Germany · Schulsystem · For families new to Germany
The German school system, explained in English
Moving to Germany with children means learning a new vocabulary before the first parents' evening: Grundschule, Gymnasium, Oberstufe, MSA, G8, Notenpunkte. This guide walks through the whole ladder in plain English, shows what each of the sixteen Länder calls its schools, explains the two marking scales and the national maths tests, and says honestly where computing does and does not appear on the timetable.
Live online since 2020 · 10,000+ students worldwide · maths and coding in English for pupils at German schools
In short
German school runs from Grundschule (Klasse 1 to 4, or 1 to 6 in Berlin and Brandenburg) into one of several secondary schools, then to the Mittlerer Schulabschluss after Klasse 10 or on through the Oberstufe to the Abitur after 12 or 13 years. Each Land names its schools differently. Modern Age Coders teaches maths and coding alongside it, live online in English, in a group or one to one.
Courses for German school years
Three courses that follow a German school career
One for the middle years, one for the new Informatik lessons, and one for the Abitur at the top.
How does the German school system work, from Grundschule to Abitur?
Education in Germany is run by the sixteen Länder, not by Berlin. Their education ministers agree a common frame in the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK), and the frame below is the KMK's own.
The German school ladder and the certificate at the end of each rung
Rung
Klassen
Ends with
Set by
Grundschule (primary)
1 to 4; 1 to 6 in Berlin and Brandenburg
No leaving exam; the school gives a recommendation
Each Land
Sekundarstufe I (lower secondary)
5 to 9 or 10
Erster Schulabschluss after Klasse 9, or Mittlerer Schulabschluss (MSA) after Klasse 10
Central Land exams in most Länder
Einführungsphase (first Oberstufe year)
10 or 11
Entry to the Qualifikationsphase
The school
Qualifikationsphase (last two years)
11 to 12, or 12 to 13
Marks that count towards the Abitur
The school, on the Land's rules
Abitur (Allgemeine Hochschulreife)
After Klasse 12 (G8) or 13 (G9)
Four or five exam subjects
Written papers set centrally in almost all Länder
Sources: KMK pages on the Primarbereich, Sekundarstufe I and Sekundarstufe II; KMK Eurydice dossier Das Bildungswesen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2024/2025 (editorial close October 2025). All read on 2 November 2026.
Starting school and how long it lasts
The school year in Germany legally begins on 1 August and ends on 31 July, says the KMK dossier, although the first day of lessons depends on the Land's summer holidays. Compulsory schooling normally begins in the year a child turns six; each Land sets a cut-off birthday somewhere between 30 June and 30 September.
Full-time schooling is compulsory for nine years in most Länder. The dossier names Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen and Thüringen as Länder with ten years, and Nordrhein-Westfalen with nine or ten depending on the course a pupil follows.
The big decision after Grundschule
There is no exam at the end of Grundschule. Instead, the KMK dossier describes a "Votum der abgebenden Schule", the primary school's recommendation, which always comes with a counselling talk for parents. Depending on the Land, the final choice of secondary school rests either with the parents or with the school and the school authority.
The dossier is also clear that families have no legal right to a place at one particular school. If you are arriving mid-year, ask the local Schulamt early which schools have room.
Two KMK rules soften the early choice. Pupils can still switch to another track in Klasse 5 and 6, and the KMK says that, in principle, every Sekundarstufe I certificate can be reached at every school type. General certificates can also be gained later at a vocational school. A choice made at age ten is important, but it is not a life sentence.
School names
Why does every Land call its schools something different?
Lower secondary school has three tracks everywhere: Hauptschule level, Realschule level and Gymnasium level. The Länder combine them into school types with their own names, which is why a school that sounds unfamiliar in Hamburg may be ordinary in Berlin.
