In Berlin, English Holiday Care Depends on Which School System Your Child Is Already In
Ask five Berlin parents where their child's English-language holiday care comes from and you'll likely get three different answers, and which one applies to your family has less to do with preference than with which school system your child already sits inside. If your child holds a place at one of Berlin's own bilingual state schools, John F. Kennedy School or Nelson Mandela School among them, holiday coverage isn't a separate purchase at all: it runs through eFöB, the same Jugendamt-authorized Hort system every Berlin Grundschule family already deals with, free for grades 1 to 3 and income-scaled from grade 4 onward, booked like ordinary afterschool care rather than an English immersion product. If your child instead attends a private international school with its own extensive break coverage, Berlin Cosmopolitan School holds classes or programming on all but 26 days a year across two campuses, that access typically stops at the school gate; enrollment there, not an outside booking, is what buys it. For everyone else, likely the majority of expat families whose children are in a German state school, a Kita, or between systems entirely, an independent private market of English-immersion day camps operates separately from both: KCA English Camps near Tiergarten (395 EUR a week, ages 5 to 12), Spielsprachschule Abrakadabra across three sites (329 EUR a week, ages 4 to 12), and LevelUp English in Prenzlauer Berg and camps for friends near an Ostkreuz-area youth hostel, both undisclosed until you request a quote, ages 7 to 14 combined. None of the four require a child to already speak English.
Three Paths, Not One Market
Munich and Hamburg’s expat families mostly face a single question when the school calendar empties out: which private English camp do we book? Berlin’s version of that question splits three ways before it even gets to a provider name, because Berlin’s school landscape includes something the other two cities don’t have at comparable scale, its own state-run bilingual schools, plus at least one private international school whose own break coverage is unusually extensive. Which path is actually relevant to your family depends on where your child is enrolled today, not on which camp has the best reviews.
Path One: Your Child Is Enrolled in Berlin’s Bilingual State System
Berlin runs bilingual state schools built for exactly the population this guide serves, English-German instruction inside the ordinary public system, tuition-free, with John F. Kennedy School and Nelson Mandela School among the longest-established. For families already inside that system, the holiday-care question resolves through eFöB (ergänzende Förderung und Betreuung), Berlin’s standard Hort mechanism, not through a separate camp market at all.
At Nelson Mandela School, a family requests holiday-module coverage by first applying to their district Jugendamt for the formal eFöB Bescheid, then submitting that certificate to the school’s own Department of Social Pedagogues, then signing a contract for the specific week or block needed. JFKS describes its Hort track the same way: reliable childcare through 6pm daily, explicitly including school vacation weeks, distinct from a lighter term-time-only “Late Birds” option that doesn’t extend into the Ferien. Either way, this coverage sits inside the system our eFöB and Hortgutschein guide already covers in full: free for grades 1 through 3 since 1 August 2023, income-scaled again from grade 4 onward. A family in this position doesn’t need to shop the commercial camp market covered further down, unless they specifically want a program outside their own school’s building or peer group.
Path Two: Your Child’s Private International School Has Its Own Break Coverage, But Only for Its Own Students
Berlin Cosmopolitan School (BCS), an IB continuum school, runs an unusually deep vacation programme of its own, closed only 26 days a year according to its own materials, with distinct offerings across a City Campus and a Nature Campus that include everything from canoeing and cycling to cooking and city art projects. That’s a real point of difference from how Hamburg’s International School of Hamburg handles the same gap, ISH’s own aftercare explicitly pauses for school vacation, while BCS keeps running through most of it.
