← Back to the rankingInternational School of Düsseldorf
Dusseldorf, Germany · est. 1968 · Private
Illustration · Dusseldorf
The International School of Düsseldorf (ISD) is a private, not-for-profit international day school in Kaiserswerth in northern Düsseldorf, from age three to grade 12. It was founded by parents in 1968 as the American International School of Düsseldorf, with 32 students in its first year. In 1976 it became one of the first schools in the world to offer the IB Diploma; today it is a full IB continuum school with the PYP, MYP and Diploma Programme, and the only one in the Rhine-Ruhr region. All classes apart from German and other languages are taught in English; neither German nor English is required for admission. Students come from more than 57 countries, and about 150 teachers from more than 20 countries work at the school, many with a master's degree or higher. The Diploma Programme is open to everyone without selection, more than 90% of students in grades 11-12 take it, and 54 courses are offered. The school is funded almost entirely through fees paid by parents and their employers.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $23 645–31 937 a year
20 930–28 270 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, French, Japanese
Registration fee
≈ $7 343
6 500 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for the 2026-2027 school year: early years (3-year-old programme, Reception, Prep) and grades 1-2 20930 EUR, grades 3-5 21760 EUR, grades 6-8 23420 EUR, grade 9 25000 EUR, grade 10 25350 EUR including MYP e-Assessment, grade 11 27820 EUR, grade 12 28270 EUR including graduation. Fees cover course books and materials, the elementary iPad programme, school field trips, IB programme costs and regular IB examination fees, learning support and EAL support. Fees for students arriving or leaving during the year are adjusted under the contract. A limited number of financial assistance scholarships, in the form of a fee reduction, are available to families resident in Germany based on family income and after an interview with the Director of Finance.
Admissions The school welcomes children of all nationalities, including German citizens, from families seeking an international education in English. Students are accepted throughout the year when places are available, and applications are processed first come, first served; to start at the beginning of the school year, applying by 30 April is recommended. Placement is by age on 1 September: the 3-year-old programme, Reception from 4, Prep from 5, grade 1 from 6. German is not needed, and English is not required up to grade 10, where the EAL team provides support, but students entering grades 11-12 need English at IB level. Students who struggle academically in their native language and have limited English are not normally admitted; a limited number of students with mild to moderate learning needs receive support, sometimes after an assessment. Students must live with a parent or parent figure: students living alone are not accepted. From grade 6 a trial day is possible. The application requires photos of the child and parents, passports or birth certificates, report cards for three years, work samples, proof of two measles vaccinations and the school's forms; the family joins the school association.
Stages and year groups Grades 3yo, Reception, Prep, 1-12. Full IB continuum: the PYP in the early years (the 3-year-old programme, Reception for ages 3-4 and Prep for age 5) and in elementary grades 1-5, the MYP in grades 6-10 (eight subject groups, life skills classes, interdisciplinary electives in grades 6-8, the Personal Project in grade 10) and the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12 with a choice of 54 courses, TOK, the Extended Essay and CAS. Students not taking the full diploma earn certificates for individual DP courses and the accredited ISD High School Diploma for grades 9-12, which gives access to higher education in Canada, the US and other countries. All programmes are in English. The school does not name any Cambridge or Pearson courses.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationNEASC · accreditationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. The school is accredited by CIS. 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), MYP (ages 11-16), 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. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. 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 →CISCouncil of International Schools
It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything 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 →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
35 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2025: the average score of all programme students was 35 against a world average of 30.6, the highest score 44 of 45, 22% scored 40 points or more (12% globally), 57% scored more than 35 points (36% globally), and 43% earned a bilingual diploma. The school stresses that the programme is open to all students without selection.
Where leavers go: University of Oxford · University of Cambridge · Imperial College London · University College London · London School of Economics and Political Science · University of Warwick · University of Edinburgh · University of St Andrews · Maastricht University · University of Amsterdam · Erasmus University Rotterdam · Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
and others, 18 universities in the school's list in allThe school publishes the full list of universities that admitted the class of 2025: the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, the US, Canada, Spain, Japan, the UAE, France, Italy, Sweden and Australia. Each graduating class has about 100 students; counsellors support graduates with admissions for up to two years after graduation.
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: Student Council · Model United Nations · Eco-School Group · Robotics Team · Student Service Learning Group · Choir Group · Student Band · International Honor Society · Streaming Team · Advocates Allies and Us · Football Team · Basketball Team · Volleyball Team · Cross Country Team · Swim Team · Chess · Coding · Ceramics · Theatre
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers150
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: Many teachers hold a master's degree or higher; leaders hold master's degrees from American, British and German universities.
About 150 teachers from more than 20 countries work at the school (the admissions page says 27 countries); a significant number hold a master's degree or higher. Every employee takes professional development courses each year and has an individual development allowance. Teachers are trained in Positive Discipline, and the school is certified in it. The website names the eight members of the leadership team.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The child protection policy is aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and German law and informed by the International Task Force on Child Protection. The school has a Safeguarding Lead and two Safeguarding Coordinators who train staff, and a dedicated address for concerns about a child. On each of the two campuses a security manager is on duty before, during and after school, and all visitors, including parents, sign in at the security desk and wear an ID or visitor badge. A fully qualified nurse works on each campus throughout the school day. School counsellors help with friendships, stress, bullying, family issues and crises; grades 6-10 follow a Life Skills course on wellbeing, drug education, sexual health and career choice. New students are supported by student ambassadors and mentors.
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 data85 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)95 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 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