The Frankfurt International School (FIS) is an English-language day school located in Oberursel, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Founded in 1961, it is the largest and second oldest international school in Germany and provides instruction to approx. 1800 students from over fifty countries from age three to grade twelve.

Mission

The school's mission statement is the following: Our mission is to be the leading culturally diverse and family-oriented international school with English as the principal language of instruction. We inspire young individuals to develop their intellect, creativity and character to grow into adaptable, socially responsible global citizens by ensuring a dynamic, 21st-century, inquiry-driven education of the highest standard.

FIS consists of the Primary School (First Steps to grade one), Elementary School (grades two to five), and Upper School (grades six to twelve). A second campus was opened in 1998 in Wiesbaden-Naurod, the International School Wiesbaden (ISW) with around 250 students from age 3 to grade six.

Curriculum and accreditation

FIS is accredited by the Council of International Schools

Council of International Schools

The Council of International Schools is a non-profit association of international schools and post-secondary institutions which aims to improve international education...

 and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...

. It is also an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School and a founding member of that organisation. The school implements a curriculum based on the principles espoused in the Primary Years Program and International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

Subjects taught include, but are not limited to, Economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, Business, History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, Geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

, Psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, Physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, Biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, Mathematics at three different levels, Computer Science, Design and Technology, Visual Arts, Music and Theater.
The school offers language instruction in German as the host country language and a variety of further language programs: English as a Second Language, First Language (mother tongue) in Korean, Japanese, Swedish and Dutch, with French or Spanish as foreign languages, and additional languages in the after school program.

Faculty and staff

The school employs almost 350 faculty and staff from thirty countries. Each member of the faculty has at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and a teaching license from his or her respective country. A majority hold a Master’s degree or above in their field. In addition, almost a third of FIS faculty has been at the school for a decade or more.

Facilities and technology

The facilities cover 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) in Oberursel, Germany and feature a historic administration building (affectionately referred to by students as "old main"), and the three school buildings (Building 71, Building 88, and the primary school building). A new wing was finished in 2006 ("The Da Vinci wing") to provide the departments of Science, Performing & Visual Arts, and Design & Technology with state-of-the-art facilities. Also present are two gymnasiums, an auditorium, one outdoor all-weather playing field, one grass field, and several playgrounds. A new large cafeteria was completed in 2011, and there are plans for further constructions concerning parking space.

FIS operates an advanced information technology support system with over 650 computers, classroom Smart boards, mobile labs, laptops and wireless LAN.

Extracurricular activities

The schools sports teams are known as the "Frankfurt Warriors", they compete in rugby (JV and varsity), swimming (middle school), soccer (JV and varsity), basketball (JV and varsity), tennis (varsity), softball (varsity), baseball (varsity), volleyball (JV and varsity), cross country (JV and varsity), and track and field (JV and varsity). In the end of the season, each team travels and competes in ISST or SCIS in multiple hosting schools over Europe.

Non-athletic activities are also possible, in the area of the performing arts such as: schools orchestra, band, choir and drama group. Furthermore students can take part in various charitable projects such as habitat for humanity, project compassion, the Poland drive and the Kalahari experience.