Our Secondary School Curriculum

In addition to having both German and English as the languages of instruction, DSM has a unique curriculum that is informed by and meets the requirements of both Germany and Australia. DSM complies with all obligations placed on it by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA). Additionally, DSM is recognized by the Kulturminister Konferenz (KMK) and the Zentralstelle für Auslandsschulwesen as a German School Abroad (Deutsche Auslandsschule, DAS). This blended curriculum prepares students to take the Mixed-Language International Baccelaureat (Gemischtsprachiges International Baccalaureat, GIB) as their leaving certificate, allows for smooth transfer between school systems for expats and Late-Entry students, and draws on the strengths of each system to create a wide, robust curriculum informed by both systems, as well as their accompanying cultures and worldviews. This allows us to offer our students a program that is both tailored to their needs, rigorous in its content and skills, and is truly international in focus.

The DSM curriculum incorporates the compulsory aspects of the Victorian Curriculum and draws on its strengths of wide-ranging topics and the interconnectedness of content. While each subject is contained within a standalone framework, this framework emphasizes its content links to other subject areas, as well as the acquisition and transfer of skills across disciplines and levels. Complimenting this, DSM incorporates the curriculum of the German state of Thuringia. In the middle years, this will follow the Gemeinschaftsschullehrplan (Gesamtschule), before our planned transition into the GIB for the senior years. This curriculum is based around a deep understanding of subject knowledge, as well as the methodological, personal and social competencies needed to achieve success in the study of each subject. Thus, the breadth of the Victorian Curriculum and the depth of the Thuringian are combined to create a rigorous program that encourages independent inquiry and cross-curricular understanding.

At secondary level, German, English and Mathematics remain compulsory, alongside Physical Education, Ethics, Art and Music. French becomes an elective, with students choosing between continuing French and participating in additional German or English lessons. HASS and the Sciences are split out into distinct disciplines, comprising Chemistry, Physics, Biology, History, Geography and Political Science. German, English and French are taught in their respective languages. The remaining subjects are taught in one language only. Please see the table below for a sample of how this may look.