Schools in Berlin for Australian kids: your options

Berlin's public schools are free, close by and often very good. The tricky part is that the system runs on different ages, different years and a lot of German, so the right choice depends on how long you're staying.

The short version

School is compulsory once your child turns 6 by 30 September. Primary school (Grundschule) usually runs six years in Berlin, then children move to an Integrierte Sekundarschule (ISS) or a Gymnasium [1][2].
Every child is guaranteed a place at the catchment primary school for their address. Registration for the August 2027 start runs from 5 to 16 October 2026 [2][3].
Kids aged 8 and over without German usually start in a welcome class (Willkommensklasse) for up to a year. Younger children go straight into a regular class [4].
Berlin's State European Schools (SESB) teach in German and one partner language, including English, at no cost, but places go by a language test [5].
International schools offer English-language and IB programmes for a fee. At one large IB school, annual fees run from about €19,400 to €25,100 for 2026–27, plus a one-off registration fee [6].

How the Berlin system compares with home

Australian kids start Foundation at about 5 and switch to high school after Year 6 or 7. Berlin's timing looks similar on paper, but the paths split early and the school year starts in August, not late January.

Stage	Berlin	Typical Australian equivalent
Childcare and kindergarten	Kita, up to school start [7]	Long day care and preschool
Primary	Grundschule, usually Years 1–6 [1]	Foundation to Year 6
Secondary, all-rounder	Integrierte Sekundarschule (ISS) or Gemeinschaftsschule, Abitur after 13 years [1]	Comprehensive public high school
Secondary, academic	Gymnasium, Abitur after 12 years [1]	Selective or academic high school
Final qualification	Abitur	HSC, VCE, QCE and so on, leading to an ATAR
School year	Starts in August [3]	Starts late January or early February

Two more differences catch Australians out. First, there's no uniform at most state schools. Second, the first day of school is a big deal: children get a Schultüte, a giant paper cone full of lollies and small gifts. Buy one, or your kid will notice.

Primary school days in Berlin are full-day in one of two ways. In a "bound" all-day school everyone stays roughly 8am to 4pm. In an "open" all-day school lessons end around lunch and after-school care is added on top [8]. You apply for that after-school care (eFöB, often called Hort) at registration [2].

Primary school: catchment and registration

Every Berlin address belongs to a school catchment area (Einschulungsbereich), usually the nearest public primary school. That school must take your child [2][3]. You can look up your catchment school using the school directory's radius search, or ask your district's school office (Schulamt) [2].

Registering step by step

Do your Anmeldung first. You need a current registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) [3]. Our German paperwork guide explains how.
Check if your child is school-age. For the 2027–28 school year, that's children born between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021. Younger children born up to 31 March 2022 can start early only if their German is strong enough, and the district decides [3].
Book the school medical check. Every new starter has a school entry health examination; bring its form along [2].
Register in person at your catchment school during the registration window, 5 to 16 October 2026 for the 2027 intake. Bring your passport, the Meldebescheinigung and your child's birth certificate [3].
Register there even if you want another school. You must register at your catchment school even if you're aiming for a private, international or special school. If you'd prefer a different public school, request it in writing with your reasons [3].
Apply for after-school care at the same time if you need it [2].

Registration and public schooling cost nothing [2][3].

Moving to secondary

Most children switch after Year 6 to an ISS, a Gemeinschaftsschule or a Gymnasium. Some Gymnasien take children from Year 5 if their marks suggest it's a good fit [1]. A Gymnasium is faster and more academic. An ISS offers every qualification including the Abitur, with an extra year to get there [1]. Unlike primary school, there's no guaranteed catchment place for secondary, so families apply to several schools.