Names of schools that combine tracks, by Land (KMK overview, February 2021)
Land
Schools with all three tracks
Schools with two tracks
Baden-Württemberg
Gemeinschaftsschule
Berlin
Integrierte Sekundarschule
Brandenburg
Oberschule
Bremen
Oberschule
Sekundarschule
Hamburg
Stadtteilschule
Hessen
Verbundene Haupt- und Realschule, Mittelstufenschule
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Regionale Schule
Niedersachsen
Oberschule
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Sekundarschule
Rheinland-Pfalz
Realschule plus
Saarland
Gemeinschaftsschule
Sachsen
Oberschule
Sachsen-Anhalt
Gemeinschaftsschule
Sekundarschule
Schleswig-Holstein
Gemeinschaftsschule
Thüringen
Gemeinschaftsschule
Regelschule
Source: KMK, Übersicht über die Bildungsgänge und Schularten im Bereich der allgemeinen Bildung (Stand 02/2021), read 2 November 2026. The same overview lists Integrierte and Kooperative Gesamtschulen as further schools with three tracks, and Bavaria's Mittelschule as its name for the Hauptschule. An empty cell means the overview names no school of that kind for the Land; it does not mean none exists today.
The one name that never changes
The KMK overview makes one exception to the patchwork: the Gymnasium exists in every Land. It is the school type that leads most directly to the Abitur, and the KMK overview shows it running from the end of Grundschule into its own Oberstufe.
The two Oberschulen in the table are a good warning about names. In Niedersachsen and Bremen an Oberschule combines all three tracks; in Sachsen and Brandenburg the same word means a school with two.
Where the Oberstufe can be
The gymnasiale Oberstufe, the upper school that leads to the Abitur, is not only found at a Gymnasium. The KMK overview places it at the Gymnasium (Klassen 10 to 12 or 11 to 13) and at schools with three tracks (as a rule Klassen 11 to 13), and the KMK dossier adds the Berufliches Gymnasium, a vocational upper school.
Entry to any of them needs the Mittlerer Schulabschluss with the entitlement to the Oberstufe, which a pupil earns with results above the plain MSA level.
G8 or G9
Is my child's Gymnasium G8 or G9?
G8 means the Abitur after eight years of Gymnasium (Klasse 5 to 12), G9 after nine (Klasse 5 to 13). The KMK allows both, as long as pupils reach at least 265 weekly lesson hours, counted year by year, from Klasse 5. Several Länder have switched back to G9 in recent years, so check the route for your child's own year group.
The Gymnasium route to the Abitur, by Land, as described for 2026/27
Land
Gymnasium route
Oberstufe years
Bayern
G9; the switch back from G8 completed in 2024/25
Klasse 11 to 13
Niedersachsen
G9
Klasse 11 to 13
Rheinland-Pfalz
G9 as the norm; a G8 route at some Gymnasien
Depends on the route
Schleswig-Holstein
G9 at most Gymnasien; G8 at selected ones
Klasse 11 to 13 on G9
Saarland
Moving from G8 to G9 by 2026/27
Changing
Baden-Württemberg
Oberstufe mostly G8 for current year groups; system changing
Klasse 10 to 12 for most today
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Nine-year Gymnasien in Sekundarstufe I; system still switching
Check with the school
Berlin
G8 at the Gymnasium; G9 at Integrierte Sekundarschulen and Gemeinschaftsschulen
Klasse 10 to 12 at the Gymnasium
Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Sachsen
G8
Klasse 10 to 12
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen-Anhalt
G8
Klasse 10 to 12
Hessen, Thüringen
Not in our sources
Ask the school
Sources: Gesellschaft für Informatik, Informatik-Monitor 2026/27, the Oberstufe description on each Land's page; Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Gymnasium page ("Das neu eingeführte neunjährige Gymnasium umfasst im Schuljahr 2025/26 die Jahrgangsstufen 5 bis 13"); KMK Sekundarstufe II page for the 265 hours. Read 2 November 2026. Baden-Württemberg and Nordrhein-Westfalen are mid-change, so the school's own information is the one to trust.
Why it matters for maths: on a G8 route, the Oberstufe begins a year earlier, in Klasse 10, so the Einführungsphase overlaps with what G9 pupils still treat as lower secondary. A pupil arriving from abroad at age fifteen can land in quite different maths depending on the route. We place new pupils by what they can already do, not by their age, and then follow their school's pace.
Marks and points
How do German school marks work, and why is 1 the top mark?
