ISR International School on the Rhine

This year, alongside our excellent IB results, we are equally proud to celebrate outstanding IGCSE results at ISR!

Our Grade 10 students have once again demonstrated what dedication, ambition and consistent hard work can achieve. With 45 candidates completing 205 examination entries, this year’s results are truly exceptional:

- 66% of all grades at A – A*
- 94% at A* – B
- 100% at A* – C – every single examination entry achieved a Grade C or above!
- An impressive 66 A and 70 A grades* in total

And there is even more to celebrate: these results continue a clear upward trend. The proportion of A* – A grades has increased from 50% in 2024, to 58% in 2025, and now to 66% in 2026*, while A* – B grades have risen from 75% to an outstanding 94%.

In both 2024 and 2025, our students also performed significantly above the global averages for A* – A grades – and we are excited to see how our 2026 results compare internationally when the global figures are published later this year.

The IGCSE, awarded by Cambridge, provides our students with a rigorous international academic foundation and excellent preparation for the IB Diploma Programme – developing not only strong subject knowledge, but also independence, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Congratulations to all our students on these fantastic achievements, and a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated teaching team for supporting and challenging them throughout their IGCSE journey!

At ISR, t’s cool to be good!

At today’s Staff Appreciation Event, Peter Soliman described the occasion as one of the most important events of the year — and for good reason! Once a year, our entire staff comes together to celebrate and recognize colleagues who have been part of the ISR Family for 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years.

Their dedication and commitment have helped shape our kindergarten and school community and made a lasting difference in the lives of our students. Year after year, they have been there to support, inspire, and guide our students every step of the way, while contributing to the special spirit that makes ISR what it is today.

We are delighted to have continued this wonderful tradition and to celebrate these remarkable milestones together!

Congratulations Mr. Al Aouf, Ms. Atuko, Ms. Chroni, Mr. Dahhou, Mr. Kheir, Ms. Knight, Mr. McGee, Ms. Mitchell, Mr. Nisic, Mr. Perez, Ms. Plambeck, Mr. Polzin, Ms. Ramsden, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Sanchez, Ms. Schneider, and Ms. Smith — and thank you for everything you have contributed over the years. Our ISR Family simply wouldn’t be the same without you! 💙💛❤

Welcome Back, ISR Family!

This week, we were delighted to welcome all our staff members back to ISR – including 16 new staff members joining the ISR Family for the first time! Through teambuilding activities, presentations, and training sessions, our teachers and staff reconnected and prepared for the exciting academic year ahead.

Behind the scenes, our campus has been buzzing with activity: the building is being prepared, books are being distributed, and teachers are busy setting up their classrooms – everything is coming together to welcome our kindergarten children and students back!

We can't wait to see our families again at our Meet Your Teacher Event on Monday, kicking off the 2026/2027 Academic Year!

We are delighted to share the story of our Grade 5 student Sam and Grade 4 student Neo as the ninth chapter of this year’s ISR Student Summer Stories series!

During the summer holidays, the two brothers experienced a very special adventure in Bali with their family: an unforgettable early-morning journey to Mount Batur, one of the island’s active volcanoes.

Their day began at 2:30 AM, when they were picked up from their villa in Jimbaran. After a two-and-a-half-hour drive, Sam and Neo arrived at the foot of Mount Batur, where they swapped their regular car for an off-road Jeep. Together with their friendly guide, they made their way up the rocky volcanic slopes in the darkness.
After around 30 minutes of a wild and bumpy ride, they reached the viewpoint just in time for sunrise. Slowly, the sky changed from dark blue to purple, pink, and bright orange. As the sun appeared above the mountains, clouds and mist drifted through the valleys below. For Sam and Neo, watching the landscape come to life was one of the most memorable moments of the entire trip.

The brothers also collected volcanic rocks as souvenirs and learned more about Mount Batur’s past eruptions. Their guide showed them the dark path once taken by lava, giving them a fascinating impression of the immense power hidden beneath the peaceful landscape.

After exploring the volcano, the family visited the Mount Batur hot springs, where the naturally warm water offered the perfect chance to relax after the cold morning and adventurous Jeep ride.

Their journey continued with delicious Balinese food and a visit to a Kopi Luwak farm. There, Sam and Neo learned how the famous coffee is produced and even had the opportunity to meet and gently touch a real luwak.

From watching the sunrise above the clouds to travelling across volcanic terrain and discovering local traditions, Sam and Neo’s day was filled with adventure, learning, and unforgettable family memories.