The catch is access. BCS states directly that its City Campus vacation programme is available exclusively to enrolled students, and its published materials don’t extend an explicit invitation to outside children for the Nature Campus either. In practice, that means a family with a BCS place should register week by week through the school’s own booking form well ahead of each break, while a family without one should treat this as one more reason enrollment there carries value beyond the classroom, not as a holiday-camp option available from outside. Anyone whose situation doesn’t fit that general pattern should check directly with the school office rather than assume either way.
| Provider | Ages | Typical price | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| KCA English Camps | 5 to 12 | ~395 EUR/week | Internationale Lomonossow-Schule, Genthiner Str., Tiergarten |
| Spielsprachschule Abrakadabra | 4 to 12 (two age bands) | ~329 EUR/week | Wilmersdorf and two Prenzlauer Berg sites |
| LevelUp English | 7 to 13 | Not published, ask directly | Kolle 37, Prenzlauer Berg |
| camps for friends | 8 to 14 | Not published, quoted via provider | St. Michael's Youth Hostel, near Ostkreuz |
Path Three: The Independent Commercial Camp Market
Most expat families in Berlin fall into neither of the first two categories: their child attends a regular German Kita or state school, and their existing afternoon care doesn’t extend into the Ferien in an English-language form. For that majority, four providers run entirely outside both the eFöB system and any single school’s enrollment, ordinary commercial bookings open to anyone.
KCA English Camps runs its Berlin day camp at the Internationale Lomonossow-Schule near Tiergarten, ages 5 to 12, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, weekly sessions from 13 July through 21 August 2026 at roughly 395 EUR a week including a catered lunch, with paid extended care available for early drop-off or late pickup. Spielsprachschule Abrakadabra spreads across three sites, Wilmersdorf plus two Prenzlauer Berg locations, splitting children into two age bands within its 4-to-12 range, running 9am to 4:30pm (with early care from 7:30am) at roughly 329 EUR a week including lunch, and lets a family pick either an English or a German immersion track. LevelUp English runs a City Daycamp for ages 7 to 13 at Kolle 37 in Prenzlauer Berg, 9am to 4pm across several July and August weeks, built around morning creative workshops (film, theatre, music) and afternoon city outings, though families pack their own lunch and the provider doesn’t publish a price online. camps for friends runs a five-day day camp for ages 8 to 14 out of St. Michael’s Youth Hostel, 8:30am to 5pm, structured around four 45-minute English sessions daily in groups of 8 to 15, and, like its Hamburg operation, doesn’t list a price outright, quoting only once you contact the provider.
Photo by Jan van der Wolf on Pexels
There’s also a bilingual sports option worth flagging separately from the four above: the Kennedy International Sports Camp (KISC), a July week of sport instruction closing with a trip to Sportpark Kleinmachnow. It’s organized by the JFKS-affiliated Sport-Club John-F.-Kennedy School Berlin e.V. rather than by the school itself, and the club’s own materials stop short of stating whether children outside the JFKS community can register, so this one needs a direct email to the club before you count on it.
The Cost Gap, In Both Directions
The comparison that actually matters for budgeting isn’t camp-to-camp, it’s system-to-system. A family whose child qualifies for eFöB inside Berlin’s bilingual state schools pays nothing at all for grades 1 to 3, and only an income-scaled fee from grade 4, for holiday coverage that happens to run in a bilingual environment by default. A family outside that system, booking KCA or Abrakadabra instead, pays a flat 329 to 395 EUR a week regardless of income, and gets English immersion specifically rather than a bilingual school setting generally. Neither path is objectively better, they solve different problems at different price points, but conflating them, assuming a commercial camp is a cheaper alternative to eFöB, or that eFöB access is available to a family without a state-school place, leads to budgeting for the wrong thing entirely.
Step by Step: Working Out Which Path Applies to You
- Check your child’s current school first. If it’s a Berlin bilingual state school like JFKS or Nelson Mandela School, ask about eFöB holiday coverage before looking anywhere else, it’s very likely cheaper and already in place.
- If your child attends a private international school, ask specifically whether its vacation programme is open to enrolled students only. Berlin Cosmopolitan School’s own materials say yes for its City Campus; don’t assume otherwise for a different school without checking.
- If neither applies, compare the four independent providers on location and age range first, not price alone. Tiergarten, Wilmersdorf, Prenzlauer Berg, and the area near Ostkreuz are genuinely different commutes.
- Request a direct quote from LevelUp English and camps for friends rather than assuming a rate, neither publishes pricing, so budgeting requires contacting them.
