Our School Life

Focal points
Media education
Talent development

Focal points

Bilingualism

Children who learn bilingually for several years perform better in foreign languages, their native language, and other subjects. Bilingualism promotes cognitive development, language awareness, creativity, and flexible thinking. Our teachers instruct equally in both German and English, using the immersion method in their mother tongue, and support understanding with gestures, facial expressions, and images. Our students discuss, give presentations, and do maths bilingually, feeling confident in both languages by the end of primary school. For children needing extra support in either German or English, we offer targeted programmes to quickly bring them up to the required level for their year group.

Focal points

Team and project work

We place great emphasis on encouraging independent learning and complementing lessons with practical experiences. Our teachers regularly convey content through team and project work (e.g., museum and theatre visits, interviews, or model building). The children learn to approach a topic creatively and from various perspectives, both independently and in groups.

Focal points

Creativity

Creativity is essential for joy and success – both in learning and in life planning. That's why we place great value on musical and artistic subjects. Our classrooms are well-equipped for these areas. All primary students learn to read music and play a simple instrument with us.

We encourage children's creativity through a wide range of elective and after-school activities. In-house exhibitions and the staging of concerts are integral parts of our school life, as are visits to theatres, concerts, and museums.

Media education

Media literacy skills

Our modern, well-equipped classrooms support a contemporary and digital learning environment:
Each room is fitted with interactive, writable whiteboards that enable internet research and the use of digital learning tools. This not only makes lessons more engaging and visual, but also connects them closely to real-life applications.

In addition, every student has access to their own laptop to purposefully develop digital skills. Writing texts, conducting online research, solving problems, and creating presentations are integral parts of everyday lessons.

This consistent use of digital media strengthens our students’ media literacy in a lasting way. It boosts their motivation to learn and opens up a wide range of new learning opportunities – modern, interactive, and filled with enthusiasm for digital work.

Talent development

Individual support

Supporting gifted students is a key priority for us. Through ongoing observation, individual discussions, and diagnostic assessments, we are able to identify exceptional strengths at an early stage. Together with our specialist staff, we create tailored learning opportunities – whether through differentiated instruction, project-based learning, or participation in specialized programs and competitions.

In addition, we offer enrichment opportunities such as the “Drehtürmodell” (revolving-door model), advanced learning courses, and personalized project supervision in small groups. Clubs and extracurricular activities also contribute to the development of each student’s talents.

Participation in competitions like the Kangaroo Math Contest, PriMa, or the Mathematics Olympiad further enriches our program. We work closely with our school psychologist and our specialist for gifted education to ensure the best possible support for each gifted learner.

Talent development

Logical Thinking

Talent development

KERMIT

IOur primary school is regularly reviewed by the external, independent Institute for Educational Monitoring and Quality Development (IfBQ).

All students in Hamburg take part in a standardised test (KERMIT), which is based on the educational standards in German and Mathematics set by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs. These results provide us with neutral feedback our school.

Competitions
NATEX
HEUREKA
Kangaroo Maths

Drei Kinder spielen ein Buchstabenspiel in der Phorms Grundschule Hamburg

Competitions

Competitions help to foster important academic skills in a fun and engaging way outside of the regular school routine. They are both enjoyable and challenging. As a young school, we already have many students who enjoy and participate in various competitions with notable success.

Mehrere biologische Modelle stehen auf einem Regal im Biologieraum der Phorms Grundschule Hamburg

NATEX

NATEX (Scientific Experimentation) is a competition for all students in years 4 to 10 who have an interest in science and experimentation.

Drei Kinder betrachten zusammen einen Globus in der Phorms Grundschule Hamburg

HEUREKA! Student Competition

The HEUREKA! competition is a student and school competition for years 3 to 8. The first part focuses on the topic of humans and nature, while the second part asks questions related to general knowledge about the world.

Kind übt Rechenaufgaben in der Phorms Grundschule Hamburg

Kangaroo of Mathematics

The Kangaroo Maths competition is the largest maths competition in the world, with over 100 countries participating. All our classes up to year 9 participate in this annually.