Thank you, Sam and Neo, for taking us along on your incredible Balinese adventure as the ninth chapter of this year’s ISR Student Summer Stories!

We are excited to share the story of our Grade 11 student Gian, as the eighth chapter of this year’s ISR Student Summer Stories!

His summer began with three weeks in South Africa and Mauritius with his family, fulfilling a long-time dream of going on a real safari. Experiencing cultures so different from life in Germany gave him new perspectives.

Back home, Gian spent a week coaching tennis, cycling 25 kilometres to and from the courts each day. The routine became a valuable lesson in discipline and consistency.

Next, he spent a week helping out at ISR’s Summer School, where he took on additional responsibility and gained a behind-the-scenes perspective on how the school operates from day to day – something that can easily be taken for granted as a student.

He then worked alongside his father in the family business, gaining practical insight into how a company operates day to day. This was followed by a week-long internship at a brand strategy and design agency in Aachen, where he joined client briefings and sales calls and contributed to live marketing campaigns. His main project was building a landing page from scratch, from the first visual mock-up to the finished website. What seemed simple at first turned out to involve far more strategy, planning and testing than expected, giving Gian a new understanding of how branding and design can influence a sale.

Gian closed out his summer with a short solo trip through Switzerland and France, visiting friends and hiking around Chamonix. Travelling alone encouraged him to make his own decisions and rely on himself.

Reflecting on his summer, Gian shared: “My internship showed me how much strategy sits behind something as simple as a webpage. Combined with what I learned from my father and my solo trip, I realized the special part of the summer wasn’t any single experience but the variety between them. If there’s one thing that carried through all of it, it’s that good leadership means listening first. Heading into the IB, that’s the preparation I didn’t know I needed.”

We are proud to have such dedicated and curious students at ISR who use their holidays not only to recharge, but also to explore new cultures, gain practical experience, take on responsibility, embrace new challenges and continue developing both personally and academically.

Thank you, Gian, for sharing your inspiring summer journey with our ISR Community!

We are excited to share the story of our Grade 7 student Felicia as the seventh chapter of this year’s ISR Student Summer Stories series!

During the summer holidays, Felicia embarked on an unforgettable journey through Alaska with her family, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, vast stretches of ocean and incredible wildlife. Among the many remarkable moments, one experience stood out in particular: seeing whales in the wild for the very first time.
One evening, while the family was enjoying dinner on board, Felicia suddenly noticed a splash in the distance. Moments later, an excited announcement from the ship’s captain confirmed what everyone had hoped for: whales!

Guests quickly gathered by the windows as humpback whales appeared in the water outside. Felicia watched in fascination as the enormous animals moved gracefully through the ocean, their fins and flippers briefly emerging above the surface before disappearing again beneath the water.

And the encounters did not stop there. Throughout the journey, Felicia was fortunate enough to see several whale species, including humpback whales and fin whales. An especially memorable moment came when orcas appeared. With their distinctive black backs and towering dorsal fins breaking the surface, they seemed both powerful and remarkably calm.

For Felicia, seeing these extraordinary animals in their natural habitat created a fascinating mixture of excitement, awe, and wonder. The experience gave her an entirely new appreciation for wildlife and for the beauty of Alaska’s spectacular waters.

Experiences like Felicia’s show how travel can open our eyes to the extraordinary world beyond our everyday surroundings and turn a family holiday into lasting memories.

We are delighted that Felicia has shared this special experience with our ISR Community.

Thank you, Felicia, for taking us along on your unforgettable adventure in the seventh chapter of this year’s ISR Student Summer Stories!

Our sixth ISR Summer Story features Grade 8 student Anton, who spent nearly two weeks completing an intensive neuroscience research internship at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

From the very beginning, Anton was much more than an observer. Dr. Nora Bittner and her colleagues introduced him to different areas of neuroscience and involved him in real scientific work. Dr. Bittner is a Scientific Coordinator at Forschungszentrum Jülich’s Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), where her work is connected to the structural and functional organisation of the human brain.

A major focus of Anton’s internship was the connection between neuroscience, medicine, mathematics, and computer science. Working with data from the 1000BRAINS study, he wrote his own Python programs to analyse relationships between age, brain structure, cognitive performance, and brain networks. He also explored MRI and fMRI, white matter lesions, functional connectivity, and machine learning.