German schools use two scales. Up to the Oberstufe, the KMK's six-step scale runs the opposite way from many countries: 1 is the top mark and 6 the lowest. In the Qualifikationsphase, a 0 to 15 point scale takes over, and there higher is better.
The six marks and the matching Oberstufe points
Note
German word
Punkte in the Qualifikationsphase
1
sehr gut
15, 14 or 13
2
gut
12, 11 or 10
3
befriedigend
9, 8 or 7
4
ausreichend
6, 5 or 4
5
mangelhaft
3, 2 or 1
6
ungenügend
0
Source: KMK Eurydice dossier 2024/2025, sections on assessment in Sekundarstufe I and in the allgemeinbildende Sekundarstufe II. The three points within one Note reflect the "Notentendenz", a plus or minus.
What a 4 means
A 4, ausreichend, is a pass. The KMK dossier says that moving up a year generally needs at least ausreichend in every subject that counts for promotion, and that a mangelhaft or ungenügend in one subject can usually be balanced, within limits, by at least befriedigend elsewhere. The class conference of all the pupil's teachers decides.
For the Abitur, the KMK says the Allgemeine Hochschulreife is awarded when the overall qualification reaches at least an average of 4.
Reports twice a year
Pupils receive a Zeugnis, a school report, at the end of each half-year and at the end of the school year. The Länder may use written reports instead of marks in some years, says the dossier, but never on a leaving certificate.
A family used to percentages should read a German report the other way round: a row of 2s is good news.
Maths
Where is maths tested in German schools?
Maths is taught every year of every school type, and the KMK sets binding national standards for it at three points. The Länder check progress with comparison tests in between.
National maths standards and tests, with the 2027 dates where published
When
What
Detail
End of Klasse 4
KMK maths standards, primary
Adopted 15 October 2004, current version 23 June 2022
Klasse 3
VERA-3 comparison test
2027 window: 12 April to 26 May 2027
Klasse 8
VERA-8 comparison test
2027 window: 8 February to 25 March 2027
Klasse 9 or 10
KMK standards for the ESA and MSA
One combined document since 2022
End of Klasse 10
Central MSA exams in most Länder
In NRW the ZP10 in German, maths and English
Abitur
KMK maths standards for the Abitur
Adopted 18 October 2012; papers drawn from a shared IQB pool
Sources: KMK Bildungsstandards Mathematik for the Primarbereich, for ESA and MSA, and for the Allgemeine Hochschulreife; IQB pages on VERA-3 and VERA-8; NRW Standardsicherung, Zentrale Prüfungen 10. Read 2 November 2026.
VERA is the test that confuses new families most. The IQB says plainly that VERA results are not graded and that no rankings of schools or Länder are produced; the tests tell teachers, a year before the standards are due, how far a class has come. Some Länder call them KERMIT, Kompetenztests or Lernstandserhebungen. There is no reason to drill for VERA, but a weak VERA-8 result is a useful early signal before the MSA.
At the Abitur, maths is close to unavoidable: the KMK says the exam covers four or five subjects, at least two at raised level, and two of them must come from German, a foreign language and maths. Our page on Abitur maths in English explains the pool exam itself.
Computing
Do German schools teach computer science?
Some do from Klasse 5, some only as an option, and the answer depends entirely on the Land.
Uneven by design
Informatik is the newest subject in German schools and the least settled. The Gesellschaft für Informatik counts six Länder in its Informatik-Monitor 2026/27 where no Informatik lesson is compulsory for every pupil: Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz and Sachsen-Anhalt.
In the other ten it is compulsory at some point in lower secondary, from Klasse 5 and 6 in Nordrhein-Westfalen to Klasse 9 and 10 in Niedersachsen.
Thin at the top
In the Oberstufe Informatik is an option, and the same monitor puts the national share of pupils who take it in the Qualifikationsphase at about 15 percent.
How many routes lead to the Abitur? A short Python program
Families often hear that only the Gymnasium leads to the Abitur. The KMK rules above say otherwise, and a short program makes the point better than a paragraph. The map below is our own simplification of the KMK overview, not an official chart.