Arriving without German: welcome classes

German school is compulsory for ages 6 to 18, German or not [4]. If your child arrives mid-way through primary or in high school, here's how it usually works [4]:

Ages 6 and 7 usually go into the regular early years class (Schulanfangsphase) and pick up German alongside everyone else.
Ages 8 and over usually start in a Willkommensklasse, a small welcome class focused on German, while joining regular lessons in art, music and sport from the start.
For up to a year. Time in a welcome class is generally limited to one year, with progress reports each half-year. Grades only start once your child moves into a regular class.
How to get in. Contact the coordination office (Koordinierungsstelle) at the Schulamt in your district. It assigns the school and class, and you then register at that school in person.

Kids often surprise their parents here. Many children are chatting in German within months. Teenagers aiming for the Abitur have a harder road, which is where bilingual and international schools come in.

Bilingual state schools: the SESB

The Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin (State European School Berlin, SESB) is a network of public schools where lessons are taught in German and one partner language, with native-speaking teachers [5][8]. Partner languages include English, French, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish [5].

The English-German strand runs from primary to the end of school. Schools listed in the Senate's guide include Charles-Dickens-Grundschule, Galilei-Grundschule and Quentin-Blake-Grundschule at primary level, the Schiller-Schule (a Gymnasium) and the Peter-Ustinov-Schule (an ISS) for secondary, and the Hans-Litten-Schule for vocational upper secondary [5].

How admission works, according to the Senate's guidelines [5]:

There's no catchment area. Families from anywhere in Berlin can apply.
Every child sits a language test. Children must speak German or the partner language at a level like a native speaker for their age, or be bilingual. The test can't be repeated.
Places are split three ways: children with the partner language as a first language, German first-language children, and bilingual children, in equal groups where possible.

For an Australian family, this is often the sweet spot: free, local, recognised, and your child keeps their English while becoming properly fluent in German. The flip side is that places are competitive, so apply as early as the school allows.

Berlin also has other public options with an international flavour, such as public schools offering the International Baccalaureate. Check the school's own website for admission rules.

International and private schools

If you're staying two or three years, or your teenager is mid-way through senior school, an international school can make the move back to Australia easier.

Fees are serious. Take Berlin Brandenburg International School (BBIS) in Kleinmachnow, just over the city border, which teaches the IB. Its annual fees for 2026–27 are [6]:

Stage	Annual tuition 2026–27
Early education (ages 3–5)	€15,300–€16,400
Primary (Grades 1–5)	€19,400–€21,600
Secondary (Grades 6–10)	€22,500–€24,200
Diploma years (Grades 11–12)	€25,000–€25,100

On top of that, BBIS charges a one-off €7,500 registration fee and a €100 application fee, and runs an income-based fee reduction programme [6]. Other international and bilingual private schools set their own fees, and some private schools in Berlin charge much less. Ask every school for its full fee schedule, including trips, buses and lunches.

Before you sign:

Check your employer package. Some relocation packages contribute to school fees. Ask before you accept the job, not after.
Ask about the curriculum path. The IB Diploma is widely accepted by Australian universities. Check with the specific university how they convert it into an ATAR equivalent.
Check waiting lists. Popular international schools fill up, especially for August starts.

Coming home: getting back into Australian schools

Your child's Berlin years count. Australian schools enrol by age and state rules, not by matching German year levels exactly. A few things make the return smoother:

Keep every report (Zeugnis) and get key ones translated. German grades run from 1 (best) to 6, the reverse of what Australian teachers expect.
Mind the calendar. Leaving Berlin in July means arriving mid-year in Australia. Many families aim to return over the December–January break.
Watch the senior years. Moving in Year 11 or 12 is hard in any system. If you expect to go home before the Abitur, the IB or a school with an Australian-friendly pathway may suit better.

Our schooling Australian kids abroad and coming home guide covers enrolment, year levels and the ATAR question in more detail.

Want to hear which schools other Australian families chose? Join Cooee Germany, our Facebook group for Australians in Germany, where parents compare SESB tests, welcome classes and Schultüte hacks.

Schools in Berlin: public, bilingual and international options for Aussie kids