One particularly exciting task involved examining real MRI scans and comparing his observations with results produced by an automated algorithm. Using Python and Jupyter Notebook, Anton also worked with classification and regression models and data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, gaining insight into how computational methods can support modern brain research.

His internship also took him beyond the computer. Anton learned about brain-tissue preparation and microscopy, experienced cognitive testing, and visited an MRI scanner at the university hospital. These experiences showed him how laboratory work, imaging technologies, and data analysis come together in neuroscience.

Anton documented each day in a detailed internship diary, reflecting on what he had learned. His existing programming skills and knowledge of neuroscience were also positively recognised by the researchers – wonderful encouragement for a young student with such a strong interest in the field.

We are very proud of Anton for approaching this exceptional opportunity with curiosity, focus, and enthusiasm, and for taking his learning far beyond the classroom!

Our fifth ISR Summer Story features Grade 11 student Maria and Grade 9 student Amelie, who spent 14 days traveling through China and covered more than 4,500 kilometers by train. Inspired by their brother Leonard, who visited China with ISR last year, they were excited to experience the country for themselves.

Their journey began in Beijing, which for them represented the present-day face of China. They visited the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Ming Tombs, and the Temple of Heaven. The Great Wall was a particular highlight, and they also enjoyed discovering the local cuisine and trying the famous Peking duck!

Next came Xi’an, a city that gave them a fascinating glimpse into China’s past. They explored the old town, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, and the world-famous Terracotta Army. Seeing the thousands of extraordinary figures in person was one of the most impressive and memorable moments of their entire journey.

In Shanghai, Maria and Amelie experienced yet another side of China: modern, vibrant, and full of impressive skyscrapers. They visited the Shanghai Tower, the Bund, Nanjing Road, Yu Garden, and the Jade Buddha Temple, and especially enjoyed the fascinating contrast between modern architecture and traditional culture.

Their journey then continued to Guilin and Yangshuo, where the rivers and spectacular karst mountains reminded them of the landscapes from Avatar. A boat trip, a suspension bridge, and the remarkable “Liu Sanjie” show on the Li River made this part of their adventure particularly special.

Their final stop was Hong Kong, where they explored Victoria Harbour, the Avenue of Stars, Wong Tai Sin Temple, and Victoria Peak — and even met a friend from school!

After two exciting weeks filled with new impressions, cultures, landscapes, and unforgettable memories, Maria and Amelie returned to Frankfurt with one clear wish: to visit China again.

We are delighted to share their journey with our ISR Community and hope their story inspires others to stay curious, explore the world with open minds, and embrace every opportunity to learn beyond the classroom.

This summer, our ISR Student Summer Stories continue as our students embrace new challenges, step outside their comfort zones, and grow beyond the classroom!

Our fourth story features Helen, who travelled from Germany to Shanghai to participate in the Peer Potential Mock Trial (PPMT), one of China’s longest-running English-language mock trial competitions for high school students. Over four intensive days, more than 100 students across 22 teams took part in courtroom simulations evaluated by law students and graduates from universities including Yale, Harvard, and New York University.

Helen was the only participant traveling from Germany. She joined a newly formed team of five students who had never met before and, after the first round of training, was selected as team captain.

She also took on two demanding roles: Prosecution Closing Attorney, delivering the prosecution’s final argument, and Defendant, facing cross-examination. Seeing the same case from different perspectives required critical thinking, clear communication, adaptability, and composure under pressure.

Together with her teammates, Helen achieved an impressive result. The team ranked among the strongest performers in the preliminary rounds and narrowly missed out on the final three. Helen’s individual performance was also recognised with the Outstanding Witness Award!

Yet what stayed with her most was not the award, but the people she met and the atmosphere of mutual respect, humility, and support. Helen reflected: “Before this competition, I thought being ‘good’ mostly meant being talented or performing well. But I met so many people who were not only capable, but also kind, humble, and willing to help others. I realized that excellence isn’t something you achieve alone – it grows when you’re surrounded by people who inspire you to become better. Winning the Outstanding Witness Award made me proud, but meeting those people was the most valuable part of this experience. For the first time, I truly understood what ISR means when it says, ‘It’s cool to be good.’”

Helen’s story reminds us that meaningful experiences are shaped by the people we meet, the perspectives we gain, and the courage to challenge ourselves.

We are proud of Helen for representing herself and our ISR Community with confidence, curiosity, and openness. Her journey reflects what “It’s cool to be good” means in practice: striving for excellence while remaining humble, supportive, and willing to learn from others.