This week, the K12 students of the German International Stream (GIS) completed part of their written Abitur. As I believe the value and understanding of this qualification is still new to many of our non-German parents, I would like to take this opportunity to explain it further on the occasion of the written Abitur this and next week.

The students of the GIS complete their Secondary education with the German International Abitur (DIA). This is a bilingual version of the German Abitur with English-language examination components of up to 50%, which is offered especially in the German schools abroad. 

The bilingual German International Abitur is a forward-looking qualification that is in line with the globalised world in terms of content and language. It prepares students for studies in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and also opens doors to colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands and many other countries. Admission offices at colleges and universities around the world recognise that DIA graduates stand out from the large crowd of applicants with other degrees (e.g. IB or A-level) because of their special competencies, especially their skills in foreign and local languages. 

Families of many nationalities appreciate the strengths of the DIA curriculum. In 2019, almost 75% of the 84,000 students studying at German schools abroad came from their school's host country or a nation other than Germany. They all benefit from the network of over 140 German schools abroad in all major cities around the world that share best practices and cooperate with each other. Transferring from one German school abroad to another, for example from Hong Kong to New York or from Hong Kong to Tokyo, is often easier than changing schools in Germany.

Learning in the two world languages German and English offers enormous advantages and creates a world of opportunities:

German is the language of Beethoven, Goethe, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and many other famous thinkers and artists as well as inventors of many innovative products. 

German is the most widely spoken language in the European Union. It is spoken by 120 million people, and more than 17 million people worldwide learn German. 

Germany is the fourth largest economy in the world and home to some of the most outstanding cultural, scientific, educational and entrepreneurial institutes and companies. Let's remember, for example, that the first vaccine against COVID-19 was developed by the German company Biontech in collaboration with Pfizer.

As the world's lingua franca, English is the most important international language. 320 million people speak English as their mother tongue and up to one billion people worldwide can speak and understand English. 

The fluency of both languages by our Secondary school graduates is a skill that should not be underestimated and can hardly ever be caught up on, opening wide the door to the world for them.

Our bilingual programme from Kindergarten to Grade 12 prepares our students for DIA and equips them not only with a basic language acquisition skill, but also with an appreciation for other cultures. Studies also show that bilingual children have more creativity and competence in problem solving as well as a greater ability to concentrate. A second language enables children to strengthen reading, writing and comprehension skills in their own mother tongue. It also gives them a head start for university language requirements and offers improved international education and career opportunities.

The DIA comprises three written and two oral examinations. German is the compulsory first written examination subject, while the second and third written examination subjects can be chosen from Mathematics, a foreign language, a social science subject (Geography, History) and a natural science subject (Physics, Chemistry, Biology). The two oral examination subjects (an oral examination and a presentation followed by an examination discussion) are chosen from the remaining subjects. In addition to the examination sections in German and the foreign languages, the examination also includes bilingual and/or foreign-language subjects. The overall DIA grade however does not only consist of the five written and oral examination parts, but also includes points/scores achieved over the four school semesters in years 11 and 12, which count for about two thirds of the final grade. 

Our Abitur graduates are prepared for the DIA in at least ten compulsory subjects, which reflects the idea of a broad education and training. We do not want our future doctors to be unable to distinguish Bach from Brahms and not know Rilke. We do not want our future scientists to have never heard of ethics in science. We do not want our future politicians to have never heard of cross-cutting thinking in scientific aspects of sustainability.

That is why the bilingual German International Abitur, with its broad subject coverage, its deep and critical penetration of curricular topics, and its linguistic versatility of understanding and expression, provides an ideal basis for students to understand the world and to help shape it responsibly and competently. 

I am pleased that at GSIS in the German International Stream we equip our students with the foundations for an international career as described above. This excellent education, which we have also been providing successfully with the IB programme in our English International Stream for many years, is thus appropriately reflected in the German International Stream and makes GSIS, as a school with two streams, an unbeatably versatile, pioneering, unique and attractive school.

I wish you a relaxing weekend and Kung Hei Fat Choy!