Internationales Stiftungsgymnasium Magdeburg

ISG is located at Agnetenstraße 14 in the Neustadt district of Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The school is well connected by public transport, with tram lines 1, 2, 9, and 10 and S-Bahn services nearby.

The school is a Gymnasium (secondary school) covering grades 5 through 12, serving students from around age 10 to 19. The IB Diploma Programme is available for students aged 16-19 as an alternative to the German Abitur.

ISG is a private co-educational day school (Schule in freier Trägerschaft) run by the Stiftung Evangelische Jugendhilfe St. Johannis Bernburg, an evangelical youth welfare foundation. It operates as an independent Gymnasium.

The school is German-based but has an international outlook through its trilingual programme, IB Diploma, and participation in Erasmus+ and eTwinning networks.

The school is operated by the Stiftung Evangelische Jugendhilfe St. Johannis Bernburg, an evangelical (Protestant) foundation. However, it functions as a secular educational institution with an international ethos.

The ISG-Club all-day programme runs from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM on school days. A multidisciplinary team provides supervision and support. Holiday programmes are also available.

The school offers the German Gymnasium curriculum leading to the Abitur, alongside the IB Diploma Programme for students aged 16-19. A key feature is the trilingual immersive approach, with English and French taught alongside German from grade 5. The school also integrates a unique "Happiness" class across all grades. Digital learning is central, with a BYOD policy and collaborative digital methods using Office 365.

The "Happiness" class (Schulfach Glück) is a distinctive feature, taught across all grades. It focuses on positive psychology, life skills, and wellbeing. School social workers (Schulsozialarbeit) provide additional support.

The school offers support and accommodation services (Förderung und Ausgleich) for students who need additional help.

The "Happiness" class promotes mental wellbeing across all grade levels. School social workers are available for individual support. The all-day programme provides a structured and supportive environment.

1. Application Submission
Parents begin the admission process by completing the online application form available on the school's website between the start of the school year and November 30th. Once the application is submitted, parents must email a copy of the child’s third-grade report cards to the school. For families seeking a mid-year or lateral entry into higher grades, parents can initiate the process by sending an informal email directly to the respective grade coordinators.

2. Trial Lesson Attendance
Formal registration automatically includes a sign-up for a mandatory two-hour trial lesson for prospective fifth graders. This session is held on a Saturday and is taught by subject teachers to give applicants an exact understanding of the school's teaching structure. It allows the students to experience the classroom culture and see if they feel comfortable in the school environment.

3. IB DP Counseling (Grade 10 Applicants)
Students who wish to enroll in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) must attend a specific counseling session during the first semester of tenth grade. Parents register the student for this session through the school website. Enrollment in the IB DP then occurs during the second semester of tenth grade, concurrent with upper-level course selections.

4. Final Decision and Notification
The school forms three fifth-grade classes with 26 students each, making selections based on pedagogical and social considerations, educational backgrounds, and existing sibling enrollments. Families receive a written confirmation regarding the placement decision by mid-February of the application year. If an applicant is not selected for one of the initial spots, they are notified and transition into the waitlist system.

The school does not offer traditional merit-based scholarships, but it provides a financial assistance system to help families manage educational costs. Parents can submit a formal application to the school authority (Schulträger) to request that tuition fees, mandatory parent loans, and after-school care fees be waived, suspended, or deferred. Furthermore, the school applies automatic sibling discounts to the monthly tuition, significantly reducing the standard fee for the second and third child enrolled at the institution.

The school operates an automatic waitlist pool for applicants who do not receive a written offer of admission in February. When a space becomes available, the school fills the open spot by drawing a student by lot from this waitlist pool. The administrative office requests that parents do not call or email for status updates regarding waitlisted applications. Instead, the school will proactively contact families by telephone if a place opens up, provided the family keeps their contact information current.