German European School Manila

On August 5 1980, the German school in Manila started into its first school year. Its name, "José Rizal School", had been proposed by one of the members of the board, Mr Rudolf Lietz, in memory of the national hero of the Philippines. Before starting the revolution in the Philippines, Rizal had studied ophthalmology in Heidelberg, and had fallen in love with the city where he wrote his nostalgic poem "A Las Flores de Heidelberg". The board had been elected by the German School Association, which started their work on 1st March 1980. The first initiative for the foundation goes back to a meeting of German parents in the German Club on 23rd October 1979.

Especially inspiring to the board was a passage from Rizal's famous novel "Noli me tangere", expressing the author's concept of school, and his admiration for German education: "School is the very basis of society....let us found a school then.....like those in Germany...."

The school was officially recognised as a German School abroad by German authorities in 1984 and since then receives official funding and support by the German government.

In 1992, the German School Manila acquired its international structure, which still forms its basis today. French, British, Dutch, Swiss and Germans came together, found a beautiful green area in Parañaque City, about 15 kilometres south of the old city centre Manila, and built what they called EUROCAMPUS. While the British left and the Dutch and Swiss gave up their separate presence in the campus, the strong French and German alliance still exists today. The French School (today the Lycée Français de Manille, LFM) and the German School have been living together at the EUROCAMPUS with approximately the same number of students (each about 370).

All over the world, there are only six French-German Eurocampus schools: in Dublin, Shanghai, Taipei, Toulouse and Zagreb; Manila belongs to this exclusive group of German schools abroad, having been the first Eurocampus school worldwide, setting the example for the others that followed.

The Franco-German cooperation reached a peak in 2002, when they united legally, forming the European International School Inc. (EIS), which legally runs both schools.

Like in GESM's model school, the German School in Singapore, in 2005 an international English-speaking branch was founded ("Euro-Section"). Accordingly, the name of the school was changed to "German European School Manila". The international branch, together with the presence of the French school at Eurocampus, makes GESM a truly German and international school in Manila.

In 2003, the IB department started with 5 students, 2 on the side of the German School, our French partner joined the IB programme with 3 students, but opted out again to follow the French baccalaureat

Our students come from almost fifty different countries and also the teachers are mixed. ​​English, German, French, and Filipino are omnipresent on the campus at GESM, and also Spanish can be heard occasionally. Students and teachers alike are offered a uniquely international and cosmopolitan environment.

In 2013, the 20th anniversary of Eurocampus was celebrated. It was finally decided to remain on the location of the EUROCAMPUS for the future. That is why GESM was being renovated from the ground up in a joint modernisation programme with the French School, the so-called Master Plan. Additional buildings with modern classrooms for the growing number of students of GESM were inaugurated in 2014, equipped with state-of-the-art technology. An application for the DSD I exam was filed in 2013 and approved in 2014. The first exams took place in 2014 in grade 10.

Since September 2016, our students learn in modernised science rooms, the physics, chemistry and biology laboratories have been equipped by a German company specialising in science equipment.

In March 2017, a new building with three new classrooms as well as numerous administrative offices was put into operation.

Educational Concept

The logo of our school contains the most important characteristics of GESM in a symbolic form.

Our School is guided by a vision of what the outcome of our educational programme should be. "Global citizenship", one of the terms in our vision statement, is very common nowadays, but often with a different meaning. We stress also political and moral implications of this term and do not want to see it connected only or mainly to economic "globalisation". So, every vision should be read with a critical attitude, not taking big words for granted.

Our vision leads to a mission statement showing the path to follow in order to realise the vision. Key concepts like inclusion or professional development are mentioned in this part that, of course, also need to be clarified.

The values express the moral basis of our educational programme. Especially "integrity", "compassion" and "independence" are characteristic of our school programme, in their special sense. For that reason, they are clarified in the guiding principles.

The guiding principles are like a commentary to the key concepts of our vision, mission and values statements. They are meant to connect our key concepts to our strategic targets.

The pedagogical profile shows how our school organisation reflects our pedagogical programme in its branches and departments from Early Years up to the International Baccalaureate Programme.

The strategic targets are the goals the school wants to achieve in the next 3-5 years. They are much more specific than the guiding principles and they lead to changes in our profile. The strategic targets are the basis of a yearly action plan, and a plan of specific measures along a time line.

Quality management is responsible for coordinating, documenting, monitoring and evaluating the development of school. Part of the quality management is the external evaluation by the German Federal Inspection and the International Baccalaureate Inspections. There are also regular interim inspections, and peer reviews.

The German language is mentioned here as being essential for our school identity, setting us apart from any other school in Manila.

​Why GESM?

Great Reasons To Choose Us
​
We have a multicultural approach to education

• Our school is for children of every background, European, German, and International.
• GESM is the only international school in Manila fostering European languages, cultures, and traditions.
• Mother tongue and foreign language programmes are available from Pre-School onwards.

​We are International with a global presence

• GESM is housed in one of 6 EUROCAMPUS schools worldwide, a location it shares with the Lycée Francais de Manille.
• We are a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network, committed to the UN 2030 agenda, especially to sustainability and global citizenship

We have European and International standards for education

• Our academic curriculum follows the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP), Cambridge Assessment International Education, and the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) taught in the English language.
• We also provide teaching according to a German Curriculum, taught in the German language.
• Our unique culture and values guide our qualified and experienced faculty and staff.

World-class facilities and excellent programmes that engage students

• Our school maintains a modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art science laboratories.
• Students get to experience an ecologically maintained green campus.
• A wide variety of Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA) are offered to cater to each student's individual interests and strengths.
• For the musically inclined, we have an internal Music School that offers private training sessions for learners of different levels.

We promote the holistic development of students

• GESM is a non-selective secular* school and provides individual support for every child.
• We regularly launch social projects to build responsibility in line with the UNESCO school programme.
• The students become part of a nurturing school community with an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence. We know our students well, and we continually build good relations with parents.