Boarding FAQs

Start by filling out our enquiry form. Our admissions team will then be in touch with the application forms and answer any questions you have at that stage.
Once we have received your application form and application fee, we will arrange an online meeting with the school directors.
Following acceptance, we will send the invoices for school and boarding fees. The place at LIS and in the boarding house is confirmed on receipt of those fees.

Boarding at Leipzig International School is for students aged 16 and above who are joining LIS from Grade 10, in most cases to complete the IB Diploma Programme. Students apply through the normal LIS admissions process, with an additional conversation about boarding.

Right now, it is a building site. We are renovating the house thoroughly, and every decision is being made with 16 to 18-year-olds in mind: where the kitchen goes, how the common rooms open onto each floor, how much light reaches the Hof. We will be sharing the transformation as it happens.

The timeline depends on when you apply and on how quickly the visa process moves in your country. We recommend beginning at least six months before your child would start at LIS, and our admissions team will tell you what is realistic for your situation.

Boarding fees are charged in addition to LIS tuition fees. Current figures for both are published on our fees page, and our admissions team can prepare a full breakdown for your family including any one-off costs.

Leipzig International School doesn’t expect boarders to arrive already knowing how to run their own lives. The LIS boarding programme is built around learning it gradually: settling-in support in the first weeks, clear expectations from the start, and a boarding team who guide, prompt and step back as students become more capable.

Students look after their own rooms, do their laundry, manage their time and money, share responsibility for common spaces and prepare brunch together at weekends. Where something isn’t working, the boarding team helps students work out how to fix it.

The LIS boarding fee includes accommodation, meals, bedding, Wi-Fi, laundry facilities (but not the laundering), public transport and the boarding programme.

School trips, optional activities, personal travel, health and personal liability insurance and personal expenses are additional. The full list is on our fees and admissions page.

No. Our boarding house is in Plagwitz, a neighbourhood in the west of Leipzig, a short walk from Leipzig International School.

This is deliberate. Our boarders live in a real neighbourhood rather than on an isolated boarding campus, walk to school each day and gradually get to know the city for themselves.

Both. Students will live in single or double rooms across several floors of our boarding house in Plagwitz, each floor with its own generous common space. We don’t have dormitories — every student will have a room of their own or shares with one other person.

The boarding team matches roommates using information gathered during admissions.

Bathrooms are shared between approximately three boys or three girls.

Our Head of Boarding will lead a team that includes social workers. A member of the LIS boarding team is present in the house, and over time these become familiar adults who know our students well.

Boarders will have access to the LIS counseling team on the same basis as all our students. Our counselors are based at school and our boarding team — which includes social workers and is present in the house — works closely with them, so support at home and at school joins up.

The boarding team will look after students who are unwell, arranges medical appointments where needed and informs parents.

Parents will hear from us regularly and can contact the boarding team directly. We will also share school communications through Toddle, as all LIS families do.

During the week, students will make the short walk (10 min) or bike from the boarding house to LIS. Morning Breakfast in the cafeteria is served at 7:30. Lunch is provided at school, and students have their normal school day ending at 15:15 or 16:00 for IB students on certain days. The rest is , friends, sport, music, art, clubs and activities.

After school there is time for study, activities, exercise, friends or time in Leipzig. Students return home for a catered dinner at 18:00.

Then there is everyday life: homework, laundry, conversations, keeping your room organised, calling home and getting ready for tomorrow.

Students will look after their own rooms, do their laundry, contribute to shared spaces and prepare brunch together at weekends. They are also expected to communicate with the boarding team and respect agreed expectations.

Weekday evenings have a predictable rhythm: dinner at the house, time to study and time to relax. Weekends will be deliberately less organised, with opportunities to do things together alongside free time.

After school, boarders can take part in the full range of clubs and activities at LIS — music, sport, art, theatre, leadership and service among them — alongside students who don’t board.

Weekends will have a different rhythm. There will be opportunities to do things together, but we don’t believe every hour needs to be organised. Students might explore Leipzig, meet friends, play sport, go to a concert, study, relax at home or spend time together in our courtyard.

We also encourage boarders to find something that connects them to Leipzig beyond school, whether that is a local sports club, music lessons or volunteering.

Yes. Our boarding house is in a real Leipzig neighborhood rather than on an isolated campus, public transport is included in the fee, and independence in the city grows as students show they are ready for it.

Return times are agreed with students and shared with parents before arrival, and differ during the week and at weekends.

Overnight stays and independent travel are possible with parental permission and prior agreement with the boarding team.

The boarding house will be open during the February break, the one-week holiday in the middle of the school year, for learners who prefer to stay in Leipzig.
It is also open over the spring break for Grades 10 and 12, so that learners sitting examinations have somewhere quiet to study.
It closes for all other holidays — the autumn break, the Christmas holidays and the summer holidays. Learners will return home or stay with family or friends, and rooms are cleared over Christmas and summer. We will help with storage so that learners travelling long distances do not need to take everything with them.
Term dates and closing dates are published each year so families can book travel in advance.

Yes, where needed guardianship is taken over by Leipzig International School to support boarding learners.

Leipzig International School provides the school documentation needed for a German student visa.

No. Health and personal liability insurance are arranged by families and are an additional cost.

Yes. Breakfast and lunch are provided at school during the school week, and dinner is catered at the boarding house.

At weekends, students prepare brunch together with ingredients provided at the house, and dinner is provided. Basic snacks and fruit are available at the house.

Cooking, eating and clearing up together at weekends is deliberate — it is one of the ordinary parts of sharing a home.

Yes. Please tell us about dietary requirements, allergies and preferences during admissions so we can plan for them at the house.

Yes, a public transport pass is included in the boarding fee, giving students the freedom to get to know Leipzig as they become ready to do so.

Yes. Wi-Fi is available throughout the boarding house and included in the boarding fee.

Bedding is provided. We send families a packing list before arrival covering clothing, study equipment, adaptors and the personal items that make a room feel like theirs.

Yes, within a few sensible limits about the building. It’s their space, and we want it to feel like it.