Gymnasia and Realgymnasia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Gymnasium in the German education system, is a type of secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

with a strong emphasis on academic learning, comparable with the British former grammar school

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

system or with prep schools in the United States. The student attending a Gymnasium is called "Gymnasiast" (German plural: "Gymnasiasten"). In 2009/10 there were 3094 Gymnasia in Germany, with ca. 2,475,000 students (about 28 percent of all precollegiate students during that period), resulting in an average student number of 800 students per school. Gymnasia are generally public, state-funded schools, but a number of parochial and private Gymnasia also exists. In 2009/10, 11.1 percent of Gymnasium students attended a private Gymnasium. These often charge tuition fees, though many also offer scholarships. Tuition fees are lower than in comparable European countries.

Some Gymnasia are boarding school

Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

s, while others run as day schools; they are now overwhelmingly co-educational, and few single-sex schools remain. Students are admitted at 10 or 13 years of age and are required to have completed four to six years of Grundschule (primary education). In most cases, admission is nominally dependent on a letter of recommendation written by a teacher, although when parents petition, an examination can be used to decide the outcome.

Traditionally, a pupil would attend a Gymnasium for nine years in western Germany, or eight in eastern Germany. Since 2004, there has been a strong political movement to reduce the time spent at the Gymnasium to eight years

Abitur after twelve years

after twelve years, or in eight years describes the reduction from the duration in the from nine to eight school years in many of the States of Germany. In the States Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the reduction took place from seven to six years because, there, primary...

throughout Germany, dispensing with the traditional ninth year or Oberprima, which is roughly equivalent to the first year of higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

. Final year students sit the Abitur

Abitur

Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...

final exam. Most Gymnasia hold an alumni meeting at least once a year.

People unfamiliar with the German system sometimes wrongly assume that only those graduating from a Gymnasium are admitted to university in Germany. Although this is normally the case, it is not always true. There are several other ways to earn the Abitur, and there are 50 ways to enter higher education in Germany. In 2008 in some states, less than half of university freshmen had graduated from a Gymnasium. Even in Bavaria (a state that has a policy of strengthening the Gymnasium) only 56 percent of freshmen had graduated from a Gymnasium. However, in many cases, it is easier to be accepted by an institution of higher education if one has graduated from a Gymnasium. For example, many universities require students who want to study certain subjects, such as medicine, to hold the Latinum, a certificate of Latin comprehension. Gymnasium students can be awarded the Latinum by their school. Students attending other schools often don't have that chance; however, they can take a Latin exam, which if passed, allows the student to be awarded a Latinum. This requires extra initiative, however, because many non-Gymnasium schools do not offer Latin.

The Gymnasium is backed by a strong lobby in western Germany, and conservative politicians, particularly in the southern Laender, claim that the Gymnasium is the best school form in the world. Indeed, it is by far the number one in the PISA league table. However some hold the opinion that "that this success comes at the cost of a catastrophe in the Hauptschule

Hauptschule

A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...

History

The Gymnasium arose out of the humanistic movement of the sixteenth century. The first general school system to incorporate the Gymnasium emerged in Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

in 1528, with the study of Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

and Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

added to the curriculum later; these languages became the foundation of teaching and study in the Gymnasium, which then offered a nine-year course. Hebrew was also taught in some Gymnasia.

Other methods

In Prussia, the Realgymnasium offered instead a nine-year course including Latin, but not Greek. Prussian Progymnasien and Realprogymnasien provided six- or seven-year courses, and the Oberschulen later offered nine-year courses with neither Greek nor Latin.

Gymnasia for girls

The early twentieth century saw an increase in the number of Lyzeum

Lyceum

The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...

schools for girls, which offered a six-year course. The rising prominence of girls' Gymnasia was mainly due to the ascendancy of the German feminist movement

Feminist movement

The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...

in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, corresponding to the rising demand for women's university education.

Co-educational Gymnasia have become widespread since the 1970s, and today, single-sex Gymnasia are rare in Germany.

