Deutsche Schule Melbourne

Deutsche Schule Melbourne is a German-English bilingual primary school in Melbourne. Our school is located in the suburb of Fitzroy North, which is about 4.5 km north of the city. We are currently a primary school offering the Foundation Year to Year 6, but from 2025 will be expanding into a secondary school by offering Year 7. We are an accredited German School Abroad – one of only two in Australia. Our curriculum consists of the Australian Curriculum and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards with adaptations from the Thuringia (German) curriculum. We take part in all Australian benchmark testing (e.g. NAPLAN) and fulfil all quality standards, which are posed on Victorian schools under the Schools Performance Framework. Our curriculum satisfies the highest standards in both Australia’s and Germany’s education systems – creating a world of future study and career opportunities for our students. Deutsche Schule Melbourne offers a bilingual education of the highest quality for all families who would like their children to be immersed in two languages. We cater not only for German, Austrian and Swiss families, but for all families who are interested in a German-English bilingual education, even those without any German-speaking background. Our school currently has around 160 students. Roughly a third of the school’s families have German, Swiss or Austrian parents, a third Australian and a third parents of other nationalities. Many of our students are not just bilingual but multilingual — meaning they already speak two or more languages at home and additionally learn the German language at school. We teach our students the German language to the equivalent of a native speaker level and help our students to realise their individual potential and become creative and confident participants in the global community. Research consistently supports the lifelong cognitive benefits of a bilingual education. But more than that, it inspires a global view on life — and a deep appreciation for cultural diversity. From 2023, Deutsche Schule Melbourne will be welcoming children in Years 3 to 5 with no prior German language skills. The DSM Accelerated Pathway gives students the language skills they need to join our school’s main immersion program within 6-18 months. But your child won’t just learn a second language. By applying learning from both Victorian and German curricula, our students develop the problem-solving and conceptual thinking skills they need to flourish in a complex world. Students will receive individualised support through staff who specialise in differentiation to prepare them for a smooth transition into the mainstream program. If your family has been thinking about a bilingual education but haven’t yet made the leap, get in touch with us. For more information about this new program, please download our flyer here.