The International School of Bremen (ISB) is a private, non-profit international school on the edge of the University of Bremen campus, with an early learning centre for ages 3-6 and grades 1-12, offering day places and boarding for students from age 14. The school has been working for over twenty-five years, and the state of Bremen recognises it as an anerkannte Ersatzschule. About 380 students of 48 nationalities attend, and teachers come from 24 countries. All lessons are in English; German is taught as a second language from grade 2, French or Spanish as a third language from grade 5, and no German is needed to apply. Programmes: the International Early Years Curriculum and the International Primary Curriculum in early learning and primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary with Checkpoint in grades 6-8, Cambridge IGCSE in grades 9-10 and the IB Diploma Programme in grades 11-12. Admission is non-selective with no entrance tests, and every student takes the IGCSE and the IB Diploma. Since 2015 the school has belonged to the German MINT-EC network of schools with a strong STEM profile and says it is the only international school in Germany with this status.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $14 235–21 352 a year
12 600–18 900 EUR
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Lower Secondary, IGCSE · IPC
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
German, French, Spanish
Class size
on average 13 to 18 students per class
Registration fee
≈ $1 130
1 000 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for the 2026-2027 school year: early learning 12600 EUR, grades 1-4 14150 EUR, grades 5-8 14750 EUR, grades 9-10 18400 EUR, grades 11-12 18900 EUR. Families not resident in the state of Bremen pay an extra 1000 EUR per year. Fees may be paid annually, quarterly or monthly. From grade 1 German taxpayers can deduct 30% of tuition, up to 5000 EUR per child per year. Boarding including tuition and one-time fees costs 53000 EUR in the first year and 46000 EUR per year after that (another page says under 49000 EUR in the first year). For grades 1-12 there is an income-based bursary programme for families resident in Germany: with an annual income below 100000 EUR the reduction on fees ranges from 5% to 95%, with 25% for a second child and 50% for a third.
Admissions The school is non-selective: it accepts students of all abilities and conducts no entrance tests; German is not required, and students with limited English are supported by the EAL team. Applicants to the IB Diploma need enough English to follow the programme, with IELTS 6 as the guide. Steps: an enquiry by form, email or phone, an interview in person or online, a tour or trial day (boarding applicants may stay overnight), then a formal offer, signing of documents and payment. The application requires a copy of the child's passport, the measles immunisation record and the latest school report. Students are admitted throughout the year when places are available; for primary classes the school recommends applying by the end of December or early January. The school can offer limited classroom support for mild to mid-level learning difficulties. Boarding is for students aged 14-18, selected on interview, English proficiency and an assessment of needs; the school helps with visa documents and acts as guardian in Germany. Boarders come from more than 50 countries.
Stages and year groups Grades Early Learning 1-3, 1-12. Early Learning Centre (ages 3-6, recognised by the state of Bremen): the International Early Years Curriculum and the International Primary Curriculum, with Jolly Phonics for literacy. Elementary, grades 1-5: the International Primary Curriculum. Grades 6-8: Cambridge Lower Secondary with Cambridge Checkpoint assessments in English, mathematics, science and Global Perspectives. Grades 9-10: Cambridge IGCSE, taken by every student; in Bremen the IGCSE is recognised as equivalent to the Mittlere Reife with five subjects at grade C or better. Grades 11-12: the IB Diploma Programme, three Higher Level and three Standard Level subjects plus TOK, the Extended Essay and CAS; the IB Diploma is recognised in Germany as a university entrance qualification. All programmes are taught in English.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · Lower Secondary, IGCSE · authorised programmeNEASC · candidateThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge IGCSE. The school is a candidate for NEASC accreditation.
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 →CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
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: Lower Secondary (ages 11-14), IGCSE (ages 14-16). Lower Secondary is the middle stage, ages 11 to 14, with the same optional Checkpoint test at the end. IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary 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 is a candidate for accreditation by this organisation: the route has been started but not completed. Candidacy speaks of an application made and a file accepted for consideration, not of the outcome of an inspection, and the organisations themselves usually require schools to say that it does not guarantee accreditation. The candidacy is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →IPC
International Primary Curriculum: a British primary school programme for children aged 5 to 11. It teaches through themes that draw subjects together rather than through separate subjects; it is published by the International Curriculum Association, formerly Fieldwork Education.
What this means for this school. This is a programme for the primary stage, not an accreditation of the school: the organisation sells it to schools and trains their teachers, but it does not check the quality of teaching at a particular school and keeps no public register of the schools working to it. There is no outside register to check it against, so the entry comes from the school's own words or from the record of its accrediting organisation. The programme has no leaving certificate: at the end of primary school a child moves on to the middle stage, and it is that stage which decides what they finish with.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
31.4 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma, May 2026: 21 of 23 students were awarded the full diploma, average 31.4 points, highest 42 of 45; in Mathematics AI SL the average grade was 4.40 against 3.89 worldwide, in English A 5.21 against 4.92. Cambridge IGCSE, June 2026: 81% of grades at A* to C across 300 papers, one third at A* or A; 22 of 39 students sat first-language exams in two languages and passed both; two thirds of the year group met the threshold for equivalence to the German Mittlerer Schulabschluss. International Schools' Assessment in grade 9, May 2026: mathematics 544, reading 517, science 615 against German PISA 2025 averages of 464, 465 and 486. The school stresses that it does not select students and that everyone sits the full exams.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio
Clubs and activities: Duke of Edinburgh's International Award · Global Issues Network · Model United Nations · Music Enrichment Programme · Musical productions · Gymnastics · Football · Baseball · Ballroom Dance Sport · Student council
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 sizein the key facts above
The school employs more than 70 staff, teachers come from 24 countries, and most have local and international experience. Initial contracts are normally for two years with a six-month probationary period. Boarding staff are trained in psychology or social work.
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
The campus has secure entry points, regular safety drills, a school nurse, a school counsellor, an educational psychologist and a SENCO. In boarding, adult supervision is available 24 hours, a sick student is assessed by the nurse and a doctor's appointment is arranged if needed. In the evening junior boarders hand in devices and have lights out at 21:00, seniors at 22:00.
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%)84 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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 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
Bremen, Germany · Private