The Schillerschule is a state Gymnasium of the city of Hannover in the Kleefeld district with a nine-year course (grades 5-13), founded in 1954; it carries the name of a municipal girls' school opened in 1878 and destroyed in the war. About 1100 students attend. The school's hallmark is English: grades 5 and 6 have extra English lessons, in grade 6 every student spends half a year doing music, art or sport in English, and from grade 7 an optional bilingual track teaches geography, history and biology in English up to the Abitur. Since the 2010-2011 school year the school has been the first in Lower Saxony to offer the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate Diploma together in grades 12-13; individual IB subjects can also be taken. All other teaching is in German following the state curriculum. The school belongs to the MINT-EC network of maths and science Gymnasien and offers a wind band class, profile courses in grades 8-10, exchanges with France and the Netherlands and Erasmus projects.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
German, English
Languages taught
French, Latin, Spanish
About the fees The school is a state school and tuition is free; only the IB programme costs money, which the school says it offers regardless of background and family income: 100 EUR per year in grades 12 and 13 for the full diploma (from 50 EUR for individual subjects) towards the IB annual fee, books and administration, and in the middle of the second year a one-off IB exam fee of about 700 EUR for the full diploma, 240 EUR for one subject, 330 EUR for two (the 2024 English flyer gives about 600 EUR for the diploma and about 100 EUR per subject). The school's IB support association helps families who cannot afford it.
Admissions Registration for grade 5 takes place in May on a common schedule for Hannover Gymnasien (18-22 May in 2026): parents submit a form, the original half-year report of grade 4, a copy of the birth certificate, proof of measles vaccination and name four alternative schools; the school informs families in writing. Transfers into middle and upper grades are by application and after a consultation; grade 11 accepts only students who have studied a second foreign language since grade 6. Applications for the IB Diploma are submitted together with registration for grade 12, usually in February of grade 11; students from other schools are invited to transfer at the start of grade 11 or 12. Requirements are promotion to grade 12 under state rules, English at about level B1+ and near-native German, because all IB students also sit the Abitur; for the full diploma, bilingual subjects before grade 12 or a term abroad are compulsory, with exceptions possible for students from other schools. Students from other educational systems must have equivalent qualifications under state regulations, which the IB coordinator helps to clarify. The head and the IB coordinator decide on the basis of academic performance, motivation, English and social engagement; in doubtful cases the candidate writes a personal statement and is interviewed with the parents.
Stages and year groups Grades 5-13. A Gymnasium on the Lower Saxony curriculum with a nine-year course (G9): Sekundarstufe I in grades 5-10, an introductory grade 11 and the qualification phase in grades 12-13 ending with the Abitur. Bilingual track in English: modules in grades 5-6, geography, history and biology in English in grades 7-10 (optional), and in the upper school these subjects run as combined courses preparing for both the Abitur and the IB; graduates receive a bilingual certificate with the Abitur. IB Diploma Programme in grades 12-13 alongside the Abitur (since the 2010-2011 school year): Theory of Knowledge, an Extended Essay of about 4000 words, CAS; subjects: German language and literature (Language A, HL/SL), English (English B, HL), French (French B, HL/SL), Latin (HL/SL), History (SL), Geography (SL), Biology (SL), Chemistry (HL/SL), Physics (HL/SL), Mathematics (Analysis, HL/SL), Theatre (SL); IB exams in May. Students can take the full diploma, individual IB subjects (IB Courses) or just the extra IB lessons without exams. Preparation for TOEFL, DELF (A2-B2) and DELE is offered, and a MINT-EC certificate with the Abitur.
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
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
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school occupies a late-1950s building on a former manor estate in the Kleefeld district in the east of Hannover: classroom wings, a science wing, an auditorium, sports halls, a large south yard with a grove and a new canteen building. There is a canteen with a buffet (lunches by an external caterer, registration via the school) and a cafeteria, and a student library for reading and homework, open during main breaks and run by students. The school runs an all-day programme (Ganztag), has iPad classes and the IServ school platform. There is no boarding.
Clubs and activities: FAT APPLE - Bigband · Junior Concert Band · Senior Concert Band · Young Voices · Schiller Voices · Orchestra · Coding & Making · Jet Challenge · Robotik Lego (Lego robotics) · Physik AG (physics club) · Jugend forscht AG (youth science competition club) · Smart Fashion · Rudern (rowing) · Football · Chess · Theoretische Philosophie (theoretical philosophy) · Schülerbücherei (student library team) · Schulsanitätsdienst (school first aid service) · Schülervertretung SV (student council) · Art Attack · Bläserklasse (wind band class) · Mathematik ohne Grenzen (maths competition)
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 sizenot stated
The teachers' page names about 98 teachers with their subjects; about 20 teachers work in the IB programme and are listed separately with their IB subjects. Native-speaker language assistants support English lessons. The state provides additional teaching hours for the IB.
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 policy
Students and parents can turn to a counselling teacher who keeps confidentiality and, if needed, connects them with the school psychologist and counselling services; conflict mediation is offered. A school social worker provides open, confidential counselling, including group and family counselling. One deputy head is responsible for violence and drug prevention and health education; there is a student first aid service. For the IB there are inclusion and academic integrity policies and a complaints procedure.
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 data55 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
Hanover, Germany · est. 1954 · State