Historical names given to yeargroups in the German Gymnasium

When primary school ended with the fourth grade and pupils left German basic secondary schools (Volksschule/Hauptschule or Realschule) at the end of the ninth or tenth grade, the Gymnasium used special terms for its grade levels:

School year	Year in Gymnasium
Fifth	Sexta
Sixth	Quinta
Seventh	Quarta
Eighth	Untertertia (lower Tertia)
Ninth	Obertertia (upper Tertia)
Tenth	Untersekunda (lower Secunda)
Eleventh	Obersekunda (upper Secunda)
Twelfth	Unterprima (lower Prima)
Thirteenth	Oberprima (upper Prima)

Modern languages

The introduction of French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

as elective languages in the early twentieth century brought about the greatest change to German secondary education since the introduction of the Realschule

Realschule

The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...

n in the eighteenth century. Today, German Gymnasia teach English

English language

or Latin

Latin

as a compulsory primary foreign language, while the compulsory second foreign language may be English

English language

, French

French language

, Latin

Latin

, Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

or Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

. The German State of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, where secondary education normally begins in the seventh year of schooling, has some specialised Gymnasia beginning with the fifth year which teach Latin or French as a primary foreign language.

Languages of instruction

Although some specialist Gymnasia have English or French as the language of instruction, most lessons in a typical Gymnasium (apart from foreign language courses) are conducted in High (Standard) German

High German languages

The High German languages or the High German dialects are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and Yiddish, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighboring portions of Belgium and the...

. This is true even in regions where High German is not the prevailing dialect.

Subjects taught

Curricula differ from school to school, but generally include German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, informatics

Informatics (academic field)

Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information...

, physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

, art

ARts

aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

(as well as crafts and design), music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, civics

Civics

Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....

/ citizenship, social sciences, and several foreign languages.

For younger students nearly the entire curriculum of a Gymnasium is compulsory; in upper years more elective subjects are available, but the choice is not as wide as in a U.S. high school. Generally academic standards are high as the Gymnasium typically caters for the upper 25-35% of the ability range.

Schools concentrate not only on academic subjects, but on producing well-rounded individuals, so physical education and religion or ethics are compulsory, even in non-denominational schools which are prevalent. The German constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, so although religion or ethics classes are compulsory, students may choose to study a specific religion or none at all.

A school for the gifted?

A common misconception has portrayed Gymnasia as schools for the gifted. While certain specialist schools, like the Federal School of Saxony - Saint Afra

Federal School of Saxony - Saint Afra

. The Federal School of Saxony - Saint Afra is a boarding school for highly gifted students in the German city of Meissen, Saxony. Founded in 1543 as Fürstliche Landesschule and re-established in 2001, the stated aim of the school is to promote the intellectual and social development of highly...

, do accept only gifted students, most have no specific provision for the gifted and see their mission as broader. Though Gymnasia traditionally impose strict grading that causes students of average academic ability to struggle, many schools share the motto of the Skigymnasium CJD Christophorusschule: "Nobody shall be lost" ("Keiner darf verloren gehen"). An attitude prevails that gifted students can flourish in any school, and that the Gymnasia best serve the average student, whose performance they improve. Many Gymnasia offer remedial programmes to help lower-performing students catch up with their classmates.

Humanistisches Gymnasium (humanities-oriented)

Humanities-oriented Gymnasia usually have a long tradition. They teach Latin and Ancient Greek (sometimes also Old Hebrew) and additionally teach English and/or French. The focus is on the classical antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

and the civilizations of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

and ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

.

For certain subjects such as History many universities still require the Latinum and/or Graecum, proof of study or comprehension of Latin and/or Ancient Greek.

Neusprachliches Gymnasium (focus on modern languages)

This type of school is less traditional. It teaches at least two modern languages. In most cases the students have the chance to learn Latin as well.

Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium (focus on math and science)

Often combined with the Neusprachliches Gymnasium this type of schools have a greater focus on Maths and Science. Most schools offer Latin or French as second foreign language.

The Sportgymnasium and the Skigymnasium

The Sportgymnasium is a school of the Gymnasium-type, usually a boarding school, that has its main focus on sport. The Skigymnasium has a focus on skiing.

Musikgymnasium

The Musikgymnasium has its focus on music. (In Bavaria) It requires to learn to play an instrument (mostly the piano or the violin) as one of their major subjects.

Europäisches Gymnasium

The Europäisches Gymnasium has its focus on languages. It exists in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

and Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

. In Bavaria, students are required to learn three different foreign languages. They start learning their first foreign language in 5th grade, the second in 6th grade and the third by grade 10 or 11. In Baden-Württemberg students attending the Europäisches Gymnasium start learning Latin and English while in 5th grade. They pick up their third language by 7th or 8th grade and their fourth foreign language by 10th grade. By 10th grade, students also choose if they want to drop one of the languages they started in 5th grade. Later, they may drop another language. Students are required to take at least two foreign languages and fluency is a requirement for graduation. If they wish, students may also graduate with four foreign languages.

