School+system+fact+sheet

The educational system in Germany is distinctively different to most common school systems around the world. Students begin at the one school, and are then separated into one of three different schools.
 * The educational system in Germany**

__ Grundschule: __Grundschule is the equivalent of primary or elementary school. Children will go here from age 5 until age 10. At age 10, students are recommended by their teachers to attend one of three schools. This recommendation is based on the following:
 * Academic performance on a standardised test.
 * The student’s ability to learn independently.
 * The student’sconfidence.



The teacher’s recommendation influences the parent’s decision to send their child to a certain school. The best school a student could be sent to is the **gymnasium**.

__ Gymnasium: __Students attend this school from age 10 until age 18 or 19. Students must do specific classes, which includes the basic classes such as maths and science, and also two foreign languages: English and either French or Latin. In successfully completing these classing, students may continue their study on to university. The only way to get to university is by studying at a gymnasium.

Students at age 10 with average academic abilities will be recommended to attend a **realschule**.

__ Realschule: __ At realschule, students will learn basic subjects that will prepare them for mid-level jobs in business and industries, or vocational work. If a student is receiving high enough grades, it is possible to transfer to a gymnasium. However, the gymnasium teaches students at a much quicker pace and students transferring from realschule often will have to repeat a year in order to catch up. Students at realschule only have to learn one foreign language (rather than two), and must also participate in the core subjects.
 * //When you go to Realschule or Hauptschule then you can’t apply for university, you have to do another school to go to university, you can apply for apprenticeship, but it depends on the job you want. You can’t do every job. Sometimes you’re overqualified with Gymnasium as well// – Teacher, GFS ||

The lowest track in Germanys’ three-tier system is known as **hauptschule**.

__ Hauptschule: __Hauptschule prepares students for vocational work, and students only study until age 16 or 17. Students will do the same subjects as at realschule, but they will learn at a much slower pace. Students at hauptschule will generally go in to an apprenticeship after completing school, and will combine work with vocational classes.

Germanys’ current educational system has been found to reinforce inequalities, such as class and social distinctions. Furthermore, the system focuses on career and academic achievement, rather than personal development. In addition to this, some students take longer to develop academically and socially, and therefore they may be put in to the wrong school, as it is a young age in which students are divided. Students also have no choice themselves as to what they want out of their future, it is instead decided for them.
 * //I think it’s hard for friendships between pupils to go at different schools, because there are sometimes prejudices// – Teacher, GFS ||
 * Complications with the system: **
 * //I think the bad thing is that the pupils of the Hauptschule think that we are lame and that we think that we are better, and we think that they are lazy// – Student, GFS ||