International School Admissions in Cologne: 2026 Step-by-Step Guide

Last reviewed: October 2026 by Catherine from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.

Cologne draws families for jobs in media, insurance, trade fairs and the Rhineland's industrial firms, and Bonn, half an hour to the south, adds the UN campus, federal ministries and the headquarters of Deutsche Telekom and DHL Group. If your move is to either city, this guide explains how international school admissions in Cologne work in 2026: the order of steps, the German paperwork schools ask for, how compulsory schooling rules affect your timing, and how realistic it is to join part-way through a year.

Realistically, the international choice within commuting distance comes down to four schools. Two are in Cologne itself, St. George's The British International School Cologne and Cologne International School, and two are in Bonn, about 30 km away: Bonn International School and Independent Bonn International School. They follow different curricula and admit at different ages, so the first job is to work out which ones genuinely fit your child before filling in four sets of forms.

Cologne and Bonn: where families live and how they commute

Straddling the Rhine, Cologne has the cathedral, the old town and most offices on the left bank and the Deutz trade fair grounds across the river. International families often look at Lindenthal, Sülz, Junkersdorf and Müngersdorf to the west of the centre, or at Marienburg, Rodenkirchen and Hahnwald to the south along the river. These districts are popular, so start the flat search early and keep the school run in mind when you shortlist streets.

Within Cologne, the two schools are some distance apart. Cologne International School is on Neue Sandkaul in the 50859 postcode on the western side of the city, which suits families in Junkersdorf, Weiden or Lövenich and those who drive out towards the A1 and A4 motorways. St. George's is at Husarenstraße 20 (postcode 50935) and runs its own school transport, which helps in a city where cross-town traffic on the ring roads is slow at peak times.

The Bonn option needs its own plan. Both Bonn schools are in the south of the city, Bonn International School in the 53175 postcode and Independent Bonn International School in Bad Godesberg, so a family living in Cologne faces a journey of roughly 30 km or more. Regional trains between Köln Hauptbahnhof and Bonn Hauptbahnhof take roughly 20 to 30 minutes, but you then need a connection south, and Stadtbahn lines 16 and 18 also link the two cities, more slowly, in roughly an hour. By car the A555 is the direct route, typically 30 to 50 minutes door to door depending on traffic. Some families who choose a Bonn school while one parent works in Cologne settle in Bonn itself or in towns between the two, such as Brühl or Wesseling.

Curricula available to families in Cologne

Between them, the four schools cover British, IB and mixed English-German routes:

• Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum of England: St. George's follows both from Pre-Nursery to Year 9.
• IGCSE: St. George's offers IGCSE courses at Key Stage 4, the two years before the sixth form.
• IB Diploma Programme: taught in the final two years at St. George's and at Bonn International School; the St. George's group also lists the IB Career-related Programme.
• IB from the early years: Bonn International School delivers the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, and Cologne International School is listed as an IB school, so ask which programmes cover your child's age.
• English-medium primary with strong German: Independent Bonn International School teaches in English with a high level of German, and its leavers move on to secondary schools elsewhere.

If you expect to stay in Germany beyond one posting, ask each school how its leaving qualification is used for German university entry. The IB Diploma is accepted by German universities when the student's subject combination meets the conditions set by the education ministers' conference, so subject choices at 16 matter more here than in many countries.

The four schools and how admissions differ at each

St. George's The British International School Cologne

St. George's is a day school for pupils aged 2 to 18 that follows the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum of England from Pre-Nursery to Year 9, then offers IGCSE at Key Stage 4 and the IB in the last two years. It also runs a purpose-built boarding house for pupils aged 14 to 18. The school says its community includes families from more than 45 countries, and it belongs to the St. George's group founded by Marietta Horton in 1985, with sister schools in Düsseldorf Rhein-Ruhr and Munich. Its profile lists school transport, a dining room with its own kitchen and a fee band of US$1,000 to US$2,000 a month.

One point to settle early: British-curriculum year groups are normally based on a September to August birth year, while the German state system uses a 30 September cut-off for school entry, so a child born in September may sit in a different year here than in a local school. Ask the admissions team to confirm the year group in writing. The boarding option is also worth knowing about if a parent's posting ends before a teenager finishes IGCSE or the IB.

Cologne International School

Also known by its German name, Internationale Friedensschule Köln, Cologne International School is at Neue Sandkaul 29 in the west of the city and is run as a non-profit company, a gemeinnützige GmbH. English is the language of instruction and the school is listed as offering the International Baccalaureate. Its own description stresses cross-cultural communication, looking at problems from several angles and learning to work both in a team and as a leader, alongside academic subjects.

Its profile does not set out which IB programmes cover which ages, so ask for that at the first enquiry, together with the entry points for your child's year group. Families living south of the centre, in Marienburg or Rodenkirchen, should drive the route at 8 am before committing, since the trip across the west of the city can be slow.

Bonn International School

Bonn International School is at Martin-Luther-King-Straße 14 in the south of Bonn and teaches in English. It describes itself as the most experienced IB World School in the Bonn and Cologne area and delivers the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. Its profile shows an average of 4.4 out of 5 from seven reviews, which range from warm comments about community support for newly arrived families to one strongly critical account, so use them as a prompt for questions at your visit rather than as a verdict.

For a family based in Cologne, the commute is the deciding factor, so ask whether there are transport options or parent car-sharing groups from Cologne, and time the journey from your likely home. Families working in Bonn, at the UN campus or one of the city's large employers, will find the logistics far simpler.

