1. The German School System

2. German Kindergarten It's sometimes hard to find a place for your kid.
Parents often apply for a kindergarten as soon as their children are born.
Children usually attend kindergarten from age 3 to 6.

3. Grundschule (elementary school)
Children start at the age of 6
Grades 1-4
One teacher teaches most subjects

4. Reading and writing
Maths
Social standards and values
Music
Physical education
Art
HSU (Heimat und Sachunterricht) which combines biology, history, and geography.
Religious education (must be offered at all state schools  granted in the Constitution)

5. Time to choose
When the pupils are about 10 years old (in year 4), teachers and parents choose between 3 options (tri-partite system):
Hauptschule/ Mittelschule (secondary school)
Realschule (secondary modern school)
Gymnasium (grammar school)

6. Hauptschule/ Mittelschule
lowest-achieving students
more slowly paced and more basic instruction than at the Realschule and Gymnasium.
additional subjects at the Hauptschule have a vocational orientation.
grades 5 - 9
about 25 percent of German students attend the Hauptschule.

7. Realschule
The Realschule provides students with an education which combines both theoretical and practical elements (grades 5 – 10)
Subjects like bookkeeping, technical drawing etc.
About 24 percent of German students attend the Realschule,

8. Gymnasium
The Gymnasium provides students with a liberal education and is supposed to enable them to study at university.
About 30 percent of German students are enrolled in the Gymnasium.
Students may enroll in the Gymnasium at the lower secondary level (5th grade) or may transfer to the Gymnasium after completing the Realschule (11th grade).
The final 2 or 3 years of Gymnasium (grades or 11-13) are called the Oberstufe (upper level).
Students who successfully complete their studies at a Gymnasium get their final degree, the „Abitur“.

10. Grading and Examinations
The grading scale used throughout the German education system ranges from 1—6. (A "6" is the equivalent of a failing grade). Teachers are permitted to add a plus or minus in parentheses to provide further differentiation. 1 = very good 2 = good 3 = satisfactory 4 = adequate 5 = poor 6 = very poor

11. Criticism of the German tripartite system :
Separation of children along class lines at a very early age, compared to other states/ countries
Only the Gymnasium is a university-preparatory school, so critics argue essentially a decision is made as early as the fourth grade about whether a child will be allowed to attend college.

12. Thanks for your attention!