Bonn International School

Formed in August 1997 through the merger of the American Elementary School, American High School, and British High School, Bonn International School opened with about 300 students. The school has grown to around 800 students. The City of Bonn launched Bonn 2.0 to position Bonn as a center for international business, research and science after the German capital moved to Berlin in 1991, creating the need for an international school for UN families and others in the region. BIS has been an International Baccalaureate World School for more than 25 years, offering the IB Diploma Programme since 1997, the IB Middle Years Programme since 1999, and the IB Primary Years Programme since 2001. The school chose the IB framework from the start and would do so again. The campus was originally divided across three locations; BIS opened three new buildings on a single riverside campus: Waves in January 2006, the Agora in August 2012, and the Crest in January 2017.

The BIS community brings together students, parents and staff as a single BIS family. The campus is open to parents before and after school, providing opportunities to connect, attend workshops and participate in sports. Our Parent Volunteers enrich campus life as Welcome Family Programme participants, room parents and event coordinators; they also support the Media Centre and trips, and the BIS Board of Trustees is composed of parent volunteers who guide BIS' strategic development. Parent Volunteers run workshops for families and organize English and German language support for new arrivals. BIS Sportverein offers badminton, basketball, fitness and yoga for parents, and running, walking and hiking groups. The school hosts an annual Welcome BBQ in September and International Day in June, along with celebrations such as Halloween, St. Martin's, Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival, plus occasional parent/staff events like discos or a gala.

The Parent Volunteers are a key BIS community group who voluntarily give time and energy to BIS. They enrich campus life as Welcome Family Programme participants, room parents, event coordinators and by volunteering in classrooms, trips, on the Media Centre and with co-curricular activities; the BIS Board of Trustees is formed from parent volunteers and guides BIS' strategic development. They run English language workshops for parents and organize German lessons for new arrivals. The BIS Sportverein runs badminton, basketball, fitness and yoga for parents and organizes running, walking or hiking groups. They host events for families including the annual Welcome BBQ in September and International Day in June, as well as seasonal celebrations like Halloween, St. Martin's, Chinese New Year, and the Spring Festival. They also host at least one parent/staff event each year such as a disco night or dress-up gala.