Schools and Gymnasium entry in Hamburg

Primary school in Hamburg lasts four years, and children usually move on in Grade 5. Gymnasium is the academic pathway that leads to the Abitur, and the Stadtteilschule is the other main secondary school type.

Parents choose the school type. The primary school's recommendation is advice, not a decision: you can choose Gymnasium even without a Gymnasium recommendation.

That choice comes with a condition. Children who do not meet the requirements at the end of Grade 6 have to move to a Stadtteilschule, a secondary school that can also lead to the Abitur. Gymnasium in Hamburg therefore works as a two-year assessment period.

One detail worth knowing: you normally name three preferred schools and hand in your application at your first choice, so a place at one particular Gymnasium is not guaranteed.

This page describes the ordinary move from primary school. Later transfers into Gymnasium, and specialist schools with their own profiles, can have different requirements.