International school -

special aspects for students with an international background

The "Schule für Hochbegabtenförderung/Internationale Schule am Otto-Schott-Gymnasium Mainz-Gonsenheim" offers an all-day school education for students with an international background. The program is based on the curriculum of the Rhineland-Palatinate secondary school (Gymnasium). The school is dedicated to both an intercultural understanding and the development of the individual talents of especially gifted young people.

A main goal of the school is to help students with an international background integrate into German culture and society, to support them in a foreign and different country, as well as to help students develop a true understanding of the people of the world through an appreciation of their differences and similarities. The school's purpose is to give children an education which develops the child academically, emotionally, and socially.

The school offers an education that successfully equips children to continue their education throughout the world. The main goal of the school is to enable students to enter into school systems, colleges and universities around the world. The languages of teaching throughout the school are German, French and English.

Students acquire French and English fluency throug the active learning and use of French and English in their regular lessons and via additional support. Since it is most important that children develop an ability to use the host country language as soon as possible, German is taught daily to all students to attain German fluency. The aim is to give children sufficient language instruction so that they can quickly integrate into regular classroom activities. Initially, children will usually have language support lessons instead of regular lessons.

A third foreign language - Spanish or Latin -, natural science or computer science are optional subjects. If necessary attempts are also made to offer first language instruction in other languages. Besides an international education, the school attempts to provide the specially talented students an opportunity to realise their innate capabilities. Highly capable students are provided with advanced materials that encourage them to go further into the depth of the concepts being taught.

The aim is the German "Abitur". Aditionally the French "Baccalauréat" (Abi-Bac) after 8 years is offered as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB, English) providing students with an additional internationally recognized qualification.