Typically, mixed-age classes - when more than one year group is taught by the same teacher in the same class - are born of necessity.

They come into being when a school’s roll is too low for a more traditional approach to be viable, such as in smaller, rural primary schools, for example.

What is less common, however, is for schools to actively choose to introduce mixed-aged classes.

But this is what has happened at Frankfurt International School (FIS), which has more than 1,800 pupils and multi-age classes across its two campuses: Oberursel and Wiesbaden.

“Schooling hasn’t changed since the industrial revolution for a world that no longer needs those skills and that way of thinking. Is it serving everyone?” says Loretta Smith, associate principal at FIS.

Mixed-age classes

Mixed-aged classes were not entirely unheard of at the school - for instance, in the past the Wiesbaden campus might have had one 1st grade class, one 2nd grade class and then a class that was a mix of the two due to low cohort sizes.

But since the 2024-25 academic year, this has been extended across other grades and ages: there are now mixed-aged classes in grades 1 and 2, when pupils are aged between 6 and 8, and grades 3 and 4, when they are aged 8 to 10.

Smith says this was done for two reasons. The first was to increase the personalisation of pupils’ learning.

While that may sound counterintuitive - if you bring grades together, the range of pupils in any class is going to be greater - Ms Smith says mixed grades mean teachers can meet children where they actually are in their learning, not where age group norms say they should be.

“It becomes about progression and ‘you’re this kid, who is able to do these things, and the next step for you is this’,” she says.

While children start and end their day together with their class teacher, for the rest of the day they are grouped depending on the subject, their different learning levels or how teachers have structured the lessons.

For instance, the school’s grade 3/4 pupils might be taught together in one large group with their teachers co-teaching or they could be in separate classes being led by an individual teacher alongside pupils who have similar strengths or needs in areas like maths or phonics.

Learning together

Ms Smith gives an example from last year of geometry lessons: one class was for pupils from both grades 1 and 2 that looked at content from the grade 1 curriculum, another class of grade 1 and 2 pupils was looking at grade 2 curriculum content, and another class was somewhere “in the middle”.

This all meant, Ms Smith explains, that students were placed in a class not based on age but the level they were working at.

Groupings can also be determined by the pupils themselves based on their interests.

For instance, on the day we speak, the three teachers who have grade 3 and 4 composite classes - Francesca Reale, Chris Thompson and Karissa Thompson - are teaching a forest school lesson where pupils will be offered the choice of hut building, forest exploration or eco photography.

The teacher the pupil works with will depend on which option they want to pursue, regardless of age or ability.

“It’s their choice where they want to go and who they want to work with,” says Mr Thompson. “There are no grade 3s or 4s, or ‘you’re good at forest’ or ‘you’re bad at forest’ - it’s based on their choice...and it’s a blast to see.”

That may work for personal interests, but do pupils ever struggle or find it frustrating working with pupils from lower ages?

Ms Smith says this does not really happen because groups are constantly changing based on the subject, so there is not a “strong group” and a “less strong” group. “They are always switching,” she says.

The other teachers echo this, emphasising the fluidity of the way pupils are grouped. Ms Thompson says: “It’s not like ‘you are the red group and you are here for the rest of the year’ - we change it up so often they never get pigeonholed.”

There has also been a conscious effort to blur the lines between the different grades. “I hardly ever refer to them as my grade 3s or my grade 4s,” says Ms Reale.

Pupils benefit

From the pupil perspective, it seems to be working. It’s hard to prove causation, says Ms Smith, but she claims that the children “did very well emotionally, socially and academically last year”.

“Being in that small group where you’re constantly put into these multi-age situations gives you an awareness of other people in a different way than if you were always with the peers that are your age,” she adds.

Younger pupils, meanwhile, are “being pushed a little bit more” academically, she believes. “You see these kids and you want to come up to their level.”

One lesson that has been learned, however, is that moving grade 1 pupils between classrooms can prove tricky.

For example, last year the school had two grade 1/2 classrooms upstairs and one downstairs. Sometimes the youngest pupils would get lost en route or lose bags and equipment when moving around.

This year the two grade 1/2 classes are in neighbouring rooms on the same floor. Ms Smith says: “The 1st graders aren’t able to manage themselves as well - their executive function was lower than 2nd graders.”

The staff also note that some pupils complain about not seeing their friends as much, although they do still see them at break times. Other pupils, meanwhile, say they like getting to know new children and making new friends.

Parents, too, have been broadly supportive, although some have taken more convincing than others, Ms Smith admits. “There’s a real power in ‘we’ve always done it this way’ so it’s been really hard for some parents,” she says.

Ms Reale says staff have been working to share the benefits of multi-age classes with parents - and parents have had “several opportunities to share and reflect” on the changes.

Widening experience

The second benefit that the school hoped to gain from this shift was improving teacher collaboration; something that Ms Reale says can be lost when you only teach one age.

“Typically we were just the 4th-grade teacher - one teacher, teaching the grade by themselves, and there wasn’t that opportunity for collaboration.”

But now the teachers are working in partnership, getting ideas and problem-solving together.

Mr Thompson says: “If you’re on your own with that one grade in the classroom, you’re siloed off. For better or for worse, it’s you against the world. Whereas now I can bounce ideas and get inspired.”

Ms Smith says this is also good for career development because it avoids stagnation from just teaching the same content to the same-aged pupils each year.

“[Teachers] can’t just narrowly focus on one or two grade levels, they’ve got to look to the left and to the right and wander in and explore,” she says.

Another benefit that the staff cite is that there is now a greater chance to build long-term relationships with pupils.

For example, this academic year Mr Thompson retained some pupils whom he had last year but others are scattered across Ms Thompson and Ms Reale’s classes.

But even though he is not their class teacher, his relationship with those pupils continues. “There’s familiarity and growth and more of a community feel to the teaching experiences versus one-class, one-year, then you move on and that’s it.”

Planning is key

However, the teachers agree that it is “definitely tougher” and more professionally demanding to break down the barriers between classrooms and grades like this.

The ability range of the pupils that each teacher has in front of them has “effectively doubled”, says Mr Thompson - but so has the capacity to meet their needs.

He gives the example of a child who is two years behind their expected level in reading. Previously, as class teacher, he might have worked with them one-on-one. Now, working with Ms Thompson and Ms Reale, they can identify pupils with similar needs and bring together a small group led by a learning support teacher.

“Purely from a logistics point of view, it is very helpful,” Mr Thompson says.

Nonetheless, it requires an extra level of planning from teachers - as Ms Smith acknowledges: “They’re doing so much more work than if they were just classroom teachers with a set timetable and just with their one class.”

The clear message from the teachers, however, is that it is worth the effort because now they have, as Ms Smith puts it, “thinking buddies” - partners who energise them and motivate them, and with whom they can share the highs and lows of classroom life.

What’s more, Ms Smith argues, while embracing this change might be difficult, it is incumbent on schools and teachers to keep “exploring and evolving”.

“Just because it has always been done like that, it doesn’t mean it has to be done like that,” she says. “Our world is changing - why wouldn’t education change along with it?”

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