Going to school in Germany

SophieAyaJennings · 2025-07-17T06:48:48+02:00

Explore the experience of attending a traditional school in Düsseldorf, including insights on German education, school types, and language expectations for immigrants.

SophieAyaJennings New member

Member since 11 July 2025

SophieAyaJenningsNew member17 July 2025 04:48:48

Going to a traditional german school as an immigrant in germany was both challenging and eye-opening. My school in Germany was at least 600 years old and it was run by the Catholic church. The first thing that'll stick out at you is the way the years are split up, elementary school goes from 1sth through 4th grade, and after that your in high school until 12th or even 13th grade. Many of the best high schools require you to pass an interview to get accepted even though they're public, and there's four different categories of high school, each once catering towards everybody's different strengths and interests. By the time you graduate you're expected to be able to speak at least both German and English, and often times French and Latin as well. That's why many Europeans are at least trilingual.

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

Member since 08 August 2010

Germany & Singapore Expert

beppiGermany/Singapore Expert17 July 2025 08:11:06

15495

Thanks for sharing your experience!

The change from primary to secondary school after 4th grade is standard in most European countries (except Britain) and should not be a surprize to people from those countries.

And the interview you mentioned, to be accepted into a school, is not in fact an acceptance test, but a placement check to make sure you enter the most suitable of the three (not four) levels of secondary school - it is there to prevent later failure, which would negatively affect the student's mental health.

No public school is allowed to actually choose which applicants to take - only a few of the private ones (which are a small minority among German schools, but include church-run schools) can.