The School System : Germany

At the age of six, children enter primary school (Grundschule). In general it lasts four years, in Berlin and Brandenburg six years. In most states, work in the first two years at school is not graded but instead assessed in the form of a report giving a detailed description of the individual pupil’s progress and weaknesses in specific areas of learning. After primary school, pupils attend one of the other general education schools offering the first stage of secondary education. Irrespective of the type of school the pupil attends, the fifth and sixth school years constitute a phase of special encouragement, observation and orientation designed to facilitate choices concerning the pupil’s further education and fields of emphasis.

After completing primary school, about one third (1995) of the children attend the secondary general school (Hauptschule). The secondary general school imparts a basic general education to its pupils. Every pupil at a secondary general school receives instruction in German, mathematics, the natural sciences, the social sciences and one foreign language (usually English) as well as vocational orientation to ease the transition from school to working life. Young people who leave the secondary general school after five or six years usually enter a vocational training program (and, as part of their training, attend a part-time vocational school (Berufsschule) until at least the age of 18). The secondary general school certificate is generally used to gain acceptance to vocational training programs offered within the framework of the dual system and thus opens the door to many occupations in the craft trades and industry for which formal training is required.