Independent Bonn International School

Independent Bonn International School sits in a leafy residential part of Bad Godesberg at Tulpenbaumweg 42, in a purpose-built building, and says it has served local and international families for more than 50 years. Teaching is in English with a high level of German, pupils wear a uniform, and meals come from the school's own kitchen, with special menus available. The school's own description refers to its leavers moving on to secondary education, so it is a choice for the younger years.

Plan the next step at the same time as the first one. Ask where recent leavers have gone for secondary school, how the German teaching would prepare your child for a local Gymnasium if that is a possibility, and how early you would need to apply for a secondary place elsewhere.

Fees and other costs to budget in Cologne

Of the four, St. George's shows a fee band on its profile: US$1,000 to US$2,000 a month, which is roughly €850 to €1,750 a month, or roughly €10,000 to €21,000 over a year. The other three ask families to contact them for prices. As a rough planning guide for the area, budget roughly €8,000 to €14,000 a year for nursery and preschool, roughly €12,000 to €19,000 for primary, and roughly €16,000 to €25,000 for secondary and the IB Diploma years, with boarding on top. Treat these as indicative and ask each school for its current fee schedule.

• Application fee: charged with the form and usually non-refundable.
• Registration fee or deposit: paid on accepting a place; ask whether any deposit is returned when your child leaves.
• Capital or development levy: a one-off or annual charge at some international schools in Germany.
• Transport: St. George's lists school transport; ask about pick-up points and how the charge is calculated.
• Meals: St. George's and Independent Bonn International School have their own kitchens; check whether lunch is in the fee.
• Uniform: Independent Bonn International School lists a uniform; budget for sports kit as well.
• Exams: IGCSE and IB Diploma entry fees in the exam years.
• Devices and trips: laptops in secondary, residential trips and paid clubs.
• Boarding: the St. George's boarding house for ages 14 to 18 is charged separately from day fees.

Two German specifics can soften the bill. Some relocation packages include a school allowance, so ask HR before you accept an offer, not after. And under German income tax rules, 30% of school fees, up to €5,000 per child per year, can be claimed as a special expense where the school leads to a recognised qualification; boarding, meals and care are excluded. A tax adviser can confirm whether your school and your circumstances qualify.

Practical advice for applying in Cologne

Begin a year out if you can. International schools in the Rhineland start the new year in August, and places in the early years and primary can fill before spring. For an August start, this sequence works for most families:

1. Enquiry (September to January): contact admissions with your child's date of birth, current school and curriculum, languages spoken and planned start date.
2. Visit: book a tour, or a video call if you are abroad, and ask about English language support and class sizes in your child's year.
3. Application: submit the online form, the application fee, passports and the last two years of school reports.
4. References: the school will usually request a confidential report from your child's current teacher or head.
5. Assessment: an informal session for younger children; English, maths or reasoning tasks and sometimes an interview for older students.
6. Offer or waiting list: a place is offered, or your child joins a waiting list for the year group.
7. Acceptance: sign the contract and pay the registration fee or deposit by the deadline.
8. Registration paperwork: the Meldebescheinigung, proof of measles immunity and medical forms before the first day.

Sort out the Anmeldung and the compulsory schooling rules. Anyone moving into a home in Germany must register the address at the local Bürgeramt within two weeks, and the Meldebescheinigung (registration certificate) you receive is one of the documents schools and authorities ask for, alongside passports, birth certificates and previous reports. Appointments in Cologne can be hard to get at short notice, so book one as soon as you have a rental contract and the landlord's confirmation, the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. The schooling rules are strict: in North Rhine-Westphalia, children who turn six by 30 September become of compulsory school age and start school at the beginning of that school year (1 August), and home education is not permitted in Germany. A place therefore needs to be lined up soon after arrival, and if your child holds German citizenship or you plan to stay long-term, ask the school how attendance there counts towards compulsory schooling. Since March 2020, Germany's Measles Protection Act has also required proof of measles immunity for children in schools and childcare, so bring vaccination records.

Joining mid-year depends on the year group. International schools in the region are used to families arriving in October, January or after Easter, and a primary place is often possible if the class has room. Entry is harder in the IGCSE years and the two IB Diploma years, because coursework and subject choices are already under way; if you arrive then, ask whether starting a fresh year, or boarding at St. George's while the family moves, keeps the qualification on track. Waiting lists often move in the summer, when postings end, so stay in touch with admissions even after a first refusal.

Compare schools across North Rhine-Westphalia

Germany's most populous state offers more than Cologne and Bonn, with Düsseldorf and the Ruhr also within commuting range for some families. To see how the schools above sit alongside the rest of the region, read our ranking of the best international schools in North Rhine-Westphalia.

More guides to schools in Cologne

• Best international schools in Cologne
• International school fees in Cologne
• ranking of the best international schools in North Rhine-Westphalia

Frequently asked questions

When should I apply to an international school in Cologne?

Aim to contact schools 9 to 12 months before your start date, ideally between September and January for an August start. Early years and primary classes can fill by spring, and some year groups run waiting lists. If your move is confirmed late, apply anyway: places often open up in the summer when other families' postings end.

Do I need an Anmeldung before applying to a school in Cologne?

Usually not: most international schools accept applications from abroad before you have a German address. You must register at the Bürgeramt within two weeks of moving in, and the Meldebescheinigung you receive is commonly requested when enrolment is finalised. Book the appointment as soon as you sign a rental contract, because slots in Cologne can be scarce.

How long is the commute from Cologne to the international schools in Bonn?

Bonn is about 30 km from Cologne, and both Bonn International School and Independent Bonn International School are in the south of the city. Regional trains between the two main stations take roughly 20 to 30 minutes plus a local connection, while Stadtbahn lines 16 and 18 take roughly an hour. By car, allow roughly 30 to 50 minutes.