Hi everyone,
I am just wondering how many of you have kids that go to bilingual schools in berlin. I am looking for advice and inputs if its wiser to send my child to bilingual or german only schools...
thanks

Hi Pem


I am in Berlin and I do send my two kids to bilingual school.

As you know, Berlin is huge. Double languaje school are many. I don´t know if is possible to generalize conclusions for all possible schools.

I have also no idea on the background of your kids. We sent our two kids to german Kindergärten, one starting at 2,5 the other starting at 3 years old. There they learnt VERY good german. For us German language was a must, because we are not thinking in going back to our country.

With this base, we sent our kids to a double language school, with quite good feeling until now (ca. 4 years already).

If you want to know something more concrete, just ask!

Hi Yo,
Thanks for your input. My kid (2.5 yrs)is just starting kita this year and i am looking at her schooling options from now on. We are also German Citizens now, and planning on settling here for the foreseeable future, hence, german is the most important language for my kid. However, being from an international family, english is also a must know lang.
I looked at JFK, Nelson Mandela etc websites and the admission criteria seems quite tough. You either have to be from that bezirk or prove that u r a highly mobile family etc...
Which school does ur kids go to? And when do u think is the right time to actively start the application procedure?
Have a good day ahead.
pem

Morgen Pem,

well, the million dollar question is which language do the kid speaks at home?

If you speak english at home, then maybe is a good idea to start in the german Kita near your place. If is german, then you need to start searching.

The application time is gone... sorry! You should start normally in october, Anmeldung is in november for the period starting from august/september but you can try now because usually after winter holidays there is a small group of kids that goes then sometimes you find vacancies.

For the Kitas, the priority is always the 5 years old kids, then the 4, then the rest so you probably will have severe problems if you live in a "Kid acceptance area" like PrenzlBerg but it would be very easy in areas like Charlottenburg.

In addition, surely you know that, but you need a "Kita Gutschein", issued by your Berlin Bezirk and if the Kita is private, you probably will need to pay a couple of bucks.

So, start the "active application process" as soon as possible by calling/visiting different places. Surely now will start the "offene Tür Tage" in all the Kitas for you to go and look inside the places.

The school of my kids is not a englsh school. Our mother language is not english. In addition, the school starts only in the first class (+6 years old).

Good luck!