In May this year Deutsche Schule Melbourne (DSM) in North Fitzroy celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
Perceived as an ambitious project at the time, when many school start-ups were failing, the founders of DSM were proven right. Today the school proudly counts 112 students from two dozen nationalities. As an accredited “German School Abroad” Deutsche Schule Melbourne is a leader in bilingual education for primary school children up to Year 6 in Victoria. Demand for student, teaching and intern places is high, with the school’s model for immersive bilingual education being lauded internationally. The ability to communicate in two mother-tongues enables students to perceive the world from a range of cultural perspectives and develop a global view on life.
The school has a balanced mix of children from German, Australian and International families. A growing number of families value the opportunity for their children to learn a second language from an early age. Bernice Ressel is the principal of Deutsche Schule Melbourne and confirms that “you do not need to speak German to fit in at DSM. To become part of our community your cultural background is secondary.”
For the first two years 80% of school lessons are taught in German and 20% in English. In the later years the English-German language mix balances out to 50-50.
Many children join Deutsche Schule Melbourne after completing the successful bilingual kindergarten program at “Froebel”, which is co-located on the school premises.
DSM is planning to open a secondary school based on the Mixed Language International Baccalaureate (IB) in German and English in the years to come.
“The school has been blessed with many fine supporters over the years, to whom we are particularly grateful, but most of all, it is the parents, staff, and community that have created a warm and open culture conducive to the school’s success”, says founding board chair Florian Dehne.