Schule Marienau Private School

• Institution type: private boarding school,
• Education type: mixed,
• Location: Dahlem, Germany,
• Academic programs: Years 5–13 and preparation for the Abitur,
• Total enrollment: 330 students, including 130 boarders and approximately 10–15% foreign students,
• Student age: 10 and older,
• Language of instruction: German.

The motto “Learning the head, heart and hands” suits the German private school Schule Marienau. This private, independent, licensed Gymnasium with boarding is operated by Schule Marienau e.V., a nonprofit organization. The school is located in Dahlem, 85 kilometers from Hamburg and 20 kilometers from Lüneburg. Its campus occupies a former estate with meadows, lakes, forests, and a small pond. Marienau is part of the municipality of Dahlem and is administered locally by Dahlenburg, between Lüneburg and Dannenberg.

Lüneburg is known as a spa town with salt springs and thermal baths. The city has a preserved historic center, a theater, a university, museums, tourist hotels, and student residences.

The school has a history of about 90 years. It was founded by education reformers Max Bondy and Gertrud Bondy, who were forced to sell the school and flee during National Socialism. Max Bondy combined traditional academic methods with psychological approaches that considered each student’s abilities. His work was influenced by Gertrud Bondy, a Viennese psychoanalyst who studied under Sigmund Freud. Heike Elz is the director of the school and boarding program. Instruction follows the standards of Lower Saxony.

The school seeks to develop well-rounded, independent, and responsible students who can think critically and treat others with respect. Its 100-member school parliament discusses rules, events, and student initiatives. General meetings and group discussions take place on Thursdays, when participants also plan weekend activities. The social work of students is paid great attention: it is believed that this allows you to educate an active civic position, non-indifference and involvement in world social processes. Older students support younger students, and this work is included in their personal portfolios and school-leaving certificates. All students will always remain members of a large school family: meetings and celebrations are organized for them every year, and the friendship that has become established in the institution often remains for life.

Schule Marienau participates in UNESCO initiatives as well as scientific, innovative, and environmental projects. Biotechnology is part of the curriculum: this knowledge helps students to better understand the models of the future, to build them and anticipate opportunities and functionality. The school organizes exchanges with educational institutions in Canada, the United States, especially South Carolina, and New Zealand, and the school successfully and fruitfully cooperates with colleagues from all over the world. Students must become proficient in three foreign languages to pass their final examinations. Beginning in Year 9, they can take part in language and academic trips to the United States, Spain, France, or the United Kingdom.

School uniforms are not required. Parents can participate in their children’s school life and education. The school promotes respectful cooperation among students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

Instruction combines subject knowledge, independent work, and digital tools. From Year 7, tablets are a mandatory part of each student’s equipment. The school has used the itslearning platform since the 2017/2018 school year.

Students in Years 5–11 can take extra classes in core subjects. Upper School students can also receive additional instruction in mathematics, English, and German while strengthening their study skills.

At the beginning of each school term, new students are paired with student mentors. They meet weekly throughout the term.

• Upper School: the three-year Abitur program starts in Year 11, and work completed in Years 12 and 13 counts toward the final grade,
• Upper School profiles: languages, sciences, social sciences, and arts,
• Middle School: students can earn the ECDL Certificate, a Europe-wide IT qualification.

• In 2019, the school received an award from the consumer standards office of Lower Saxony for the quality of its food as part of the Schule auf Esskurs project,
• Three Marienau groups performed successfully in the Remember Resistance 33-45 competition: two received prize money, while the third earned a trip to a seminar in Berlin.

• Voter turnout in the 2026 student representative election was 74%,
• School and boarding staff regularly refresh their first-aid skills,
• Staff turnover is low in both the school and the boarding program.

Students generally live in age-based groups. Each residential area houses 6 to 12 boarders, usually about ten. Two houses have mixed-age groups. Residential staff live permanently at Marienau, many with their families. They help students adjust and follow the daily routine while providing around-the-clock supervision for safety, order, and cleanliness.

Lower and Middle School students live in double rooms, while students from Year 12 onward have single rooms. Each room has basic furnishings that students can supplement with personal belongings. Every residential area has a kitchen and a common room for studying, socializing, and cooking together.

The school provides full-board dining. Breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, and dinner are prepared on campus and served in a spacious shared dining hall. The kitchen favors regional organic ingredients and accommodates allergies, food intolerances, and dietary needs. Dinner includes cold and hot dishes and a salad bar, with vegetarian and vegan options available every day.

Students spend much of their time together during classes, residential life, and recreation. They share meals with teachers and attend electives and clubs together. Lower and Middle School students complete homework under a teacher’s supervision.

