The Hansa-Gymnasium Bergedorf is a Hamburg state Gymnasium with a humanist tradition that, it says, has been part of the Bergedorf district for more than 125 years. It usually has four classes per year group, about 750 students and 70 teachers. The school focuses on foreign languages, science (it belongs to the MINT-EC network) and choral music with opera projects. A bilingual English stream has run since 1992: from grade 7 history and geography are taught in English, later joined by drama, debating and science. In the upper grades there is a mainly English-language profile, the International Advanced Class (IAC), in which students can earn the International Baccalaureate Diploma together with the Abitur; the school says it is one of only two schools in Hamburg offering this. The school's main language is German; in the IAC profile English is used, while German and sport are taught in German. The school runs exchanges with Cambridge, Rosheim, Barcelona and Shanghai, a work placement in Cambridge and participation in Model United Nations conferences.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
German, English
Languages taught
French, Latin, Spanish
About the fees Tuition is free: it is a state school, and the city of Hamburg supports the IB programme at two state schools. IB students pay only the IB examination fee, currently under 600 EUR, once (according to the brochure, as of 2026).
Admissions Grade 5 registration is in February by personal appointment through the school office, after an open day and a parents' evening. The decision on the bilingual class is made after grade 6. Applications for the IAC profile with the IB Diploma are due by mid-February (later only if places remain and by arrangement): an electronic portfolio in English with the application form, a letter of motivation, grade 9 and 10 reports and a copy of the ID card; an individual consultation with the IB coordinator is mandatory, followed possibly by an interview partly in German and partly in English (in person or via Zoom) and a language test in the Cambridge First format. Living abroad or attending the bilingual stream is not required; motivation and attitude matter. The school explicitly welcomes students with an international background, but they need German at C1 level at least and, besides English, another foreign language studied for several years; if necessary this is clarified with the school information centre. Students from Schleswig-Holstein transfer after grade 11.
Stages and year groups Grades 5-12. A Gymnasium following the Hamburg curriculum (eight years): grades 5-10, upper grades up to 12 with the Abitur (Allgemeine Hochschulreife). Bilingual stream from grade 7 (history and geography in English, electives in drama and media, debating and science in grades 8-10); after grade 10 a city certificate of bilingual education. The upper grades offer six profiles; the International Advanced Class (IAC) profile is mainly in English, with the option of the IB Diploma together with the Abitur. IB subjects are fixed: German A (HL), English B (HL), Geography (SL), Biology (HL), Mathematics (SL), Theatre (SL) or instead French B (SL) or Spanish B (SL), plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS; IB exams are held at the school in May. The school does not teach Cambridge International or Pearson courses; the Cambridge First format is used only in the entry language test for the IB profile.
Address Hermann-Distel-Straße 25, 21029 Hamburg (Bergedorf)
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
Where leavers go: University of Cambridge
The school does not publish a full list of destinations; IB graduate testimonials include a 2016 graduate admitted to the University of Cambridge and a 2023 graduate who went to study Chinese in Shanghai.
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: Chor an der Hansaschule (school choir) · Hansa Vokal (vocal ensemble) · Musiktheater (music theatre) · Oberstufenchor (senior choir) · Geigen-AG (violin club) · Grünlinge (environmental club) · Model United Nations · Schülerzeitung (school newspaper) · Schulsanitätsdienst (school first aiders) · Streitschlichter (student conflict mediators)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
✓Number of teachers70
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The school has about 70 teachers. The IB programme has a coordinator (also the IAC coordinator) and a CAS coordinator; there are bilingual stream coordinators, a trained counselling teacher and three social pedagogues. The upper school library is run by a librarian.
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 policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Counselling: a counselling teacher offering confidential talks, three social pedagogues for all students and, since 2017, inclusive support for students with special needs (emotional and social development, autism, mutism) with support plans. There are student peer mediators, an older-buddy scheme for younger students (Schulgeschwister), a student first aid service and elected liaison teachers. Every IB student signs an academic integrity pledge.
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 data70 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 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
Hamburg, Germany · State