Discontinued Gymnasium

A previous type of school called a Realgymnasium had a focus on mathematics and the natural sciences, but this type of school was abolished by educational reformers in the 1960s.

Gymnasium for mature students

There are a number of Gymnasia for mature students, people who graduated from school, but did not receive an Abitur

Abitur

. Most of these schools have the only the top three or four yeargroups, rather than the traditional 5th to 13th years. Examples are the Abendgymnasium

Abendgymnasium

An Abendgymnasium or "Evening Gymnasium" is a German class of secondary school for adults over the age of 19 which allows them to gain the Abitur. Classes are usually held after 17:30 at night, although some classes may be held in the mornings for parents with school-age children...

, the Aufbaugymnasium

Aufbaugymnasium

The Aufbaugymnasium is a school for mature students in Germany and Austria. It serves students who graduated from a Hauptschule or Realschule and are headed for the Abitur....

and the Wirtschaftsgymnasium

Wirtschaftsgymnasium

A Wirtschaftsgymnasium is a kind of school in Germany. Unlike the German Gymnasium, which spans grades 5 to 13, the Wirtschaftsgymnasium has only the top three grades and specializes in teaching business-related topics beside the normal subjects in the Gymnasium.- Admission :Admission to the...

Culture of Teaching and Testing

German Gymnasia follow different pedagogical philosophies and teaching methods may vary.
In the most traditional schools, students rise when the teacher enters the classroom. The teacher says "Good morning, class" and the class answers "Good morning, Mr./Ms. ...". The teacher then asks them to sit down. Ex cathedra teaching is the norm in German Gymnasia. The teacher stands in front of the class and talks about a subject. The students write down what he says. Students are not to talk during that time, except when called on to answer a question. Students are not allowed to shout out the answers, but must raise their hands and wait until called upon. In the most traditional Gymnasia, students are supposed to rise and stand beside their chairs to answer. Senior students are sometimes allowed to hold debates. This manner of teaching is used in both German lessons and foreign language lessons.

Students are supposed to call their teachers by the appropriate title, followed by the last name, such as "Mr..." or "Dr...". Until 1970, students called their teachers "Professor" ("Klassprofessor"). Teachers might call their young students by their first name or their last name and appropriate title "Mr./Ms. ...". Teachers are sometimes required to call their older students by the last name and appropriate title. A German court ordered that older students atteding a Gymnasium may not be called by their first name unless they give permission. A student called by his first name without permission may sue his teacher.

Corporal punishment was banned in 1973. Teachers who want to punish students put them in detention or assign them boring tasks. Some have them write essays like "Why a student should not interrupt his teachers". Students who behave especially badly may be expelled from school and have to go to another school. Should the same happen again, the pupil may be required to attend a private school and the family to bear the costs. This is very rare though.

While this sounds like discipline is strict in German Gymnasia, in many cases, the official rules are watered down and ignored, except when school officials are watching. For example, while teachers and upper class students are not allowed to call one another by their first names, in many cases they do. Relationships can be very informal and notoriously some teachers have even become drunk with their students after school. A 'Klassenabend' or 'Kurstreffen' are features of German schools, whereby teachers meet their form in the evening for a social occasion.

There are written, as well as oral, exams. Written exams are essay-based and called Klausur and typically take one and a half hours. Many German students never take a multiple choice test.

Gymnasium and academic grading

A "Gymnasium in the south"

To many traditionally-minded Germans, a "Gymnasium in the south", is the epitome of a good education, while to other Germans, it is the epitome of outmoded traditions and elitism.

A study revealed that Gymnasia in the south did have higher standards than those in other parts of Germany. On a standardised mathematics test provided by scientists, the study showed that students attending a southern Gymnasium outperformed those attending one elsewhere in Germany.

A 2007 study revealed that those attending a Gymnasium in the north had similar IQs to those attending one in the south. Yet those attending a Gymnasium in the north under-performed on standardised tests. The students who did worst came from Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

and the students who did best came from Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

. According to the study, the final year students in Hamburg

Hamburg

lagged two years behind those attending a Gymnasium in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

. Because students had the same IQ, the difference in knowledge can only be explained by a difference in the teaching methods. On the other hand, Gymnasia in the south have the reputation of valuing knowledge over creativity, while those in the north have the reputation of valuing creativity over knowledge. Comparing students on a creativity test could produce different results.

