Inside the Bilingual IB School That's Redefining Learning in Greece

Jan de Vries · 2026-11-02

### A School Where Curiosity Leads Based in Varkiza, on the Athenian Riviera, DES Interactive European School is a leading bilingual English-Greek educational facility. It works with nursery-age children through to those in secondary education, and has nurtured a genuinely international community spanning almost 30 nationalities. On the back of its recognition as the Best Bilingual IB School 2026 – Attica in this year’s Hellenic Business Awards, we caught up with Dr Billie Konstantara, its founder and CEO, to find out more. ### The First of Its Kind The first bilingual school in Greece to combine the renowned International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes with Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, DES Interactive European School offers rigorous, inquiry-led, student-centred learning grounded in the Greek educational context, international pedagogical practice, and the deeply comprehensive IB framework. At present, DES is authorised to offer the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the Middle Years Programme (MYP), with the Diploma Programme to follow. In mixing the rigour of the IB programmes with the Theory of Multiple Intelligences model, which challenges the traditional view of general intelligence by arguing that people possess autonomous intelligences that interact and enable them to solve problems, DES creates an environment where every student is distinct and everyone loves to learn. Promoting these characteristics within pupils, who are the future of our society, is just one way Dr Billie Konstantara applies the most innovative models and theories right across the school. > “At DES, innovation begins with a simple question: does this improve the way a child learns, belongs, or understands the world?” ### A Growing Community Today, the wider bilingual IB school is made up of four separate complexes in the southern suburbs. Across its nursery, kindergarten, primary school, and middle school offerings, DES is home to approximately 450 students and 150 staff. Since the first of these locations was opened back in 2004, DES’ mission has always been to inspire young minds through a curriculum built around them and their growth. This is one of the reasons why it views all subjects as primary subjects, be it sport, music, art, literature, languages, or maths. At the heart of DES’ learning are its campuses, which are so much more than just settings where teaching happens. An invaluable part of the curriculum, each location allows children to learn across classrooms, gardens, and outdoor spaces, with animal interactions and other unique experiences allowing them to connect their knowledge with the natural world. Recognising just how diverse their future learning and careers will be, DES also integrates technology, robotics, creativity, and social responsibility into its learning ecology. ### Values That Drive Learning Teaching at DES is done so according to the central values behind the school: intellectual curiosity, inclusion, responsibility, international-mindedness, and genuine care for the individual child. These are indicative of a school that cares about more than just results. Billie explained: “Our goal is not merely to prepare students for examinations. It is to develop knowledgeable, ethical, and emotionally secure young people who can think independently, collaborate across cultures, and contribute meaningfully to society.” Every member of staff at this IB PYP and MYP school in Greece works towards its mission of ensuring that every child is seen, understood, and challenged appropriately. It does this by setting high (but achievable) expectations, marrying them with close observation, strong relationships, and carefully differentiated teaching. Since DES is also an international microschool on the Athenian Riviera, students benefit from a small learning community, meaning teachers really know their students and can respond quickly to their needs. ### Connecting Across Boundaries Strong connections are also developed across subjects, age groups, and cultures, seen through initiatives that bring students together for collaborative projects and cross-cultural exchanges. This approach not only enriches learning but also prepares students for a globalised world, where the ability to understand and work with diverse perspectives is invaluable.