Hamburg

Bilingualism until A-Levels

Our campus offers continuous bilingual education from the nursery throughout the primary school and up to our state-recognised secondary school, all privately funded, for children and teenagers from 12 months old until they complete their A-Levels.

Immersion Method

Our native-speaking teachers and educators teach both languages in and outside the classroom, using the immersion method — through daily, authentic use, not only in the classroom, but in everyday situations as well. By the end of their journey at Phorms, our students will be able to communicate confidently in both languages, both speaking and in writing.

International and open-minded

Our school cultivates, and is proud of, its friendly and welcoming atmosphere. At the same time, we are shaped by internationality and openness. We are a certified “School without Racism, School with Courage.” Located in the heart of Hamburg, we not only embrace the diversity of the city but also the world, and we stay true to our motto: Local Schools – Global Education.

Mehrere Kinder stehen im Kreis in der Phorms Reception Hamburg

All-day care

At the Phorms Campus Hamburg, our children and teenagers learn and grow in an all-day community, with care available from 7:30 am to 6 pm. With us, students experience and actively contribute to the campus’ social and cultural diversity — in their everyday school life and beyond in our extensive afternoon and holiday care programmes. Our campus offers ample space and state-of-the-art facilities for science, sports, and music.

Mehrere Kinder sitzen im Kreis in der Phorms Reception Hamburg

Individual support

Our team consists of experienced and highly qualified teachers and educators. Your child will be accepted and nurtured as an individual: in manageable class sizes with high teacher-to-student ratios, supported by teaching assistants, and through our support and enrichment programmes.

Established and future-oriented

The Phorms Campus Hamburg was established in 2008 as part of the nationwide Phorms education network and has been growing ever since. For over 20 years, Phorms has enriched the educational landscape through its forward-thinking, modern bilingual nurseries and schools, a teacher training academy, and international schools.

A safe place for living and learning

91%

of our parents confirm: "My child enjoys going to the day care."
86%

of our primary school parents have already recommended us or would do so.
81%

of our secondary school parents are satisfied with their child’s language acquisition through the bilingual approach.

Do children need to speak English before entering Year 1?

No, but they should be fluent in at least one of the two languages of instruction (German or English).
What kind of meals are provided on campus?

Our meals are balanced, regionally sourced, and certified organic. The trained chefs of our catering service “Bio für Kids” prepare the meals fresh every day in the school’s kitchen. The meals we serve are based on the quality standards of the German Nutrition Society. Each day, children can choose between two dishes (one of which is vegetarian) and a raw food option at the salad bar. Fresh water is available throughout the day. For lunch, there are also delicious and healthy beverage options such as herbal or fruit teas. The meal plan typically includes fish once a week and poultry or beef from organic farms twice a week. We do not serve any pork. Since we value community, the students and educational staff eat together. We place importance on good table manners and appropriate behaviour during meals. Afterwards, there is plenty of time for playing and running around outside during the lunch break.
How does the introductory process for preschool and Year 1 work?

Each child goes through an admission process, which varies slightly depending on the class level. This allows us to get to know the children better and learn more about their knowledge in core subjects as well as their language skills. For preschool (Reception) and year 1, the children complete age-appropriate tasks and play with other children of the same age.
We live abroad but are planning to move to Germany. How does the admission process work for my child?

For families still living abroad and unable to arrange trial days on-site, we offer an alternative admission process.
Do you accept the day care vouchers from the City of Hamburg?

With a day care voucher from the City of Hamburg, most of the costs for our day care centre and preschool will be covered by the city. The parental contribution is calculated individually depending on how many hours your child is cared for each day and your family’s income.

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Virtual Information Evening for Schools and Day Care Center

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Bilingual Education
Differentiated Learning
Inspiring Educators
Full-Day Community
Local Roots
Living Diversity

Bilingual Education

Understanding the World Better: Bilingual Education

Learning languages is a dynamic process. At Phorms schools, English and German are equal languages of instruction and communication in school life. This enables our students to move naturally and confidently between both languages, while also developing an understanding of other ways of life and value systems.

Our students learn this from our native-speaking educators. They experience and live English themselves: in lessons, in the playground, during lunch, at celebrations, and on excursions.

Bilingual Education

Two Languages for Double Competence: Lessons in German and English

From kindergarten onwards, children are cared for and taught by both our German and English-speaking educators. In primary school, lessons are conducted in an equal mix of German and English. This allows students to acquire the language independently from practical situations. In our secondary school, students learn in equal parts in German and English, gaining relevant subject-specific vocabulary in both languages.

Bilingual Education

Teaching with a Hands-On Approach: The Immersion Method

Our teachers employ the immersion method to teach English. This involves immersing students in the target language using all their senses. Our English-speaking educators reinforce what is said with facial expressions, gestures, images, and symbols. This helps students learn the language faster, more easily, and more effectively.

Bilingual Education

Lived, Not Just Spoken: Native-Speaking Educators

Being bilingual means more than just speaking two languages. It means being able to think and feel in both languages. Our students learn this from our native-speaking educators. They experience and live English: in lessons, in the playground, during lunch, at celebrations, and on excursions.