- Register for July and August weeks well before the Sommerferien begin. None of the four providers here advertise a standing sibling discount as of this research, so ask when you inquire rather than assuming one exists.
- If a bilingual sports week interests you specifically, email the JFKS sports club directly about KISC eligibility rather than assuming it’s open to outside families by default.
Compliance Note
This page describes a mix of state-school afterschool systems and privately run holiday camps. eFöB details reflect Berlin’s official Hort framework but can change by district and school year; commercial camp pricing, dates, and program details can change year to year as well. Confirm current details, availability, and registration deadlines directly with each school or provider before booking.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
My child is already enrolled at a Berlin bilingual state school like JFKS or Nelson Mandela School. Do I still need to book a separate holiday camp?
Not automatically, and for most families the better move is checking what your school already offers before you shop for a private camp. Both JFKS and Nelson Mandela School run their holiday coverage through eFöB, the standard Berlin Hort system, not a bolt-on English camp. At Nelson Mandela School that means a three-step process: apply to your local Jugendamt for the eFöB Bescheid, bring that certificate to the school's Department of Social Pedagogues, then sign a contract for the specific holiday module you need. JFKS describes its own Hort program as providing childcare through 6pm daily, including during school vacations, distinct from its term-time-only Late Birds option. Coverage runs in a bilingual school environment either way, but it's booked and billed like ordinary afterschool care, free for grades 1 to 3 since August 2023, income-scaled from grade 4, not like a paid immersion product.
Does Berlin Cosmopolitan School's vacation programme work as a holiday-camp option if my child doesn't attend the school?
In practice, no, at least not for its City Campus. BCS runs class or programming on all but 26 days a year, split across a City Campus and a Nature Campus, but the school's own materials state the City Campus is available exclusively to enrolled students, and the Nature Campus's eligibility for outside children isn't spelled out publicly either. If your child already attends BCS, this is a genuine, near-year-round advantage worth registering for week by week through the school's own form. If they don't, treat it as a benefit tied to enrollment rather than something to book into from outside, and confirm directly with the school office if your situation is unusual.
Do the private English-immersion camps require my child to already speak English?
No, and each of the four independently confirms it. KCA's Tiergarten day camp is built for ages 5 to 12 at a range of starting levels, structured around morning English lessons plus sport and craft activities in the afternoon. LevelUp English's Prenzlauer Berg camp states plainly that all English levels are welcome, from complete beginners up. camps for friends markets its Berlin day camp explicitly to beginners from age 8, with instruction led by native speakers and no German spoken on site apart from the camp director. Spielsprachschule Abrakadabra says directly that no prior language knowledge is needed for either its English or German immersion track. Worth confirming for your child's specific age band regardless, since grouping approaches differ.
How does the cost of these private camps compare to what a Berlin school-based Hort or eFöB placement costs?
It's a genuinely different bracket, not a marginal difference. eFöB holiday coverage inside the state bilingual system has been fully free for grades 1 to 3 since 1 August 2023, with no needs test, and income-scaled from grade 4 onward, covered in full in our eFöB guide. The independent commercial camps sit well above any of that: KCA's Tiergarten day camp runs 395 EUR a week, Spielsprachschule Abrakadabra runs 329 EUR a week, and LevelUp English and camps for friends don't publish a rate at all, quoting only on request. None of the four scale by household income the way eFöB does. Budget for this as a distinct, flat-rate spending category if you're going the commercial route, not a pricier version of the same system.
Is there a bilingual sports-camp option specifically, separate from the language-focused day camps?
There's one worth knowing about, though its public eligibility isn't fully documented: the Kennedy International Sports Camp (KISC), run by the JFKS-affiliated Sport-Club John-F.-Kennedy School Berlin e.V. rather than the school itself, offers a bilingual week of sport instruction each July, closing with a trip to Sportpark Kleinmachnow for bowling or swimming depending on age group. Because it's organized by the school's sports club rather than JFKS directly, and the club's own materials don't state whether non-JFKS families can register, contact the club directly through its listed email before assuming either way.