International schools in Frankfurt or Munich

[Booboostwo]

We are looking to move to either Frankfurt or Munich in the next year or so. We're looking for an international school, with teaching in English or bilingual English/German, an IB curriculum and a fun attitude to learning (no/few exams, limited homework, no insane targets).

We will be visiting schools in October, any thoughts on my short list:
Frankfurt
Frankfurt International School
Metropolitan School Frankfurt

Munich
International Bilingual School Munich
Bavarian International School
Munich International School

Or other suggestions?

Have you already discovered the Toytown Germany forum? It's a forum for english speaking immigrants in Germany and has lots of information on starting a new life there including various threads on the international schools. This one here has opinions on BIS and MIS and I'm sure if you search the site more you will find other threads on the other schools you are interested in.

www.toytowngermany.com/forum/topic/375743-current-thoughts-on-mis-vs-bis/

Thank you so much, that sounds really helpful.

Frankfurt International School (FIS) is the leading international school in Frankfurt and offers an education on a par with a decent private school in UK. It is more US than UK orientated - that reflects the demographics inFrankfurt- but it is relatively straightforward for a student to transfer back into the UK system. It is expensive though and often over subscribed.

The second choice school for international students is the International
School of Frankfurt (ISF). This is cheaper but gets good results and parents who like it speak highly of it. It is however quite test/target driven so going by your original post it might not be your cup of tea. Worth a look though.

There are a number of bilingual schools in Frankfurt and the surrounding areas. These tend to be aimed at German families who want their children to learn English rather than at the expat/international market. Results at secondary level are mediocre compared both with the schools mentioned above and with a German Gymnasium. I would put the Metropolitan School in that category.

Depending on the age of your DC you might also look at German schools. They are not good at integrating older non German speaking children (I would say 9 is the cut off if you are looking at secondary schools in Germany) but if your DC are younger they will get a first class education there and come out with fluent German. Admissions are neighbourhood based so if you find a house in a leafy suburb or a wealthy area of downtown Frankfurt you will save ££££ and receive an education on par with any of the international schools.

It is difficult to be more precise without knowing the age of your DC and how long you plan to stay in Germany.

Thank you so much SouthChinaSea234 for your really detailed reply! I am sorry, I only just saw it!

DCs are 8 and 5yo, so would be 9 and 6yo at the earliest when we move. They both speak English at home and go to a French school which has been a bit of a challenge language wise for both of them. Because of this I am keen on changing them to an English speaking school and letting them learn German in their own time (DD has started lessons, but I think it's less stressful for her if she just learns it as a foreign language rather than having it as her main school language).

I am slightly put off by the ISF because of the emphasis on exam results. The Metro were very good on the phone, asked a lot of interesting questions of me. We have appointments to visit 4 schools in October so we should be able to narrow it down.

Next problem is renting...I have 3 dogs and 3 cats!

I know people who are very happy with BIS if Munich is still an option. Only downside I've heard is complaints that (like a lot of international schools apparently) they're not remotely interested in helping if your child has any special needs.

Finding anywhere to rent in Munich is very difficult and very expensive anyway, even for high earning German couples without children. For foreigners with children and lots of pets it would be hugely challenging finding anywhere unless you have a very large budget or are prepared to live outside the city, beyond the u Bahn and possibly beyond the s Bahn.

Thank you. We are going to visit the BIS and MIS in Munich and then the FIS and Metro in Frankfurt in October, after which it might be easier to narrow it down.

Yes, I am dreading the rental search! Living in the middle of nowhere would be fine, preferable even. I was hoping that if the school is already outside the city centre (which most of them are with the exception of the City campus of the BIS) we could rent somewhere a further 30 minutes out of the city centre. That way it might be more feasible. I don't need to commute into the city daily.

Booboostwo If you're happy to live another 30 minutes drive further out than the Haimhausen main BIS school (so an hour out of Munich to the less fashionable north) you'll have loads of choice and get a house for the price of a shoebox in Munich itself. There is a BIS school bus which picks up from villages miles away - possibly goes as far as Ingolstadt even (you'd have to check that!)

Even Haimhausen itself, which is the small town where BIS is, is an awful lot cheaper than Munich itself with a lot more houses rather than flats, because it hasn't got brilliant public transport into Munich (not on the s or u Bahn).

That is extremely helpful! Yes, that is the kind of thing I was hoping for! Because I don't need to commute regularly into Munich, I was hoping I can take advantage of the more remote areas without good transport links.

My brother had girls the age of your children and put them into the German state system, living in a very pretty small town a bit north of Frankfurt. They had English au pairs for years. The kids picked the language up really quickly and now, as late teenagers, are totally bilingual. The older one spent a year in a US high school and was way ahead. I know what you’re saying about extra stress but if you’re staying for a while why not consider a very good free system?

Sorry, forgot to say we are thinking of staying long term.

I completely get what you say Pepperama and I think it is true for many kids, but both of mine have struggled with French despite being in France since birth and going to nursery. They both needed extra language lessons (fun and playing oriented ones) to be encouraged to speak French. I don't know why they both had this block as both parents speak French, but we do speak English (and some Greek) at home. I think that adding another main schooling language at this stage would be too much for us, although I appreciate it is fine for many DCs.

My kids are in local schools but I know multiple families who tried it (even in one case with children born here but parents who remained firmly expats, socialising with English speakers and unintentionally creating an English bubble around their children) and their kids sank like stones and were moved to international schools or returned to various English speaking countries.

It has been good for my children, who are fully bilingual, but it really doesn't work for everyone, it depends partly on the children's personalities and natural abilities (not how "clever" they are but where their talents lie - some children can be clever but not function in two languages well, it isn't a given- and how sociable and thick skinned or resilient they are) and partly on how well you immerse yourself as an entire family - if you stick to socialising mainly with other English speaking families it's fairly doomed.

I think we are in an odd position. DD, for example, is now bilingual French/English. She reads equally well in both languages but has some problems with French grammar and English spelling. She also understands some Greek. Given all that I think asking her to go to a German school would be too much. But she will learn German and we do intend to integrate. I've been studying German for 18 months and have finally understood the dative!

You could look at European School Frankfurt - French or English sections. Your DC would probably fit in well. You would probably be a category 3 applicant but occasional vacancies do arise.

There are also bilingual French /German schools in the German state system. Your DC are a bit young but Ziehenschule in ESchersheim might work later.

Thanks. As far as I understand it it is very difficult to get into a European school as a category 3 applicant and we’ve already been warned that admission for 2020 are even tougher than usual in Frankfurt because of Brexit.

No offense to anyone whose DCs enjoy the French schooling system but we want to get as far away from any French education as possible.

Have a look here for IB PYP schools in Germany

www.ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school/?SearchFields.Region=&SearchFields.Country=DE&SearchFields.Keywords=&SearchFields.Language=&SearchFields.BoardingFacilities=&SearchFields.SchoolGender=&SearchFields.ProgrammePYP=true