Athletics

Students from all grades are required to take compulsory physical education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

classes. Most Gymnasia have sports teams. Sports often include soccer, badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

, table tennis

Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

and hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

.

Most Gymnasia offer students the opportunity to participate in sport-related outings. In the summer months, they have the opportunity to enjoy rowing trips or sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

and in winter months, they may go skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

. Students are not required to participate, but teachers see the trips as a good for building character and leadership skills and encourage students to participate. As a rule, most of these trips come with fees. A school "Förderverein" (booster club

Booster club

A booster club is an organization that is formed to support an associated club, sports team, or organization. Booster clubs are popular in American schools at the high school and university level...

) pays for those wishing to attend, but unable to afford the fee.

Social clubs

Most Gymnasia offer social and academic clubs, such as chess, photography, improv

Improvisational theatre

Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...

, debating, yearbook, environmentalism, and choir.
Some Gymnasia require students to participate in at least one club (of the student's choosing), but in most cases, participation is voluntary.

A year abroad

It has become increasingly common for Gymnasium students to spend some time attending school in another country. Common destinations are English speaking countries such as the US, Canada and Ireland. While this is not required, it is encouraged.

Dress code

Generally, Gymnasia have no school uniforms or official dress codes. However, students may be expected to dress modestly and tastefully. Some Gymnasia offer branded shirts, but students are allowed to choose whether or not to wear them. For specific school events (like the Abitur ball) students may be expected to wear formal dress, usually consisting of dresses for women and blazer and tie for men, but even this is no longer the case for every Gymnasium.

In the past, Gymnasiasten wore a traditional cap, marking them as a Gymnasium student. The colour of the cap differed by Gymnasium and grade. In case of the Ludwig Meyn

Ludwig Meyn

Ludwig Meyn , was a German agricultural scientist, soil scientist, geologist, journalist and mineralogist...

Gymnasium in Uetersen

Uetersen

Uetersen ) is a city in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small river Pinnau, close to the Elbe river...

, for example, in 1920:

Untertertia-students wore green cap with a blue, red and white cord
Obertertia-students wore a green cap, with a black-and-white cord
Untersekunda-students wore a violet cap with a blue, white and red cord
Obersekunda-students wore a violet cap with a black-and-white cord
Unterprima-students wore a red cap with, a blue white and red cord
Oberprima-students wwore a red cap with a black and white cord

After the Machtergreifung

Machtergreifung

Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...

of the Nazis, the Gymnasium cap was banned for political reasons. Literature describing student caps was burned. Students received new clothing from the League of German Girls

League of German Girls

The League of German Girls or League of German Maidens , was the girl's wing of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany....

and the Hitler Youth

Hitler Youth

The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...

. Gymnasium students were forbidden to wear clothing that identified them as members of their school. Now, it is no longer illegal and these caps are again being sold however, few ever wear one.

At some schools, when graduating, students receive an Abitur t-shirt, which is printed with the name of the school, the year of graduation and a slogan.

Mentoring

As the new crop of students arrive at Gymnasium, there is often a period of adjustment. Some Gymnasia have mentors that help the new, younger students get settled in. They show them around the school and introduce them to older students. In the case of boarding schools, they also show them the city. The mentoring does not mean a student is seen as being "at risk". On the contrary, if there is a mentoring programme, all new students are likely to have a mentor.

Some schools have mentors (mostly alumni or parents) who help graduates choose a college and who arrange practical training for them.

In 2008, a mentoring programme called "Arbeiterkind" ("working class child") was founded to assist students from working class families make the transition. A year later, this organization had 1000 mentors and 70 local chapters.

Booster clubs

The Schulverein or Förderverein is an organization formed for financial support of the school. Members may be parents and alumni, or philanthropists. They pay for books for the school library and offer a hand to students from less affluent families, affording them the opportunity to participate in field trips and school outings.