Bilingual education

Two Languages are Just the Beginning: Additional Languages

Depending on the location, we offer additional languages such as Spanish, French, and Latin. We also strive to employ native-speaking teachers for Spanish and French.

Differentiated Learning

Because Every Child is Different: Differentiated Learning

Because every child is an individual, our educators carefully observe their students so that they can provide optimal, personalised support. Thanks to the additional time gained through our full-day care, we can work more intensively and specifically with students than is usually possible. This helps students to develop the skills to better trust their own abilities while also developing respect for the strengths and weaknesses of others.
In primary school, special needs teachers regularly work with students in small groups who either exceed, or struggle to meet, the class’s learning objectives. We aim to keep class sizes small and ensure optimal supervision. The current guideline for primary school is 22 students per class, and for secondary school, 24 students.

Differentiated Learning

Diversity Over Traditional Teaching: Differentiation and Group Work

In our classrooms, differentiation means a variety of methods: depending on their individual learning styles, students work in groups, at times also across subjects and year groups. In these groups, students use various techniques to understand a topic: reading, giving presentations, conducting experiments, writing, or building models. This helps students to develop their own understanding of the subject and discover their talents, interests, and preferred learning methods, while strengthening their communication and reasoning skills.

Differentiated Learning

Challenging All Students: Individual Support

In primary school, special needs teachers regularly work in small groups with students who either exceed or struggle to meet the class’s learning objectives. As they know their students’ strengths and weaknesses well, they can tailor the content to the learning style and pace of each student and present it in an engaging way.

Inspiring Educators

Motivation is Contagious: Inspiring Educators

Motivation is contagious. Our staff are inspiring educators from around the world. They embrace innovation and always have a listening ear for students and parents. With their commitment, they ensure that children enjoy coming to school.

We carefully select our educators, placing great emphasis on both their professional and educational expertise. Our educators are familiar with modern teaching methods and align their lessons with both German and international educational standards.

Our teachers continuously improve their didactic and methodological skills through national and international training and conferences.

Inspiring Educators

Because We Want the Best: International Teacher Recruitment

We carefully select our teachers and educators, placing great emphasis on both their professional and educational expertise. Our educators are familiar with modern teaching methods and align their lessons with both German and international educational standards.

Inspiring Educators

Because Even the Best Can Improve: Teacher Training

Regular quality control and classroom observations continuously improve our teachers’ didactic and methodological skills. Additionally, we provide further training through model lessons and national and international training and conferences.

Full-Day Community

A Place for Learning, Not Just Teaching: Full-Day Community

Phorms schools are open all day. Our students learn together: in lessons, at lunch, and in after-school care. Students, parents, and teachers appreciate our school as not just a place of learning, but also a living space. Our students learn to live, share, assert themselves, and strive for excellence within our supportive school community.

Our educators and qualified instructors organise a diverse afternoon and holiday programme that includes arts, music, and sports. Our schools offer ample space and state-of-the-art facilities for science, sport, and music; as well as this, every student has access to computers.

Full-Day Community

A Little Extra: Our Additional Offerings

Extra time creates freedom: for experimenting, exploring, getting to know each other, and supporting one another. Our educators and qualified instructors organise the afternoon programme – a diverse range of artistic, musical, and sporting activities.

Full-Day Community

State-of-the-Art Facilities for Modern Learning

Our schools offer ample space and state-of-the-art facilities – for science, sports, or music. Teachers use interactive smart boards with internet access in lessons. Additionally, every student has access to a computer.

Full-Day Community

Always Well Taken Care Of: Our Holiday Programme

Our qualified educators provide full-day care even during the holidays. The children participate in exciting, challenging projects, including music, excursions, crafts, or learning new sports.

Local Roots

Recognised Foundations: State Curriculum

The state curriculum is binding and is followed by all our teachers, allowing students to easily transition between public schools or back to them at any time. The highest qualification is the Abitur.

Local Roots

Global Perspectives: International Orientation

We complement our curriculum with internationally recognised programmes and qualifications. In the primary school, we use the Cambridge International Primary Programme. Additionally, we aim to offer an international qualification alongside the Abitur at all secondary schools, facilitating direct admission to international universities.

Local Roots

Engagement in the Region: Local Partnerships

At our locations, we cooperate with social institutions, associations, businesses, authorities, and universities. Through our local network, we aim to extend our education to the wider community while fostering a better understanding of local contexts for our students.

Living Diversity

Discovering New Perspectives: Lived Diversity

Our students experience community through diversity. This includes the interaction of different cultural, religious, and social backgrounds. This has a lasting impact: Phorms students respect others’ opinions and engage constructively with different perspectives.

To ensure children from different income groups have access to Phorms schools, we apply income-based parental contributions.

To keep students’ appearance neutral, our school uniform allows us to create and learning and social environment where the focus is on community and shared experience. Students can then focus on what’s important – regardless of their social background or current fashion trends.

Living Diversity

Opportunities for Many: Income-Based Parental Contributions

To ensure children from different income groups have access to Phorms schools, we apply the principle of income-based parental contributions.

Living Diversity

Our School Uniform

Our school uniform creates a learning and social environment centred on community. This allows children to focus on what’s important – learning and growing, regardless of their social background or current fashion trends