Excellent education, tailored to each student. Every day. From elementary school to the International Baccalaureate Diploma or the Abitur. Truly bilingual learning in a unique school community where intercultural compentences and excellent language skills come naturally.
IFK/CIS: we know that the future belongs to those who think outside of the box, who are curious, develop creative ideas and implement intelligent and practical solutions. The future belongs to those who have learned to move within the globalized world confidently and effortlessly, who know their own culture and are open to others.
Cologne International School is an IB World School and a state-approved private school, recognized by the state Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) and accredited by the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the University of Cambridge.
Meaningful, child-oriented learning in a warm, secure environment. Two classroom teachers work side-by-side within our bilingual teaching model, where we have integrated the NRW curriculum into the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). With a focus on academics, social skills and international-mindedness, your child will have the optimal start to their educational career, and will be well-prepared for the secondary school of their choice.
A comprehensive, English-language IB World School, students learn in a combination of the IB and Cambridge Secondary curricula. Experienced teachers from around the globe guide and support students in small learning groups, enabling each individual to develop their unique strengths and talents. Students graduate with a well-rounded education and internationally recognized qualifications – the IGCSEs and IB Diploma – ready to succeed at university and beyond.
As a fully state-recognized Gymnasium (German secondary school), we implement the North Rhine Westphalia curriculum with emphasis on English proficiency. Students benefit from combining the standards of the German educational system with the values of our international campus while sharing resources, teaching concepts and extracurricular programmes. They graduate with the Abitur, which gives successful graduates access to universities in Germany and worldwide.
The aim of IFK/CIS is to tap the full learning potential of all of our students and to satisfy their various learning requirements.
As the differences in the form and speed of learning can be quite pronounced, we put a high level of individual support into practice.
Individual support is based on two cornerstones: individualisation (open learning, weekly plans / learning bureaus, individual assignments, project work, acceleration, enrichment) and internal differentiation (adjustment of the learning activities and materials to the working and learning level of the individual student or the individual group). The small learning groups facilitate the implementation of these basic principles of individual support.
Furthermore, within the framework of external differentiation, we have put into place a complex support system in the form of support lessons, support courses and individual support. Individual support plans, based on instruments of pedagogical diagnostics (internal as well as standard test procedures, targeted observation and regular conferences about the learning progress of each student) are specifically created to meet individual needs.
A team of support teachers within our Learning Support and Special Needs Departments enables the implementation of a complex range of support activities in the following areas:
Fluency in two languages is becoming a natural expectation in today’s and tomorrow’s university and job markets. Knowledge of a third (or further) language sets you apart. We give our students an edge – to open more doors for them – by fostering bilingualism as a matter-of-course, while simultaneously promoting further language development through numerous additional language opportunities. Because we understand the importance of internationally recognized qualifications, we encourage especially talented students to obtain external language certification, which we currently offer in English (Cambridge), Spanish (DELE) and French (DELF).
Our primary school is truly bilingual through the use of 18 lessons of German/English team teaching a week. Our secondary school forms each use one main language of instruction (English in the International Secondary School and German in the Gymnasium bilingual +), with a strong emphasis on the counterpart language. Throughout all grades and school forms, German and English are the core academic languages, with individual language support offered to any student in need.
Furthermore, we provide additional language lessons – from Spanish and French, to mother-tongue Italian, Turkish or Russian, to Latin – both as part of our extensive extracurricular programme as well as integrated into our academic curriculum. While mother-tongue lessons and a playful introduction to Spanish are available at the primary level, secondary school students have a wealth of opportunities to develop and advance their language skills. Upon graduation, we can be confident that our students will at the very least reach proficiency in both English and German, and in many cases will be fluent in an additional foreign language as well, with an internationally recognized language certificate to prove it. Further information about our language certification programme can be found here.
Learn more about our international school campus, academic programmes and educational concept.
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A snapshot of secondary school life
