General Secondary Education
Secondary education offers three levels designed to stream students into different educational aspirations and individualized abilities. These streams are organized as separate schools with different educational approaches.
Hauptschule (grades 5 - 9 or 5-10 with Option M) is the compulsory stream of secondary education. Students with vocational orientation reach the Dual System through grade 9. Those attaining the Intermediate School Certificate through course M (7 -10) enjoy the same educational mobility as Realschule graduates.
Realschule (grades 5 -10) aims at the Intermediate School Certificate. It has an important distribution function for upper secondary education, especially for the Fachoberschule. Students entering the work force with this certificate often prefer office-related careers.
Gymnasium (grades 5 -12, grade 13 is in the process of being phased out) students aim for the General Higher Education Entrance Certificate (Allgemeine Hochschulreife), which provides access to higher education without further entrance exams. The upper secondary level (grades 11 -12,12 -13 is in the process of being phased out) allows students to set individual priorities when selecting their courses. |
