Deutsche Internationale Schule Pretoria

The Deutsche Internationale Schule Pretoria (DSP) is a co-educational German-South African bilingual day school in The Willows, Pretoria, and one of the oldest schools in the city – founded in December 1899, with its first building opened in 1900. Supported by the German government as an official German school abroad, it educates children from crèche (age 3 months) through to Grade 12 in both German and English, on a spacious, park-like campus with extensive sports facilities.

Originally established as a German Protestant congregational school, DSP today welcomes families of all faiths and nationalities – a community that blends German expatriate and local South African families. Teaching is genuinely bilingual, with both German and English taught from beginner to mother-tongue level. At the end of Grade 9, learners choose between two pathways: the German Kombi-Abitur (taught mainly in German, leading to the dual German international Abitur and the South African National Senior Certificate) or the English-medium NSC – written through the IEB – supplemented by the German Language Diploma (DSD II), which qualifies a learner to study in Germany. Together these qualifications open doors to universities in Germany, South Africa and worldwide.

DSP is also known for its community spirit: it hosts Pretoria’s much-loved annual Oktoberfest (first held in 1977) and runs the long-standing “Education Builds Bridges” outreach programme, which has supported more than 800 children from Mamelodi and Eersterust since 1988.

Set on its leafy Simon Vermooten Road campus, the school offers a full-day, four-term programme with holiday care. Full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.