German school children and their families have plenty of opportunities to go on holiday, with small breaks throughout the year as well as the bigger summer holidays. Here are the dates for 2026.
In Berlin, around 30,000 Year Six pupils are preparing to move on to secondary school. For some, the stress is heightened by a new requirement to sit an entrance assessment for Germany’s academically focused grammar schools.
German regulations around school attendance for children are notoriously strict. Here's what parents need to know about when children can miss school – and when they can't.
Following a long period of disagreements over funding, the federal government and German states finally agreed on plans last week for a new ‘Digital Pact 2.0’, with a number of eye-catching measures designed to cut bureaucracy.
Student performance in German schools is in steep decline as a new generation of students grapples with the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and other shocks. How big is the problem, and what are the plans for improvement?
Students and parents will notice some significant changes at primary and secondary schools this year. From stricter rules on mobile phones to new admission procedures, we look at the major updates in each state.
Do you know your 'Lebenskunde' from your 'NaWi'? Or your 'Stunden' from your 'Fächer'? Read our guide and get up to speed with what your children are learning at school in Germany.
Summer holidays have come to an end for pupils in the states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia while those in other states will be trickling back until mid-September. Here's when kids go back to school in all of Germany's states.
For foreign parents in Germany, choosing the right school for their children, whether a private international school or a state-owned school, is an anxious time fraught with a number of uncertainties, as Tom Pugh explains.
All but two German states rotate their summer holidays to prevent gridlock on the roads and railways and spread demand at holiday destinations. Irritation at Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg’s refusal to join in may finally be coming to a head.
Students in the states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia will start their summer holidays at the end of June while those in other states will have to wait until July or August. Here are the vacation periods in all of Germany's states.
Germany has a new education minister who has announced some ambitious plans to reform schools which have long been hampered by a lack of investment. Will they be enough to satisfy parents?
For English-speaking parents in Germany, successfully raising bilingual children can require a surprising amount of forward planning – and vast reserves of patience, explains father of two Tom Pugh.
Leaflets disseminating far-right extremist ideas were found at a number of schools in Germany's southern states, showing that the 'Identitarian Movement' is actively trying to grow its influence.
The majority of schools in the western German city of Duisburg will stay closed on Monday, police announced, after a local school received 'threatening letters' from suspected right-wing extremists.
A German state minister of education has called for stricter limits on smartphones for children, but what are the current rules around phones in German schools.
The move to all-day care in schools is likely to ease the burden on parents, but unions warn it could also exacerbate Germany's dire teacher shortages.
Flights and hotels are usually cheaper at off-peak times when schools are not on holiday. We look at a reader's question on whether Germany allows children to miss a few days of school to ease family holiday costs or dodge busy periods.
State governments in Germany could soon lose the right to use federal funds to lower Kita fees for parents. Instead, the money will have to be spent on staffing.
Services union Verdi has broken its promised hiatus on strike action in Kitas this week, leaving parents in Berlin scrambling to find alternative childcare.
Germany's classrooms are overcrowded amid a shortage of teachers across the country. A Berlin union has called for a walkout on Wednesday, after officials failed to respond to requests to negotiate on the topic.
