Students at Deutsche Schule Melbourne – A German International School will grow up bilingually and biculturally.

German and English are the languages of instruction. Teaching is based on a one teacher-one language approach, in which teachers only conduct classes in their native-language, be it German or English. Ideally, all teachers are bilingual.

The curriculum of Deutsche Schule Melbourne fulfils the requirements of both the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) and Thüringen curricula. This will assist students who need to transfer to another Australian Victorian school or a German school.

In line with current research on children from both bilingual and monolingual backgrounds, students will learn to read and write in German and English concurrently. In Year 1 and 2, 80% of classes will be taught in German. The proportion of classes taught in English will gradually increase so that by Year 6 it will amount to approximately 50% and by Year 11 about 80% of teaching time. This is based on the highly successful Canadian “Early Immersion Program” for bilingual schools.

Deutsche Schule Melbourne structures classroom activities to assist students who do not have German as one of their main languages.

In Year 12 students will work towards the International Baccalaureate (IB), a leaving certificate that is recognised world-wide.

Year 10 students can complete a leaving certificate equivalent to the German “Realschulabschluss” if required.

Deutsche Schule Melbourne will strengthen students’ understanding of their responsibilities within the global community. Numerous activities will also cement the school’s position in its multicultural Australian setting. Participation in sports and other recreational activities will create strong community ties and partnerships will be formed with other schools and organisations.

The following people have been involved in design of the school model:

Susanne Döpke
Stefanie Everke Buchanan
Averil Grieve
Martina Heinemann
Susanne Hildebrand
Wiebke Kleine
Birgit Matwijiw
Heike Müller
Ulrike Perkins
Jessika Rabe
Manuela Ruwoldt
Roma Schultz
Inga Stanzel
Jana Verhoeven
Conny Wenninger

If you have any queries or require further information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .