← Back to homeLower Austrian International School
St. Pölten, Austria · est. 2009 · State
Illustration · St. Pölten
Lower Austrian International School (LAIS) is a public upper secondary grammar school in St. Pölten, opened in 2009 as a branch of the BORGL/BHASL St. Pölten school for athletes (Leistungssportschule); since 2011 it has been an IB World School offering the IB Diploma. LAIS teaches Grades 9-12 (5-8 LAIS in Austrian numbering) and leads to one of two qualifications: the IB Diploma for non-German speakers or the Austrian Reifeprüfung (Matura) for native German speakers ("offering the IB Diploma for non-German speakers OR the Austrian Reifeprüfung for native German speakers"). The school names the language of instruction directly in its language policy: "English is used as the primary language of instruction and of social interaction". Most students are semi-professional athletes, and the curriculum is adapted to training schedules; the school and the boarding house stand on the grounds of the Sport.Zentrum NÖ sports centre. In its brochure the school stresses a familial climate and a low number of students.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
German, Russian, Spanish
About the fees Tuition is free: "LAIS is an Austrian state school - consequently, no tuition fees are levied". The school publishes the required yearly costs of the IB branch separately: about 530 EUR in Year 1, 520 EUR in Years 2 and 3, and 1120 EUR in Year 4, when the IB examination fees are added.
Admissions The LAIS admission policy calls the school open to students from diverse backgrounds ("open to students from diverse backgrounds"), and the school describes itself as a school "for competitive athletes and international students". The IB Diploma is intended for non-German speakers. The procedure for entering Grade 9 is not described on the website: the "Aufnahme" link leads to a list of sport-specific training heads, who are "die ersten Ansprechpersonen für eine Aufnahme in das NÖ SLZ St.Pölten" (the first contacts for admission to the NÖ SLZ St. Pölten sports centre). Students move into the IB Diploma (Grade 11) with a positive grade ("Genügend" or higher) in all Grade 10 subjects; the final decision is made by a conference of all subject teachers and the IB Coordinator. The school strategy speaks of supporting both athletes and non-athletes and of recruiting international students ("Recruit international students across sports and non-competitive areas").
Stages and year groups Grades 9-12. Four years: Grades 9-12 (5-8 LAIS). Grades 9-10 are Pre-IB, a preparatory programme in English. Grades 11-12 lead to the IB Diploma Programme for students whose first language is not German, or to the Austrian Reifeprüfung (Matura) for native German speakers. In the IB DP a student takes one subject from each of the six groups, 3 at Higher and 3 at Standard Level; a course runs if at least five students sign up.
Address Bimbo-Binder-Promenade 7, 3100 St. Pölten
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school. It is the international branch of the state grammar school BORG St. Pölten: alongside the IB, native German speakers sit the Austrian Reifeprüfung.
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 hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Campus: The school and the Bundesschülerheim boarding house are connected and stand on the grounds of the Sport.Zentrum NÖ sports centre; the boarding house has a weight room, and by Ratzersdorfer See lake there is a second residence, "SLZ am See".
Teaching staff from the school's official website
✓Teachers listed by name41 names
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: The Lehrer:innenteam page lists 41 teachers by name with their subjects and office hours; 35 carry the academic title Mag., 1 Dr.
The teacher list covers the whole BORGL, BHASL and LAIS school; the IB Coordinator is Mag. Michael Hofbauer, the headmaster Dir. Mag. Mario Lahner. According to the brochure, LAIS runs a tutoring system that supports both the academic progress and the mental resilience of student athletes.
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 room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A school doctor (Schulärztin), Dr. Michaela Kronawetter, sees students on Tuesdays 09:00-13:00 and Fridays 08:00-13:00. LAIS publishes inclusion, academic integrity and assessment policies and a complaints procedure for parents. In the boarding house about 40 educators look after 192 athletes.
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 data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data90 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "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