History

How it all began…

In early 1966, the RMS Swiss School was founded in Accra, Ghana, thanks to the enormous initiative of the Swiss colony in Ghana. Gottfried and Marianne Bolleter, who as local business people were instrumental in setting up the school, deserve special mention. The Swiss School in Accra was named in memory of the Swiss missionary Friedrich August Ramseyer, who worked on the "Gold Coast" for 44 years as a missionary from 1864. He initially worked as a supervisor of construction projects in Accra (then Christiansborg). Due to his wife's health, he had to be transferred after three years. He was first entrusted with the school in Akropong and was later to take over the mission station in Anum. But in the meantime, war broke out in the south between the British and the southern tribes against the Ashanti. F. A. Ramseyer and his family were taken captive to Kumasi and only released after 5 years.Aim - "a little bit of Switzerland in the middle of Africa " As the founders of the school saw it, their aim was to provide the many Swiss children in Ghana with education in line with Swiss standards and thus enable them to transfer to a secondary school in their home country. In order to really fulfil this goal, the upper school was soon run as a secondary school.    
The school began in 1966 with just 23 pupils and 2 teachers. However, the RMS Swiss School has not grown into a large school over the years. A family atmosphere and individuality in lessons have always been emphasised. In order for the children to take part in lessons, they were constantly sent to school over long distances on poor roads. A small hostel attached to the school provided the school children from the more remote regions with much appreciated accommodation during the school days. The school has always had a nursery for 1-3-year olds attached to it.    

So why was the only Swiss school on the continent of Africa established? On the one hand, this may well be linked to the long-standing tradition of the Basel Mission, which had its permanent representatives in Ghana very early on. Ghana was a known country in Switzerland and Swiss business people soon found their way here. On the other hand, Ghana was the first African nation to gain independence in 1957 and, compared to other African states, has always been relatively stable politically.

At present…

GSIS has been a recognized German school abroad with a bilingual focus since 2013/2014. The educational concept is based on the Thuringian curriculum.

The continuous work on the further development of the school led to the award of the "Excellent German School Abroad" quality seal by the Federal President in 2016.

Until the 2020-2021 school year, the school had two branches. The children could study in either the German or the English branch. The German branch led to a German qualification, while the English branch aimed for the Cambridge examination.

In the school year 20/21, the two branches were merged. An intermediate Cambridge exam in Year 7/8 and the pursuit of a German Hauptschule or Realschule qualification formed the new basis.

During this process, the name of the school changed. The German Swiss International School is now called German International School (Deutsche Internationale Schule) Accra.