School Age Calculator Germany
Enter region and child date of birth below to calculate year of entry into primary and secondary school
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Child starts school in
[1st Year] in
--[2nd Year] in
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Grade Level Year of Entry
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Key School Information: --
| School Characteristic | Requirement |
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Education System in Germany
An Overview
Education commences in Germany with optional Kindergarten (Kita / Kindertagesstätte) starting as from young as 1 years old up to when the child turns 6.
Compulsory education in Germany starts at age 6 with children entering primary school / primarstufe for 4 years between class 1 to class 4.
Primary school is followed by lower secondary (sekundarstufe 1) usually for a period of 6 years from class 5 to class 10. As the final stage of school students complete upper secondary (sekundarbereich 2) from classes 10 to class 12 or 13 depending on the local state policies.
Secondary school in Germany has various types of schools including Gymnasium (grammar school) where students complete to class 13 to qualify for university, while Realschule and Hauptschule finish in class 10 and 9 respectively and prepare students for further vocational training. Gesamtschule is another alternative which combines all three school models into a single school.
The school year in Germany commonly starts between middle of August to early September and finishes at the end of June. Each state sets its own local policies so there are a number of differences to be aware of. In order to enter primary school in each state the child must have turned six years old by a certain cut-off date within the year.
For example, in Bavaria, the child must have turned six by 30st of September to commence in that year. If the child is born between September and December they will start the following year. Use the school age calculator Bavaria to determine year of entry into school. The calculator can also be used as calculate school year from date of birth Germany.
The primary school age cut-off dates for Germany are outlined below.
- • Bremen - 6 years old by 30th June
- • Hamburg – 6 years old by 1st of July
- • Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - 6 years old by 30th June
- • Saarland - 6 years old by 30th June
- • Saxony-Anhalt - 6 years old by 30th June
- • Thuringia – 6 years old by 1st of August
- • Baden-Württemberg - 6 years old by 31st August
- • Bavaria - 6 years old by 30th September, child can delay entry to following year if born between 1st of June to 30th September
- • Berlin - 6 years old by 30th September
- • Brandenburg - 6 years old by 30th September
- • Hesse - 6 years old by 30th June
- • Lower Saxony - 6 years old by 30th September, child can delay entry to following year if born between 1st of June to 30th September
- • North Rhine-Westphalia – 6 years old by 30th September
- • Rhineland-Palatinate - 6 years old by 31st August
- • Saxony - 6 years old by 30th June
- • Schleswig-Holstein - 6 years old by 30th June
While Bavaria and Lower Saxony have a formal policy to allow children to delay school entry until the following year, in most other states it is possible to delay entry based on discussion and agreement with your local school.
The school day for the first year of school in Class 1 is a full day, with early years starting at around 8am and completing at 1-2pm, while older secondary schools would complete around 4pm.
