Where to go after primary school?

Grade 5

The registration period for the transition to grade 5 at secondary schools is from 11 February to 14 February 2025.

Grade 7

If, contrary to the recommendation of the primary school, you would like to register your child at a Gymnasium, you must voluntarily register your child for a trial lesson from February 10 to 11, 2025 at the last primary school or community school you attended. This also applies to children whose siblings are already attending a Gymnasium.

The trial lesson is an assessment of suitability and will take place on February 21, 2025 at a Gymnasium in the district in which your last primary or community school is located. It is carried out uniformly throughout Berlin and includes written work in the subjects of German and mathematics as well as interdisciplinary skills that are necessary for learning success in the Gymnasium course. You will receive detailed information on the trial lesson process at the end of the first school semester. The final certificate of suitability, which is issued by the school supervisory authority, will be given to you at the beginning of the registration period by the last primary or community school you attended.

The registration period for the transition to grade 7 at secondary schools is from 6 March to 14 March 2025

During this time, the parents will register their child in their first choice school. They can also specify a second and third choice. When registering, the registration form and the support outlook must be submitted.

When registering for the transition to grade 5 (foundational Gymnasium), special regulations apply.

School registration in Berlin when moving from another federal state

Your child attends a school in another federal state and is now to move to Berlin. If you would like to register him/her for grade 7 at a Berlin public school, the registration criteria listed below apply. These differ from the procedure for Berlin school children because there is not yet a (main) residence in Berlin.

School registration in Berlin when moving from abroad

Has your child attended a school abroad and you now want to register your child for grade 7 at a public school in Berlin? Then the following registration criteria apply to you.

In order to be able to make the right choice of a secondary school, the parents and their children receive early, individual and binding advice from the primary school about the type of school in which the pupil is likely to receive the best support.

Support outlook


In a written support outlook, the primary school recommends attending an Integrated Secondary School / Comprehensive school or an Integrated Secondary School / Comprehensive school and Gymnasium. This recommendation is based on the performance, learning skills, inclinations of the student and the appropriate offerings of the respective school type.

The support outlook includes an average grade, which is averaged from the grades from the 2nd term of the 5th grade and the 1st term of the 6th grade. The grades for German, mathematics, foreign language, natural sciences and social sciences count twice.

In the example below, the average grade is 67: (13 + 13) = 2.5.

• Note: The average grade is shown with a non-rounded place after the comma. (according to (§24 GsVO – Primary School Ordinance))

• up to 2,2 : Gymnasium or Integrated Secondary School / Comprehensive school
• 2,8 an higher : Integrated Secondary School / Comprehensive school

In the intermediate range from 2.3 to 2.7, further characteristics of the child’s individual competencies (e.g. resilience, reflection on the learning process) are used as a decision for the support outlook.

(Example calculation of the average grade for the support outlook)

The average grade is calculated based on the report grades from the second term of 5th grade and the first term of 6th grade. The grades for German, maths, foreign languages, natural sciences and social sciences are counted twice.

The average grade is calculated as follows: 67 : (13 + 13) = 2,5*

The average grade is shown with a non-rounded place after the comma.*(According to §24 GsVO – Primary School Ordinance)


Parents are free to choose the secondary school desired for their child; it can also be in a different district than their place of residence. There is also freedom of choice in the type of school. However, it makes sense to orientate yourself to the support outlook so that the child is not overburdened or not challenged enough.

Parents’ questions to the primary school

• What average grade did the primary school determine? What is the support outlook?
• What does the class teacher recommend in a personal interview?
• Has my child learned independently and without major difficulties, as required by the Gymnasium?
• What is the right learning pace for my child? Is a school that is more considerate of performance differences more suitable for my child?
• Where does my child have weaknesses? Would an all-day school with support opportunities until 4 p.m. be the right one?
• Can an initial career aspiration be derived from the interests of my child and how might this be supported?

Parents questions to themselves and their child

• Which secondary school does my child want? And why?
• Which schools are close to home? Which way to school can and do I want my child to take?
• Does my child need a lot of help with homework and preparing for tests?
• What favourite subjects does my child have and what interests?
• Which second foreign language does my child want to learn?
• What activities such as sports, music, chorus, computers would my child like to pursue at the new school in a working or study group and all-day offering?
• Does my child already have a career aspiration and could I support it with the choice of school?

Questions from parents to the secondary school

• Which courses does the school offer as an elective as of grade 7 and grade 9?
  Does the school offer a subject profile (e.g., mathematical-scientific, information technology, music or sports profile), classes with a special profile or working or study groups?
• Which first foreign language did my child learn and which school offers it? What other foreign languages are offered at the new school?
• My child already has their first career ideas. Does the school offer an education model with career preparation and dual learning? Does the school have a technical focus that fits a job profile?
• Does the school have support offerings so that my child can work on their weaknesses during differentiated instruction or in support courses in the afternoon or be supported in their strengths?
• What kind of partnerships does the school have with partners outside of school or with partner schools abroad? Which projects are supported at the school?
• What is the lunch menu for the students like? Do you have your own cafeteria? * Is a warm meal guaranteed?

The most important differences between the integrated secondary school and Gymnasium are shown in the following table:

If there are more registrations for a school than there are places available, not every child can be accepted. The selection of the students takes place according to clear and fair rules. Children with special educational needs are admitted first.

The remaining places will be allocated according to the following distribution:

• Up to 10 percent of the places are initially allocated for cases of hardship, then for children who have a sibling at this school.
• At least 60 percent of the places are allocated according to admission criteria that each school has established and that are based on the performance and skills of the students. In addition to the average grade of the support outlook created by the primary school, the schools could choose according to their profile a combination of the grade total of certain subjects, special competencies of the student or the result of a test as acceptance criteria.
• 30 percent of the places will be drawn by lot among the registered students, with siblings being given priority.

You can find the admission criteria for each school in the online school directory

Special admission criteria apply to the comprehensive schools. These are determined by the school while taking into account the school programme.

For children who have not been able to get a place at the school they want, there is an admission procedure that should guarantee them a place at their second or third choice school as far as possible.

Only if no admission is possible at any of the desired schools will the school authority name another school of the desired type of school.

On 26 June 2025 the school authority will send you the notification of your child’s admission.

If none of your three preferred schools can accept your child, the school authority will name by 9 July 2025 at the latest another school of the desired type that would accept your child. This school can also be in another district.