Teacher education

In general, to obtain a teaching degree for Gymnasia, prospective teachers have to study at least two subjects which are part of the curriculum of the Gymnasia. Some decide to study three subjects or more. In addition, the university programmes for teachers always include lectures on educational sciences and didactics. After nine semesters (4,5 years) or more, students have to pass the Erstes Staatsexamen (first state examination), roughly equivalent to a Master's degree, and which marks the end of their academic training. However, having passed this test does not qualify someone at once to become a Gymnasium teacher. This test is followed by the Referendariat (internship), which normally lasts two years. During this time, the student teacher gains practical teaching experience under the supervision of experienced colleagues. This phase is completed by a second state examination, which assesses the trainees' practical teaching ability. Those having successfully completed both the first and second state examinations may then apply for employment at a Gymnasium.

However, the systems of teacher education differ among the Bundesländer

States of Germany

Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...

, include exceptions and are not seldom modified. One trend is the abolishment of the first state examination in favour of Master of Education programmes. The second state examination is not affected by this development.

Admission to a Gymnasium

Admission procedures vary by state and Gymnasium. Most Gymnasia do not have written entrance exams. In some cases, students need a certain grade point average in order to apply to Gymnasium. In most cases, students applying to a Gymnasium nominally need a letter of recommendation written from the primary school teacher. The letter covers the child's academic performance, classroom behaviour, personal attributes, leadership abilities and extracurricular activities.

Based on that letter, the Gymnasium determines the applicant's suitability for the school. Some Gymnasia have informal interviews during which they present their school to the applicant and in turn, learn about him as the school representative works with the applicant and his parents to find out if that Gymnasium is a good fit for the child.

The state of Berlin allows its Gymnasia to pick 70% to 65% of their students, the rest being selected by lottery. Any qualified child can enter the lottery, regardless of previous school performance (see: Education in Berlin

Education in Berlin

Education in Berlin covers the whole spectrum from kindergarten, primary education, secondary education, and higher education in Berlin. The German states are primarily responsible for the educational system in Germany.-Schooling in Berlin before 2010/2011:...

).

Some Gymnasia are inundated with applications and some children have to resort to second or third choices.

Tuition

The vast majority of Gymnasia are public and tuition-free. Article 7, Paragraph 4 of the German constitution forbids segregation of students by income (Sondierungsverbot). As a result, most private Gymnasia have low tuition fees or offer scholarships and are supplemented with public funds.

In 2005, the German government spent €5,400 per student for those attending public Gymnasium. This is less than what was spent on a student attending Hauptschule

Hauptschule

, but more than was spent on those attending Realschule

Realschule

. It should be noted that some Hauptschule

Hauptschule

and Gesamtschule students have special needs requiring extra help, so those schools cannot operate as cost-effectively as Gymnasia.

On cultural and ethnic diversity

While one third of all German youngsters have at least one foreign-born parent and other German schools are becoming more multicultural, Gymnasia have remained more or less socially and ethnically exclusive. However, that is only half the truth. Children belonging to Russian-Jewish, Chinese, Greek, Korean or Vietnamese minorities are more likely to attend a Gymnasium than ethnic Germans. Yet, most minorities are less likely to attend a Gymnasium than ethnic Germans. A study done in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

revealed that 85.9% of students attending a Gymnasium were ethnic Germans. Thus the Gymnasium is the German school with the most homogenous student body. According to Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...

magazine, some minority students were denied a letter of recommendation for entrance to a Gymnasium by their teachers simply because they were immigrants. According to Der Spiegel, teachers think minority students would not feel at home at a school having such a homogenous student body.

Opponents of Gymnasium complain that lessons do not deal enough with issues related to diversity or "white privileges". Most Gymnasium teachers are ethnic Germans, making it hard for minority students to find role models amongst their teachers. However, this is also true of other schools. A study revealed that only 1 percent of German teachers come from immigrant families.
Nowadays, the boards of many German secondary schools feel pressured to diversify their student body. Some have started campaigns designed to encourage students of ethnic minorities to apply for enrollment. Many schools now offer a support system for students from non-German ethnic groups, addressing diversity in their teachings and/or scheduling "Celebrate Diversity Weeks".

"Great Equaliser" or "Breeding Ground of Privilege"?

A study revealed that 50% of the students visiting a Gymnasium come from families of the top levels of German society. Some people have voiced concerns that Gymnasia are designed to accommodate a minority of privileged children and that talented working class children are impeded in gaining access to Gymnasium. There have been calls for the abolition of the Gymnasium and a switch-over to comprehensive school

Comprehensive school

A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...

s. Others want the Gymnasia to target more children from poor backgrounds.

