International School in Berlin, Germany

Nelson-Mandela-Schule:
Nelson Mandela School is an international comprehensive school in Berlin, providing quality bilingual education in grades 1-13 to children from a wide variety of backgrounds. We have two locations in Berlin, both are centrally located in the inner-city boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf: Our primary campus is located on Pfalzburger Street (Wilmersdorf) and our secondary campus is located at Kastanienallee (Charlottenburg). English and German are our school’s official languages, but we do not stop at introducing our students just to German and Anglo-American values and traditions. As a truly international school, it is our business to acquaint our students with as many different aspects of life as possible.

Education Programs:

International Primary School Program:
This is for grades 1-6. At Nelson Mandela School, we integrate several curricula to accommodate the requirements of the Berlin Senate and the needs of an international school.The school in general, and the German and Math Department in particular follow the Berliner Rahmenlehrpläne. For the primary school, they fit well with the National Curriculum used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the International Primary Curriculum (IPC).

The primary English department also follows the National Curriculum used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Materials used are Jolly Phonics and the Oxford Reading Tree.

Finally, the Nelson Mandela School has decided to take the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) on board and has started using this in the school year 2006/2007. It fits with the Berliner Rahmenpläne (see above) and is a cross-curricular program that runs parallel to subjects like language and math, but could also include those. The IPC is a new curriculum especially developed for international primary schools. It’s rigorous, practical and fun. It helps children develop subject knowledge, skills and understanding, contributes towards their personal development and builds the development of international understanding into the formal curriculum.

Subjects include:
- Mathematics, Language, Art, Geography, History, ICT (Information and Communications Technology), Music, PE (Physical Education), Science, Technology and International-mindedness.

International Secondary School Program:
This is for grades 7-13. At Nelson Mandela School, we integrate several curricula to accommodate the requirements of the Berlin Senate and the needs of our students. The school in general, and the German and Math Department in particular follow the Berliner Rahmenlehrpläne.

- Lower Secondary /Middle School (Years 7-10):
Berlin School Law requires that all comprehensive schools (Gesamtschulen) in Berlin use the FEGA system, which is essentially a system for academic differentiation. This system applies to certain subjects only. These subjects include German, English, Maths and Integrated Science. Integrated Science is later taught as three separate subjects in both years nine and ten (Physics, Chemistry and Biology). In these subjects, the students are grouped according to their needs, abilities and performance. In the other subjects (History, Geography, Ethics, Art, Music, Sport and Home Economy and Vocational Training (Arbeitslehre)) the students are taught together. French is an exception. In this subject the students are grouped according to their previous knowledge of French

The letters FEGA represent the different groups:
F-Kurs: Fortgeschrittenenkurs (Accelerated)
E-Kurs: Erweiterungskurs (Advanced)
G-Kurs: Grundkurs (Basic)
A-Kurs: Anschlusskurs (Entry level / Developing)

- Upper Secondary School (Years 11-13):

International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program:
‘The International Baccalaureate Diploma’ program, offered by the 'International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)', based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a rigorous pre-university course of study that meets the needs of the highly motivated secondary school students. Designed as a comprehensive curriculum that allows its graduates to fulfil requirements of the various national systems of education, the IB is based on the pattern of no single country. It provides students of different linguistic, cultural, and educational back-grounds with the intellectual, social and critical perspectives necessary for the adult world. IB is the international equivalent to the German Abitur program.

All IB Diploma candidates are required to engage in the study of languages, sciences, mathematics, social studies, and literature during the final two years of their secondary schooling. This programme is a deliberate compromise between the preference for specialization in some countries and the emphasis on breadth often preferred in others. The intent is that students should learn how to learn, how to analyze, how to reach considered conclusions about people, their languages and literature, their ways in society, and the scientific forces of the environment.

IB was first launched in 1968 and has spread around the globe since. The IB Programme is recognized by leading universities in over 100 countries world wide (including Germany).

Our IB:
The fee-based IB programme has been offered at NMS since 2004. Costs are currently EUR 900 for the exams. Additionally, there are mandatory costs for IB-specific books and equipment of around EUR 750. The programme is made up of subjects from six different content areas. Our courses currently are:

- Area 1: English or German (literature)
- Area 2: English or German (language) (German levels ranging from native speaker to beginner)
- Area 3: History
- Area 4: Biology, Physics, Chemistry
- Area 5: Mathematics high level, Mathematics standard level
- Area 6: Visual arts, French, Spanish

Students choose three of the above subjects at higher level and three at standard level. Students have some choice in making their schedule and what offered may be determined by the amount of demand, but students usually get their first choice for their schedules.

Additionally:  Extra-Curricular Activities