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Bonn, Germany · est. 1963 · Private
Independent Bonn International School
Bonn, Germany · est. 1963 · PrivateIllustration · Bonn
69.6#94 in the country
Know this school? Leave a review →Independent Bonn International School (IBIS) is the oldest international school in Bonn, founded in 1963 as the British Embassy Preparatory School. It is a small non-profit English-language primary school for children aged 3 to 12: Kindergarten and Reception, then Year 1 to Year 7. The school is a state-recognised private Ersatzschule at primary level: it follows the English National Curriculum, teaches German to the North Rhine-Westphalia curriculum, issues reports in German and English and prepares for transfer to both German and international secondary schools. In Year 7 the Cambridge Curriculum supplements the English programme in Mathematics, English and Science. About 210 children from 38 countries attend, classes have at most 22 students, and each class has a teacher and an assistant. The school runs a full day with paid after-school clubs. It was the first school in Germany to receive the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Bronze Award.
Key facts
Tuition
Price on request
Programmes
being checked
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
German, French, Spanish
School website
Class size
at most 22 students, with a teacher and an assistant in every class
About the fees The school does not publish its fees on the website: tuition is funded by parents' contributions to the school's support association, which sets the amounts. Learning materials are included; families pay separately only for the uniform, lunch and special excursions. After-school clubs are paid, usually 12 to 15 EUR per session.
Admissions New students are admitted at any time of the year. No English is needed on entry: children without English join the English as an Additional Language programme. Some English helps parents but is not required, as staff speak German, French and Spanish. To get to know the school, families arrange a visit with the headteacher by phone, email or online booking. Children of more than 38 nationalities attend.
Stages and year groups Grades Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 - Year 7. Early Years (Kindergarten and Reception, ages 3-5) follow the UK Early Years Foundation Stage; Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2, ages 5-7) the English National Curriculum with local content; Key Stages 2 and 3 (Years 3-7, ages 8-12) the English National Curriculum except German, which follows the North Rhine-Westphalia curriculum. If the family chooses, social studies in Years 2-5 and mathematics in Year 5 are taught in German, otherwise in English. At Key Stage 3 the Cambridge Curriculum supplements Mathematics, English and Science; the site does not mention Cambridge exams. German is taught to all from Year 1, separately for native speakers and learners; in Years 6-7 a third language, French or Spanish, is added. Kindergarten can be attended half day (until 12:00) or full day.
Address Tulpenbaumweg 42, 53177 Bonn
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
COBIS · accreditationA British primary school: nursery and Years 1-7 on the English National Curriculum. The school is an accredited member of COBIS.
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
COBISCouncil of British International Schools
An association of British schools abroad with a quality inspection of its own. It has nine membership categories, and the word "accredited" appears in seven of them, although COBIS does its own inspection in one: in the rest it recognises an accreditation granted by somebody else.
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
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 hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Playground
Campus: A purpose-built building in the quiet residential area of Heiderhof in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, near the 611 and 613 bus lines. Every class has its own room with an interactive whiteboard and a PC, and there are smaller group rooms, separate rooms for English as an Additional Language, learning development and German, a hall for assemblies, drama, concerts and lunches, a music room, a kitchen, a library with a librarian (one page says over 3000, another over 5000 books and media) and a uniform shop. A sports hall a few minutes' walk away is shared with the neighbouring German primary school, and the youngest have PE in the school's own room; there is a large hard-surfaced playground, a soft-fall sports area, shaded areas and climbing frames, access to a sports ground and tennis courts, and Years 4-6 are taken by bus to swimming lessons. Hot lunch is delivered by a local caterer, two options daily with salad and dessert, and the school is nut free. Morning supervision from 8:00, after-school supervision until 17:00 (16:30 on Fridays).
Clubs and activities: Homework Help Club · Parent & Child Library · German Conversation · Touch Rugby · Dance and Theater · Yoga · Irish Dance · Basketball Club · Football · Theater Club in German · Didge & World Music · Drama · Art & Journaling · Choir · Creative Crafts Club · Puppet Making · Sculpture · Drawing · Sewing · Chess · Brain Games & Problem Solving · Debate · Cooking · Little Explorers - STEM Club · Lego (Lego) · Tech · Outdoor Club · First Aid · Let's Dance Performing Arts
Source: ibis-school.com
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers25
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: B.Ed., M.Ed., PGCE or iPGCE; a language teaching certificate such as TEFL or CELTA is not sufficient
The school has 25 full-time and part-time teachers and 16 teaching assistants of 11 nationalities. All class teachers are native English speakers; there are also teachers for German, learning development, English as an Additional Language, swimming and music. Teachers take regular in-service training; staff turnover, the school says, is below average for an international primary school.
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 trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school states its commitment to safeguarding and child welfare: all new staff undergo reference, identity and qualification checks and child protection screening against German and international barring services. Its wellbeing programme holds the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Bronze Award, and a COBIS inspection called it a beacon school for wellbeing. Rules of conduct are explained from the first day, with high standards of respectful interaction.
Reviews
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Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
"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 →