Schools and Gymnasium entry in Berlin

Primary school in Berlin lasts six years, so children usually move to a secondary school in Grade 7. Gymnasium is the academic pathway that leads to the Abitur, and the city also offers other secondary school types with different leaving qualifications.

Eligibility is worked out from grades. You add the German, maths and first-foreign-language grades from two reports: the end of Grade 5 and the first half of Grade 6. If those six grades total 14 or less, your child is eligible without a trial-teaching period.

If the total is higher, suitability can still be established through Probeunterricht (trial teaching). Special rules apply when some of those grades are missing.

One detail worth knowing: a few grundständige Gymnasien start in Grade 5 instead of Grade 7 and use their own admission procedure. If you are interested in one of those, ask the school directly.

This page describes the usual Grade 7 route. Later transfers into Gymnasium, and specialist schools with their own profiles, can have different requirements.