Our values and beliefs

Berlin British School is the only school in Berlin to offer an education based on the British model, set in an international context. Serving the international community of Berlin, the school develops inquiring and intellectually active minds, as well as cultivating the value of knowledge in its traditional sense. Our highly qualified British and international staff are experienced, caring, and deeply committed to the development of the whole child. The language of instruction is English, and German tuition is provided for all students. Small class sizes, close individual monitoring, and the maintenance of rigorous academic standards in a caring but disciplined setting are the distinguishing features of a BBS education which also recognises, through a rich programme of extracurricular activities, that a young person’s confidence and skills may be developed outside the classroom as well as within it.

The school is based on three sites with facilities appropriate to each age group:

Early Years – a programme of structured learning for ages 3-6 (Nursery, Reception and Year 1)

Primary – specialist teaching facilities for ages 6-11 (Years 2 - 6)

Secondary - for ages 12-18 (Years 7 - 13) leading to the International Baccalaureate Diploma. The IBDP is often described as the gold standard of international education and is recognised by universities worldwide, including Germany, UK and USA.

Berlin British School believes in the:

• Value of education as an end in itself as well as a lifelong pursuit
• Development of intellectual rigour, critical thinking and life skills
• Encouragement of the expression of ideas, based on well-informed knowledge
• Exercise of both the body and the mind
• Promotion of compassion, tolerance, diversity and international mindedness

These beliefs inform the methods of teaching, the nature of personal relationships, and the common culture of the school. They are developed by:

• Maintaining a supporting, caring environment of mutual respect in which the needs, well-being and views of each individual are valued
• Expecting high standards of work and behaviour from students
• Encouraging students to appraise and evaluate differences, and the promotion of doubt as an intellectual strength, not a weakness
• Ensuring students become involved in both physical and intellectual activities
• Heightening students’ awareness of the world around them