WGS = German language and culture + Community

VWGS delivers a widely-recognized and high-quality language after-school program for German as a foreign language and German as a second language (for more information please see Classes). Our small class sizes and our culture of inclusivity, caring and respect enables us to create a strong community of students, parents, teachers, and staff that transcends beyond school hours and into the wider community. The school has been serving the Vancouver community for over 30 years.

In addition to our school-related activities, VWGS also organizes community events based on German-speaking cultural traditions such as the Lantern Festival/St Martin’s Day, Nikolaus or Fasching (carnival).

Governance

Our school is recognized by the Federal Republic of Germany - the Zentrale für Auslandsschulwesen (ZfA), which financially supports our program. The school has also been recognized by the BC government for its contributions to the community and receives funding from the BC Community Gaming Grant. We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.

To run our program, we rely on tuition fees as well as donations made by parents and the community to support our school. VWGS is a member of the Canadian Association of German Language Schools (CAGLS) and the PASCH Partner School Initiative, a network of more than 2,000 German schools abroad offering German Language certificates. We encourage our teachers to become members of the BCCTG (British Columbia Council of Teachers of German).

The school is governed by the VWGS Society, a registered non-profit organization represented by an elected board of directors (primarily parents), and managed by the School Principal and Administrator with the support of a team of dedicated, highly-qualified teachers and assistants. Our by bylaws can be found here.