Every route from Grundschule to AbiturPython
routes = {
"Grundschule": ["Gymnasium", "Realschule", "Hauptschule", "Multi-track school"],
"Gymnasium": ["Oberstufe, Gymnasium", "Realschule"],
"Realschule": ["MSA", "Gymnasium"],
"Hauptschule": ["MSA"],
"Multi-track school": ["MSA"],
"MSA": ["Oberstufe, Gymnasium", "Oberstufe, multi-track school",
"Berufliches Gymnasium"],
"Oberstufe, Gymnasium": ["Abitur"],
"Oberstufe, multi-track school": ["Abitur"],
"Berufliches Gymnasium": ["Abitur"],
}
def all_paths(here, goal, path=()):
if here in path: # been here already: a loop, not a route
return []
path = path + (here,)
if here == goal:
return [path]
found = []
for step in routes.get(here, []):
found += all_paths(step, goal, path)
return found
paths = all_paths("Grundschule", "Abitur")
print("Routes to the Abitur:", len(paths))
for p in paths:
print(" > ".join(p[1:-1]))
print("Routes that never pass a Gymnasium of any kind:",
sum(1 for p in paths if not any("Gymnasium" in s for s in p)))
Run with Python 3 on 3 November 2026, it prints Routes to the Abitur: 14, then the fourteen routes one per line, starting Gymnasium > Oberstufe, Gymnasium, and ends with Routes that never pass a Gymnasium of any kind: 3.
What the program says
Of the fourteen routes, only one is the classic straight line: Gymnasium, then the Oberstufe at the same school. Three never touch a Gymnasium of any kind: a pupil goes from a school with several tracks or a Realschule to the MSA and then into the Oberstufe of a school with three tracks. Our map is simplified (a Land may restrict some of these steps), but the shape is the KMK's.
The Realschule and Gymnasium point at each other because the KMK allows a change of track in Klasse 5 and 6.
The line that stops a loop
That two-way arrow is the trap in the code. Delete the line if here in path and the function walks Gymnasium, Realschule, Gymnasium, Realschule for ever; Python gives up with RecursionError: maximum recursion depth exceeded.
Real route planners, from train timetables to the maps in your phone, guard against the same circle. Spotting it is the kind of thinking we teach before any syntax.
Ages 10 to 12. Draw the map on paper as boxes and arrows. Trace three routes with a finger and count the arrows on each.
Ages 12 to 14. Run the program, then add a box for the Erster Schulabschluss after Klasse 9. Does the number of routes to the Abitur change? Explain why.
Ages 14 and up. Change the program so it prints the shortest route first. Then remove the loop guard on purpose and read the error message slowly.
Where we fit in
What we teach at each German school stage
Our own map of classes against the German ladder. We teach alongside school; the school's course and its marks are the ones that count.
Our classes by German school stage (ours)
School stage
Maths with us
Computing with us
Grundschule, Klasse 1 to 4
Number sense and mental arithmetic
Scratch, first algorithms on paper
Klasse 5 and 6
Fractions, decimals, first equations
Scratch to Python, loops and conditions
Klasse 7 to 9
Algebra, functions, geometry, data
Python with lists, functions and real data
Klasse 10 and the MSA
Exam-style practice for the Land's papers
Projects, algorithms, Informatik catch-up
Oberstufe and Abitur
Analysis, geometry, stochastics
Java or Python, data structures, SQL
For parents
Send us the school's worksheets and the last Klassenarbeit. The mentor works from your child's actual German material and explains it in English.
We report progress in plain words and, where useful, against the German marks, so a parents' evening is easier to follow.
For pupils
Bring the German word you did not understand. Your mentor gives the English idea and keeps the German term beside it, because your tests will use it.
Ask for the reason, not just the answer. Every class ends with a problem you solve yourself.
More courses
Nine more courses for pupils at German schools
All live in English with one regular mentor, in a group or one to one.
Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. Two live hours a week with the same mentor, planned around the German school day, which often ends early in the afternoon.
After lunch
For example 14:00 German time, which is 18:30 in India in winter and 17:30 from 28 March 2027.
Early evening
For example 18:00 German time, for older pupils with long school days.
1-on-1
Saturday late mornings or a time you choose, before a Klassenarbeit.