Subject list: Art, biochemistry, biology, biotechnology, creation, drama, economics, maths, music, politics, theatre studies
Activity list: acrobatics, archery, culinary arts, dancing, Drawing on canvas, flute, football, golf, guitar, gymnastics, horseback riding, music studio, Trampoline jumping

Students can choose from a range of sports, music, and creative activities in their free time:

• Golf, tennis, CrossFit, gymnastics, parkour, trampolining, and acrobatics,
• Football, basketball, swimming, climbing, and rowing,
• Horseback riding at nearby certified stables with which the school has worked for many years,
• Voice lessons and choir,
• Piano, guitar, violin, flute, and cello lessons,
• The school orchestra,
• Chess, woodworking, astronomy, LEGO, gardening, and do-it-yourself projects,
• Sewing studio, knitting, drawing, and painting,
• Stage Tech Club, where students learn to use sound, lighting, and stage equipment,
• Environment Club, which combines creative projects with upcycling.

There is a theater and dance studio, and there are optional classes in information technology and a circle of enthusiasts of natural sciences. Students can also learn modeling.

On weekends, the school organizes excursions and walks in cities and natural areas in Germany and other countries, including visits to historic and cultural attractions.

Students can serve as class representatives and mentors to younger students. They can also take part in community service on and off campus, helping older adults, children, and other groups in need.

• Individualized instruction helps students develop their abilities and talents,
• Teachers use collaborative learning methods,
• Classes are held in small groups,
• Teachers bring professional expertise, creative initiative, and experience working with students from different countries,
• Marienau belongs to the nationwide Schule ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage network,
• The school is a member of Internate Vereinigung e.V., an association of German-speaking boarding schools in Germany and Switzerland.

The Schule Marienau campus covers 80 hectares of green meadows and forest groves. Historic buildings stand alongside modern facilities. The grounds include residences, classrooms, craft workshops, creative studios, science laboratories, and sports facilities connected by convenient corridors. The buildings lie between the Marienau pond, with pastures and stables nearby, and an outdoor field with a year-round artificial surface.

Classrooms have traditional blackboards, projectors, and Apple TV. Classes are limited to 16 students, so teachers can give each student individual attention and monitor progress. Students work independently and in groups and take part in lectures, discussions, seminars, projects, and research. Independent work builds responsibility, motivation, and commitment to personal goals.

Sports facilities include an artificial field with a 400-meter running track, a beach volleyball court, a sports hall, and a gym. The gym has strength-training and cardio equipment, rowing machines, ergometers, and a CrossFit area. Musical instruments and practice rooms are available for music lessons.

Pay attention that some services are not included in Tuition fee (full board) and paid additionally:

• Registration fee;
• Academic deposit;
• Application fee;
• Additional lessons of German as a foreign language;
• Some sports electives and sections.

Extras:

• Registration fee (for a programme/course) 280 EUR
• Other 4800 EUR
• Deposit for a course/programme 6900 EUR

The school admits students to both the school and the boarding program year-round. Students may enter Upper School at the beginning of Year 11 or Year 12. International applicants have an online interview. The school assesses their language level based on the interview, application, and supporting documents.

In 2026, 34 Marienau graduates earned the Abitur. In 2021, the school achieved the best Abitur result in the district of Lüneburg.

Marienau alumni work in a range of professions. They include a film director, a journalist, and a former head of sales for Tesla in Germany and Austria.

For admission to Schule Marienau, you should take care in advance of obtaining a student visa and collecting the necessary documents (at least a month). It will be necessary to provide a report card with grades from the previous place of study (the average score is not lower than the average), and also to demonstrate a sufficiently high level of the German language (from B2).

If the level of the German language or academic knowledge is insufficient, the child is encouraged to take an effective preparatory course at the Humboldt Institutions (Lindenberg or Bad Schussenried). In just 6 months you can raise the language level practically from scratch to the required B2 thanks to qualified teachers, balanced curriculums and full immersion in the language and cultural environment of Germany.

In order to become a candidate for admission to Schule Marienau, the entrant will be required to provide the admission committee with the following information:

• Full name, date of birth
• School report card with grades, translated into German or English
• Personal hobbies, interests, success certificates in academic, creative activity
• Letters of recommendation from previous teachers translated into English or German
• Personal written motivation letter (in English or German).

It is also required to:

• Indicate (you can approximately) the annual or monthly budget for studying
• Select the priority region for obtaining an education in Germany.

After receiving all the necessary information, the advisory council begins selecting a school for the student: assesses its opportunities and requests, contacts schools identified as priority, and reveals the number of seats available and the possibility of admission.

Usually, foreign students begin the process of studying in Germany with the Humboldt-Institute language courses (the German academic program for the year): in this case, the selected secondary schools receive full reports on the student's successes and achievements, his behavior in the classroom, the degree of involvement in school extra-curricular activities. After the preparatory language course is completed and all formalities are settled, the student goes for basic studying to the boarding school he has chosen.

• Scholarship programs are supported by former students, the Marienau Foundation, and the Former Students’ Association,
• In individual cases of documented financial need, the school may reduce tuition based on family income after an application is submitted,
• Merit-based scholarships are awarded annually to day and boarding students in all years,
• Scholarship applicants must demonstrate good or very good academic performance,
• Decisions also consider initiative and achievements in community, music, art, sports, politics, or science.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision