Louisenlund is a private boarding school on the Schlei inlet in Schleswig-Holstein, founded on 1 March 1949 by Duke Friedrich zu Schleswig-Holstein with advice from the educator Kurt Hahn; it is run by a non-profit foundation and is a state-recognised Ersatzschule. About 540 students from more than 20 countries attend: 330 board, 140 attend the day school and 70 the primary school. The campus hosts a primary school (grades 1-4), a state-curriculum Gymnasium from grade 5 to 13 (boarding from grade 8) with the Abitur, a vocational Gymnasium in agriculture (grades 11-13, also the Abitur) and an IB World School: the final years of the Middle Years Programme from grade 8 and the Diploma Programme. The Gymnasium teaches in German, the IB programmes in English; an American High School Diploma can be earned in addition. Groups average 12-15 students with a maximum of 18, and there is one educator for every five students. Each student has a personal mentor. Strengths are science (the plus-MINT programme, Jugend forscht school of the year 2025), sailing (plus-Segeln) and culture. The 2026 Abitur average was 1.89 against 2.4 for the state, and the IB average was 34.25.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $31 723 a year
28 080 EUR
Programmes
IB · MYP, DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
German, English
Languages taught
French, Spanish, Latin
Students per teacher
1 to 5
Class size
on average 12-15 students, at most 18 pupils
Registration fee
≈ $2 146
1 900 EUR
Deposit
≈ $11 297
10 000 EUR
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 (base rates from which the school calculates an individual amount): day school 28080 EUR per year, or 2340 EUR per month (2520 EUR school fee, 14100 EUR beyond the state curriculum, 11460 EUR care and meals); boarding 84300 EUR per year, or 7025 EUR per month; an external place for lessons only 2520 EUR per year, with optional lunch at 1500 EUR. Including extras, boarding costs 50000-85000 EUR per year. The amount depends on the programme, the parents' place of residence and the child's performance; more than half of students receive support: merit scholarships (up to 36000 EUR per year for a grade average of 1.5 or better), development scholarships (up to 28200 EUR per year), regional support of 1500 EUR per month for families from Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, Schüler-BAföG for the agricultural Gymnasium and plus-MINT, and up to 90% for competitive sailors. Sibling discounts are 8400 EUR per year in boarding and 3000 EUR in the day school. Textbooks are included.
Admissions Admission starts with a phone consultation, then the family and child visit the campus (online for very long journeys, for example for the IB), the decision is made jointly, and the first three months are a probation period; the primary school has application deadlines. Boarding is available from grade 8, while grades 5-7 are day school only. For the IB every applicant is considered individually: MYP applicants must have completed the previous year with good grades and show readiness for consistent work. International IB students need no German, and can learn German in addition. Places for external students (lessons only) go mainly to families from nearby communities. The school admits students from more than 20 countries.
Stages and year groups Primary school (grades 1-4). A Schleswig-Holstein Gymnasium on the 9-year track (G9): junior stage grades 5-7 (day school), middle stage grades 8-10, upper stage grades 11-13 with profiles (social sciences, languages, music and arts, science plus-MINT, sport plus-Segeln) and the Abitur (Allgemeine Hochschulreife); the intermediate certificate after grade 10. A vocational Gymnasium in agriculture (grades 11-13, Abitur). IB World School in English: the Middle Years Programme from MYP 3 (grade 8) to MYP 5 with the Community Project and Personal Project; the Diploma Programme - English A, German A, English B, German B, Economics, History, Business Management, Philosophy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Visual Arts; plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS. In addition, an American High School Diploma (NEASC accreditation). The school is an examination centre for the Deutsches Sprachdiplom.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · MYP, DP · authorised programmeNEASC · accreditationRound Square · part of the associationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Middle Years and Diploma programmes. The school is accredited by NEASC. The school is a member of Round Square.
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: MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). 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 →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 →Round SquareRound Square
A network of about three hundred schools in some fifty countries, built on the ideas of the educationalist Kurt Hahn: internationalism, democracy, environment, adventure, leadership, service. On joining, representatives of the network visit the school and write a report, and the school then spends up to two years as a candidate.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to the network. The check on joining is a real one, but what is examined is fidelity to the six principles rather than the quality of teaching, safeguarding or governance. Reports are not published, and the five-year review is one the school carries out on itself. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
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
Average IB score
34.25 (world average 30.88)
Exam results The Abitur average in 2026 was 1.89 (Schleswig-Holstein average 2.4). The IB Diploma average in 2026 was 34.25 (world average 30.88).
Where leavers go: Cornell University · London School of Economics and Political Science · Harvard University · Imperial College London · King's College London · University of St Andrews
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
✓School transport
✓Boarding
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio
Clubs and activities: THW (technical relief service) · Kuttersegeln (cutter sailing) · Ruanda-Kaffee (coffee project with Rwanda) · Biotechnologie (biotechnology) · Agroforst (agroforestry) · Debating Society · Lifeguard · First Responder · plus-Segeln (sailing programme)
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
About 220 staff. Each student has a personal mentor with whom they usually plan their studies and activities at the start of the week; boarders live with house parents. In grades 5-10 all lessons are held as seminars.
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 policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has a health centre. Students live in houses with resident house parents, each has a mentor, and rules on daily life, media use and weekends are clearly set out. Older students take part in rescue clubs (THW, Lifeguard, First Responder).
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%)88 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 data60 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
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