English, German terms
Explained in English, with the word from the German worksheet kept beside it.
Your Land's order
We follow the topics in the order your school teaches them.
From any stage
Families arriving mid-year start where the child really is.
Maths or code
One subject or both, with one mentor or two.
Parents in the loop
Short written notes after classes.
Group or solo
Fifteen to twenty pupils at one level, or one to one.
Student work
Things our students have built
Pupils who start with us in maths often move on to code. A few of their projects are below; more are on our student labs page.
AI and ML
NutriLife
An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.
A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.
by Krish
Fees
Fees for families in Germany
One monthly fee covers eight live classes. On this page the fee appears in euro, converted at the European Central Bank reference rate; we charge the card in US dollars, so your bank does the final conversion and the statement may show a few cents of difference.
Free first class
Free
no card required
A free first class
A short check of your child's level against the German stage
Google reviews from parents and students, quoted as written.
★★★★★
"The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content."
Ria Mukherjee
Parent
★★★★★
"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."
Samriddha Mondal
Student
★★★★★
"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."
Vansh Agarwal
Student
★★★★★
"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."
Sonam Oswal
Parent of Dhairya
★★★★★
"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."
Sonu Goyal
Parent
★★★★★
"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."
Ritu Kedia
Parent
Families ask
The German school system: common questions
At what age do children start school in Germany?
Compulsory school normally starts in the year a child turns six. Each Land sets a cut-off birthday between 30 June and 30 September, and children who are six by then start on 1 August, the legal start of the school year, according to the KMK dossier.
How many years is school compulsory in Germany?
Nine years of full-time school in most Länder. The KMK dossier names Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen and Thüringen with ten years, and Nordrhein-Westfalen with nine or ten depending on the course.
Is there an exam to get into the Gymnasium?
There is no leaving exam at the end of Grundschule. The primary school gives a recommendation after a counselling talk with parents, and depending on the Land the final decision lies with the parents or with the school and school authority. Some Länder use a trial period or entrance test for certain schools.
Can my child reach the Abitur without going to a Gymnasium?
Yes. The KMK places the gymnasiale Oberstufe at the Gymnasium, at schools with three tracks and at the Berufliches Gymnasium. Entry needs the Mittlerer Schulabschluss with the Oberstufe entitlement, which can be earned at any lower secondary school type.
What do G8 and G9 mean?
G8 is the Abitur after eight years of Gymnasium, at the end of Klasse 12; G9 after nine, at the end of Klasse 13. Several Länder, Bayern among them, have returned to G9. Our table above shows the route each Land's Gymnasium follows in 2026/27, as far as our sources describe it.
Is a 1 or a 6 the best mark in Germany?
A 1 (sehr gut) is the top mark and a 6 (ungenügend) the lowest. In the last two years before the Abitur, marks become points from 0 to 15, where 15 is the top.
What is VERA and does my child need to prepare?
VERA is a set of comparison tests in Klasse 3 and Klasse 8. The IQB says the results are not graded and no rankings are made. The 2027 window for VERA-8 is 8 February to 25 March 2027. No special preparation is needed, but the result can point to gaps before the MSA.
Are the classes in German?
No. Every class is live and taught in English only, by mentors based in India who match your child's pace and accent. We do keep the German school terms beside the English, because your child's tests will use them.
When do classes run in German time?
Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. Germany is 4 hours 30 minutes behind India in winter and 3 hours 30 minutes behind in summer, so German afternoons suit our mentors well.
Do you give German school marks or certificates?
No. We teach alongside school and are not connected to the KMK, the IQB or any ministry. Your child's school sets the marks that count; our job is to make the maths and computing behind them clear.
In the first class the mentor finds out where your child stands, compared with the German stage they are in, and suggests whether maths, computing or both would help most.
All classes are live online, in English only, with mentors in India. WhatsApp is the quickest way to reach us.
Want a class sooner? Book a priority demo
A priority demo is a full class of about 45 to 60 minutes. After the class the mentor sends a written skill report and a personal learning roadmap on WhatsApp. If you enrol, the demo fee is adjusted against your first month's fee. Share your demo Order ID with us on WhatsApp and we take it off.
