnasium in the district town of Birkenfeld. It grew out of a Latin school founded in 1779; the first written Abitur exam was held here in 1878. Since 14 June 2019 it has been an IB World School and, it says, the second state Gymnasium in Rhineland-Palatinate offering a dual qualification: the IB Diploma Programme runs in grades 12-13 alongside the Abitur. The main language of instruction is German, with some IB subjects taught in English. Science is a strength: since 2003 the school has belonged to the MINT-EC network, it has twice been honoured in the Siemens Award, and from grade 7 it offers the extra subject MIN (mathematics, computer science, science), chosen in recent years by more than 100 students on average. In 2026, 16 graduates received the IB Diploma together with the Abitur. The school holds the title Schule ohne Rassismus - Schule mit Courage (school without racism, school with courage).
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
German, English
Languages taught
French, Latin, Russian
About the fees Tuition is free: it is a state Gymnasium. Most costs of the IB programme (authorisation, teacher training, materials, exams) are currently covered by the local community; IB exam fees and some course materials such as books are paid by the students themselves.
Admissions Grade 5 registration follows the Rhineland-Palatinate procedure: the school publishes the form and a letter to parents of grade 4 pupils, and a get-to-know-you day takes place before the start. The IB programme admits students qualified for the final two years of the Abitur: student and parent sign an application; excellent grades are not required, while diligence, interest in science and sufficient English matter. Students are strongly advised to attend the English-language clubs in grades 9-10 beforehand. Students from other schools may join the IB programme if they transfer no later than the start of grade 11; external applicants have an interview with the head of upper school and the IB coordinator. International students can apply for the IB programme only if they are fluent in both English and German and meet all other admission requirements of the school; their admission to the qualification phase is confirmed by the local authority, and all IB students must also take the Abitur. The school cannot help find a host family. Students who need to improve their German attend German as a second language classes once or twice a week.
Stages and year groups Grades 5-13. A Gymnasium following the Rhineland-Palatinate curriculum: orientation stage in grades 5-6, middle grades up to 10, then upper grades 11-13 (MSS) with the Abitur (Allgemeine Hochschulreife). The IB Diploma Programme is a two-year programme for grades 12-13, only together with the Rhineland-Palatinate Abitur; the full diploma is possible with the advanced course combinations Biology, English B, German A or Biology, English B, Mathematics, and individual subjects can also be taken. IB subjects: German A (HL, SL), English B (HL, SL), Latin (HL, SL), Russian (SL), Russian ab initio, History (HL, SL), Philosophy (SL), Biology (HL, SL), Mathematics analysis and approaches (HL, SL), Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay, CAS. In grades 9-10 semester-long English-language clubs in English, history, biology and mathematics prepare students for the IB. The school does not teach Cambridge International or Pearson courses; the language certificate it names is DELF.
Address Brechkaul 12, 55765 Birkenfeld
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The IB track runs inside a German Gymnasium: in the upper grades students take the IB Diploma alongside the Abitur.
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: DP (ages 16-19). 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 →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
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Streitschlichtung (student conflict mediators) · Harry-Potter · Römer (the Romans) · Schülerreporter (student reporters) · Bibliothek (library club) · Stolpersteine (memorial stones, local history) · Theater (theatre) · Musical · Schulband (school band) · Technik (technology) · Russisch (Russian) · Lesescouts (reading scouts)
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
The consultation hours list names 61 teachers with their subjects. The IB programme has a coordinator and subject teachers; in 2016 the school became a training school for language support. Language lessons are supported by assistants from English-speaking countries.
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
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
Since 2024 a full-time social pedagogue has worked at the school under an agreement with the Elisabeth Stiftung Birkenfeld: individual counselling, social skills training in classes, help with conflicts and transitions; meetings are voluntary and confidential. There is a prevention plan by grade (an anti-bullying module in grade 6, internet safety, violence and addiction prevention), student peer mediators, a complaints procedure for parents and students and an academic integrity policy.
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%)82 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 data65 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