School Information

The German School system is a bit different from the South African models.
In Germany, children have to decide very early on their future education choices and the school term starts in August/ September.

Germany has an extensive public school system, but some private school options like Montessori, Waldorf and Jena exist. The Catholic church also runs many Schools.
There are international schools in most big cities.
Homeschooling is not allowed in Germany and School uniforms are not required in public schools

A South African Grade 12 could be equal to a German Abitur, depending on your subjects and marks (Note) and possibly the Bundesland. At a minimum, it should be equivalent to a Realschulabschluss/mittlere Reife
To find out if your South African qualification allows you to study at a German University, enter your details on the Anabin Website

Finding a school

The local Bürgerampt should be able to provide you with information about schools in your region.
For international schools, you can use the following links to search

Agis-schools (Association of German International Schools)
International-schools-germany

Germany's education system

Article 7 of the Grundgesetz (Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany) states the following:

The entire school system shall be under the supervision of the state.
Parents and guardians shall have the right to decide whether children shall receive religious instruction.
Religious instruction shall form part of the regular curriculum in state schools, with the exception of non-denominational schools. Without prejudice to the state’s right of supervision, religious instruction shall be given in accordance with the tenets of the religious community concerned. Teachers may not be obliged against their will to give religious instruction.
The right to establish private schools shall be guaranteed. Private schools that serve as alternatives to state schools shall require the approval of the state and shall be subject to the laws of the Länder. Such approval shall be given when private schools are not inferior to the state schools in terms of their educational aims, their facilities or the professional training of their teaching staff and when segregation of pupils according to the means of their parents will not be encouraged thereby. Approval shall be withheld if the economic and legal position of the teaching staff is not adequately assured.
A private elementary school shall be approved only if the education authority finds that it serves a special educational interest or if, on the application of parents or guardians, it is to be established as a denominational or interdenominational school or as a school based on a particular philosophy and no state elementary school of that type exists in the municipality.
Preparatory schools shall remain abolished.

The School Stages

The German education system has 5 Stages.

English	German	Information
Preschool	Kinderkrippen, Kindergarten	This is optional. The Landesjugendämper (Youth Welfare office) monitors children who are attending preschool. Children are monitored but achievements are not assessed
Primary School	Grundschule From 6 years of age Grades 1 to 4	This is an obligatory stage. For most States the following applies: “When the school year begins, all children who have turned six by June 30 of the current calendar year are obliged to attend primary school. The same applies to children who have turned six by June 30 of the following calendar year and who have been registered by their legal guardians in elementary school.” Children automatically advance to the 2nd grade Children are graded from the 2nd grade. A school report is called a Zeugnis The grading system is from 1 (very good) to 6 (very poor) Pupils do not receive any certificates after finishing this Stage
Secondary School	Weiterführende Schulen Sekundarstufe 1 (lower level) or Sekundarstufe II (upper level)	This starts after the Primary stage and it comprises of a lower level (Sekundarstufe I) and upper level (Sekundarstufe II) Sekundarstufe I are for pupils between the ages of 10 and 15 and includes grades 5 – 7 and 9 – 10 The subject matter is very general and is meant to prepare pupils for Sekundarstufe II Sekundarstufe II are for pupils between the ages of 15 -16 or 18, who wants to qualify for university and already finished Sekundarstufe I
Tertiary	Hochschulausbildung, Teriärbildung	Universities, Technical univcersities, Educational colleges (Pädagogische Hochschulen) Universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) Dual Studies (Berufsakademi) and Fachschulen
Further Education or continuing vocational training		Masters, Ph.D.

The Secondary School Stage

English	German	Information
General school	Hauptschule (secondary general school for grades 5 through 9 or 10)	A secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification of Education Students are eligible for vocational training afterwards, or can transfer to the Sekundarstufe II/Oberstufe at a Gymnasium or Gesamtschule. Pupils receive a Hauptschulabschluss certificate upon completion
General School – Practical	Realschule (practical secondary school for grades 5 through 10)	Students are eligible for vocational training afterwards, or can transfer to the Sekundarstufe II/Oberstufe at a Gymnasium or Gesamtschule. Another option is a FOS (Fachoberschule) There they can complete grades 11,12 and 13. You can enroll for Engineering at a Hochschule (University of Applied sciences) with FOS and Grade 12 Pupils receive a Realschulabschluss certificate upon completion
General School – Academic	Gymnasium (academic secondary school for grades 5 through 12 or 13)	Students receive an Abitur after successful completion and it entitles them to go to a University. Some degrees like Engineering, require up to grade 13. Students can also opt to do vocational training.
General School – Comprehensive	Gesamtschule (comprehensive school for grades 5 through 12 or 13)	Combines the Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium and offers an alternative to the tripartite school system
Technical College (Vocational School)	Fachoberschule (FOS)	Pupils receive a graduation certificate or Mittlerer Schulabschluss meaning they will have a Fachhochschulreife. If the school offers grade 13, pupils will receive an Abitur or Fachgebundene Hochschulreife
Vocational Gymnasium	Berufliches Gymnasium	Offers 3 years of classes and pupils receive an Abitur upon completion

Pupils are graded based on 6 marks:

very good
good
satisfactory level
adequate
poor
very poor.

Fun Facts

On a child’s first day of school, they take along “Schultüte”, which is a decorated paper cone filled with sweets and small presents
Depending on the Federal State, most children start school in August/September of the year that they turn 6 years old
For young school children, having a trendy backpack is more important than the clothes they wear
Every student is obliged to attend classes and other school events. You therefore cannot take your child out of school before the term ends. They must attend school for the whole term, with only certain exemptions like ill health, participation in sports competitions, or an important personal reason like the marriage of siblings, death in the family or serious illness in the family. Under certain circumstances, you can apply for special leave (Beurlaubung), for example, to return to your country of origin for a special event
School hours are between 7:30 and 8:15 a.m. and can end between 12 noon and 1:30 p.m
School marks are called “Noten”
A School hour is usually 45 minutes long
Sports are played outside of school and schools do not have sports fields
At the end of an Abitur, most schools have Abiball which is like a Matric farewell

Information on the Web

A really good article from Simple Germany
Make-it-in-germany
www.deutschland.de
How to Germany (good definitions)
School Terms
Video from DW with good info
pdf file in English with an excellent overview of the school system in Bavaria. This gives you a good idea about the school system and most states work on the same principles.