Types of school

Primary school consists of 4 school years, with the first 2 years comprising the school entry phase. This can be extended or shortened by one year if required.

In addition to the basic subjects of German and mathematics, your child will receive compulsory lessons in home economics and science, school gardening and sport. From the third grade onwards, lessons in a foreign language are compulsory. As far as possible, many schools offer this from the first or second grade.

After lessons, your child can continue to be looked after in the after-school care center and take part in lunch together, do homework and take part in leisure activities.

In the course of the fourth school year, the school will recommend that your child attend a particular secondary school based on their academic performance.

You will receive the school registration form by post 4 to 6 weeks before the registration week. You also have a choice of secondary schools and can register your child at a specific comprehensive school, community school or grammar school, depending on your inclination and recommendation.

According to the recommendation in elementary school, most pupils in Thuringia attend mainstream school, where grades 5 to 10 are taught. Possible qualifications are

• Hauptschulabschluss
• qualifying lower secondary school certificate
• Realschulabschluss

In the fifth and sixth grades, all pupils are taught together. From year 7 onwards, pupils can then be taught cooperatively in separate classes. The classes are geared towards the acquisition of the Hauptschulabschluss or Realschulabschluss.

Alternatively, all pupils continue to learn together on an integrative basis and also prepare for the desired qualification in special courses. After completing year 9 or 10, many graduates begin vocational training or transfer to vocational schools.

Transfer options

Due to the freedom of choice of school, pupils can transfer to a school of their choice at any time, provided the school management agrees and all admission requirements are met.

Regular school pupils with particularly good grades or a recommendation for a Gymnasium or who have passed an entrance examination may transfer to a Gymnasium or another school with an upper Gymnasium level in years 5 and 6.

After grade 10, it is also possible to transfer to the Gymnasium Oberstufe with a sufficiently good Realschulabschluss, so that the general higher education entrance qualification can be acquired after a further 3 school years.

Grades 5 to 12 are taught at comprehensive schools, where the following school-leaving qualifications can generally be obtained:

• Hauptschulabschluss
• qualifying lower secondary school certificate
• Realschulabschluss
• academic part of the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences in exceptional cases
• General higher education entrance qualification in exceptional cases

In cooperative comprehensive schools, classes are formed according to the desired qualifications and taught separately.

In integrated comprehensive schools, pupils generally learn together, but attend additional courses depending on their performance and the qualification they are aiming for.

After successfully completing school, it is possible to transfer to vocational training or vocational schools. Not all comprehensive schools offer the upper secondary school level. Those wishing to obtain the general higher education entrance qualification then transfer to another comprehensive school or a grammar school.

Transfer options

Due to the freedom of choice of school, pupils can transfer to a school of their choice at any time, provided the school management agrees and all admission requirements are met. The requirements are identical to those for a transfer from a mainstream school.

Comprehensive school pupils with particularly good grades or a recommendation for a Gymnasium or a successful entrance examination may transfer to a Gymnasium or another school with an upper Gymnasium level in years 5 and 6.

After grade 10, it is also possible to transfer to the gymnasial Oberstufe with a sufficiently good Realschulabschluss, so that the general higher education entrance qualification can be acquired after a further 3 school years.

Community schools teach grades 1 to 12. In principle, all general school-leaving qualifications can be obtained:

• Hauptschulabschluss
• qualifying lower secondary school certificate
• Realschulabschluss
• academic part of the advanced technical college entrance qualification
• General higher education entrance qualification

Community schools offer extended joint learning up to and including grade 8, up to which point no promotion decisions are made.

Grades can be awarded from grade 3 in combination with verbal assessments on the report card, and from grade 8 at the latest, pupils' performance must be graded.

Lessons often take place in double grades and cross-grade learning groups are formed. Classes are often taught by two teachers and are based on a tutor system in which the older pupils support the younger ones.

Community schools usually integrate additional extracurricular activities into the school day.

The final decision on which school-leaving qualification to aim for is sometimes only made at the end of year 8. The individual qualifications are acquired under the same conditions as at other general education schools.

Transfer options

Due to the freedom of choice of school, pupils can transfer to a school of their choice at any time, provided the school management agrees and all admission requirements are met.

