Condition of Admission
Thank you for your interest in the SISS Primary.
The State International School (SISS) is the only State International School in Hesse. This means that the school follows the educational and administrative regulations of the State of Hesse.
You can find below details of the conditions of admission for our school.
(1)
English is the main language of instruction in the International School. For this reason students will only be admitted if their command of the English language satisfies the standard of English needed to master the tasks of the respective year group.
A child is not required to have any knowledge of German to be admitted to the SISS. However, some non-core subjects such as PE, RE, Music or Art may be taught in German while German lessons follow the curriculum of Hesse. German Additional Language support (DAZ) is offered by the school. Additional to the command of the English language, students will be admitted according to the following criteria:
o foreign students whose parents will be living and working in Germany for a period of time
o students of dual nationality (English should be the mother tongue of one parent)
o German students who have recently attended an International School outside Germany for at least two years
o German parents who are planning to educate their children abroad for at least two years due to their profession taking them abroad (confirmation from employer or other confirmation is required)
o students who have been brought up bilingually, with one of these languages being English
(2)
Our school years are in accordance with the following table:
Age of child Year group
6-7 years Year 1
Cut-off date is the 30 June (see admission). In exceptional circumstances, children who are five years old will be considered for admission if they fulfil the criteria detailed in this document.
7-8 years Year 2
8-9 years Year 3
9-10 years Year 4
In the German school system there is no reception class. Therefore the year group numbers do not necessarily correlate with other national or international systems.
(3)
Flexible Lower Primary Year 1/2: Children who are due to start school after the summer break are assessed during our “Welcome Week” in the preceding spring. If you move into the Darmstadt-Dieburg area from abroad during the school year, we give individual age appropriate assessments. An interview with the child and his/her parents/ guardians including an English test is a precondition for admittance.
We accept children in year 1/2 who are “ready for school” according to German school regulations. The children need to show the emotional, physical and cognitive development necessary to participate successfully and with enjoyment throughout lessons. The mixed Year 1/2 arrangement enables your child to spend (1,) 2 or 3 years in this phase. In these classes children are not divided into fixed Year 1 or Year 2 groups. They will be grouped on different levels in different subjects according to their learning year. Children move within these groups according to their needs.
(4)
Upper Primary Y3 and Y4: New students /Students from other school systems wishing to be admitted to the higher school years are expected to meet the requirements formulated in (1). Furthermore they are obliged to present school reports from the last two school years. The student's ability to follow lessons in the age-appropriate class is assessed in an individual or small group assessment of 60 to 90 minutes in the afternoon.
Due to differences between international school systems we reserve the right to make internal decisions about a child’s year group placement.
(5)
We try to offer places to siblings, but this cannot be guaranteed.
(6)
Should the number of applicants exceed the number of available places, students will be allocated places according to the following criteria:
1. Children from "highly mobile" families will take precedence
2. Children from the county/district of Darmstadt-Dieburg
3. Children from the City of Darmstadt
4. Children from the Starkenburg area
5. Children from Hesse
(7)
Children sometimes require additional specialist support (e.g. speach therapy, dyslexia therapy) . According to German school regulations, this must be arranged with external specialists. Our school can provide advice on whom to contact.