Roberta Fedele Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Established in 1975, the German International School of Jeddah has developed through the years an advanced standard of education and was awarded this year the title of “Excellent German School Abroad” by the German President Joachim Gauck. German Consul General Rolf Theodor Schuster decided to celebrate this important award by inviting staff and board members of the school and Saudi nationals who have studied for many years in Germany to a special reception at his residence. Schuster added: “This is a very special award and also a very big and positive surprise for me as very few recognitions of this kind are signed by the Federal President of Germany. “Above all, this acknowledgement represents a great encouragement for the high-qualified staff of our school and a unique occasion to meet again with our Saudi friends who are deeply linked to the German culture.” Shuster received the award in October from two German inspectors who visited the school in Jeddah in May. The visit'S objective was to inspect the school's facilities, premises and administration, attend some of the lessons and hold talks with students, parents, teachers, board members to check cooperation and satisfaction levels. During the reception Schuster formally presented the award to school headmaster Volkmar Baxmeier, who speleld out some of the school's future goals. The German International School of Jeddah operates like any German high school in Frankfurt or Berlin. The school coordinates with the central office for German schools abroad (ZfA) located in Colonia and adopts a German curriculum. This allows students to keep in step with the German education system in case they need to return to Germany. Headmaster Baxmeier said from 2014, the school will also comprise grade 11 and 12 with the introduction of the multilingual International Baccalaureate (IB), a highly regarded high school diploma in Germany and a major milestone in the development of the German International School of Jeddah. “Thanks to this new system, students will be finally able to conclude all their high school studies in the German school of Jeddah and have direct access to university.” At the moment, the German school comprises 104 students and 51 children attending kindergarten, preschool, elementary school (grades 1 – 4) and secondary school (grades 5 – 10). Lessons are held in German and comprise intensive classes of English and Arabic. Around 50 to 60 percent of the students are German, Swiss or Austrian and the other 40 to 45 percent are Arab students and children.