Students who wish to transfer from a Gemeinschaftsschule to a Gymnasium can do so under the same conditions as regular or comprehensive school students.

Pupils in grades 5 to 12 are taught at the grammar school. The learning objective is the general higher education entrance qualification. However, the following qualifications can be obtained:

• Hauptschulabschluss
• Realschulabschluss
• academic part of the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences
• General higher education entrance qualification

In grades 5 and 6, the curricula of all secondary schools are aligned to make it easier for pupils to switch between the different types of school. Students who are promoted to year 10 at the Gymnasium also fulfill the requirements for the Hauptschulabschluss and are awarded this qualification.

Pupils are free to take part in the examinations for a qualified Hauptschulabschluss as external candidates.

Year 10 is the introductory phase of the gymnasiale Oberstufe. At the end of Year 10, all students undergo a central performance assessment, which plays a key role in determining their transfer to the qualification phase of the upper secondary school.

The qualification phase comprises grades 11 and 12, and students who are promoted to grade 11 automatically receive a secondary school leaving certificate.

Students aiming for the Fachhochschulreife can leave the Gymnasium after year 11 and, provided they have achieved sufficiently good grades, have completed the academic part of this qualification. By passing the central final examinations in year 12, students acquire the Abitur.

Students who transfer to a grammar school after completing the Realschule repeat year 10 there, as the introductory phase of the upper secondary school and participation in the central performance assessment are also mandatory for transfer students.

If a grammar school has enough transfer students aiming for the Abitur, grade 11S is offered instead.

In Thuringia, in addition to the general grammar schools, there are also subject-related and special grammar schools, e.g. for sport, languages, music, mathematics and technology.

Transfer options

Anyone who notices during their grammar school career that they are not achieving their performance targets or that the university entrance qualification is not necessary for their future career can transfer to another secondary school.

Those who have passed the Abitur can begin a course of study or vocational training.

For most pupils, vocational schools mark the end of their school career. They offer young people numerous opportunities to acquire vocational qualifications or school-leaving certificates or to catch up.

Vocational schools can be public or private. The vocational preparation year can be completed here. The pre-vocational year is aimed at pupils who have left school without a qualification or who are still subject to compulsory schooling despite having a qualification.

The most frequently attended form of vocational school is the vocational school. It is responsible for the theoretical part of vocational training.

With the vocational school leaving certificate, pupils without a secondary general school leaving certificate can obtain a qualification equivalent to a secondary general school leaving certificate and pupils without a secondary modern school leaving certificate can, under certain conditions, obtain a qualification equivalent to a secondary modern school leaving certificate.

In addition to vocational schools, vocational colleges, vocational upper secondary schools, technical colleges and technical upper secondary schools as well as vocational grammar schools or vocational colleges offer subject-specific qualifications.

Alternative paths to individual education are particularly attractive and easy to follow in Jena. The city sees education as an important location factor and a question of social participation for all people.

Young families want excellent educational opportunities for their children, young people need prospects for the future, companies rely on well-trained skilled workers locally and for adults, too, education is a natural part of everyday life under the heading of "lifelong learning".

In our city, short distances meet many stimulating offers.

Adult education center

In Jena, the adult education center (VHS) offers you the opportunity to prepare for all school-leaving qualifications. Classes are held in the evening and are subject to a fee.

The respective examinations are external examinations at the respective schools. The VHS also offers many other courses for further vocational training, additional qualifications, new languages or other interests.

Evening school

Evening schools offer you the opportunity to catch up on or upgrade various school-leaving qualifications in order to gain higher qualifications. While the preparation can take place at various educational institutions, the final examination usually has to be obtained as an external participant in an examination.

Evening schools offer you the advantage that you can continue to pursue your current job or other commitments because the exam preparations only take place in the evening.

In addition, teachers and fellow students are always available to talk to on site so that any problems can be solved immediately. The costs for an evening school vary greatly depending on the provider; state schools are usually free of charge and only the learning materials have to be paid for.

Distance learning school

Distance learning schools also offer preparation for all school-leaving qualifications and, of course, further qualifications.

The costs for distance learning schools are often higher than those of local providers. On the other hand, distance learning schools give you more time for other commitments. You can organize your learning time yourself, although this also requires much greater motivation and perseverance.