Some believe that Gymnasia are "the great equaliser" and have pointed out that state-funded and parochial Gymnasia have helped many students rise above humble backgrounds. Some also point to the fact that Gymnasia are the only schools where working class students nearly catch up with their middle class peers, while in the case of comprehensive schools, the effects of social class on student academic performance are more pronounced than in any other type of school.

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study revealed that working class children needed to achieve higher reading scores than middle class children in order to get letters of recommendation for entrance into the Gymnasium. After testing their reading abilities, the odds for upper middle class children to be nominated for a Gymnasium were 2.63 times higher than for working-class children.

Points needed to be nominated for Gymnasium
	Teachers nominating child for Gymnasium	Parents wanting child to attend Gymnasium
Children from upper middle class backgrounds	537	498
Children from lower middle class backgrounds	569	559
Children of parents holding pink-collar jobs	582	578
Children of self-employed parents	580	556
Children from upper working class backgrounds	592	583
Children from lower working class backgrounds	614	606

According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, students from ethnic German families were 4.96 times more likely than children from immigrant families to have their teacher write a letter of recommendation. Even when comparing children with the same reading scores, ethnic Germans were still 2.11 times as likely to receive the letter.

PISA study

According to the PISA

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

study, competency was linked to social class. After allowing for cognitive competency, middle class children were still attending Gymnasium at three times the rate of working class children. After allowing for reading competency and cognitive competency, children from the highest social class still attended Gymnasium at four to six times the rate of working class children. According to the study, immigrant children were not discriminated against. The reason so few immigrant children attended Gymnasium was poor reading skills. After allowing for reading competency, children from immigrant families were as likely as children from native German families to attend Gymnasium.

ELEMENT-study

The German scientist Lehmann did a longitudinal study on the performance of pupils in Berlin in standardised tests. Such pupils used to be admitted to a Gymnasium after the fourth grade and after the sixth grade. Pupils in German schools do not undergo standardised testing, but rather write essays. However, Lehmann wanted to know if those test results would predict the likelihood of admission to a Gymnasium after the sixth grade and if admission to a Gymnasium after the fourth grade would boost their performance in standardised tests.

Lehmann's findings were as follows:

Performance in standardised tests was a key indicator of admission to a Gymnasium; after evaluating the performance in those tests, it was clear that social class did not play a major role in determining whether or not a pupil would be admitted to a Gymnasium.
Working class children were not discriminated against; in fact, there seemed to be some evidence that after evaluating performances in standardised tests, Gymnasium admission after the sixth grade seemed to be slightly biased against middle class children and favoured working class children as well as those from the higher social classes.
After evaluating the test scores, it was shown that girls were somewhat more likely to be admitted to the Gymnasium than boys.
Very few pupils who did poorly in standardised tests in the fourth grade were admitted to Gymnasium. However, those who were, were able to improve their performance in those tests in subsequent years.
Even after testing performance in grade four, those who were admitted to Gymnasium outperformed their peers who were not at grade six

Study by the University of Mainz

A study by the University of Mainz revealed that of all children living in the city of Wiesebaden, 81% of children from the upper social classes and only 14% percent of working class children received a letter of recommendation from their teachers. It also showed that only 76% of working class children whose grades placed them at the top of the class, as well as 91% of children from the upper social classes in the same situation received a recommendation.

The big-fish-little-pond effect

According to scientists Joachim Tiedemann and Elfriede Billmann-Mahecha, there was a big-fish-little-pond effect. Children were more likely to have their teacher write a letter of recommendation if the remainder of their primary school class was not too bright. They stated,

A high share of students with above-average academic achievement, cognitive abilities and achievement-oriented parents actually decreases students’ chances of getting into higher educational tracks (Realschule and Gymnasium instead of Hauptschule).

Are children with immigration backgrounds discriminated against?

According to the same study, they are not. The researchers stated,

After controlling for individual students’ competencies, e.g. their cognitive abilities, the common assumption that children with immigration backgrounds are disadvantaged could not be confirmed. Even a high proportion of children in a class who do not speak German as a family language does not induce adverse results in recommendations..

Do Gymnasia help working-class students catch up with their middle class peers?

In 2003, a study revealed that lower class and working class children attending a comprehensive school lagged behind their less disadvantaged peers in terms of mathematical abilities. The same study revealed that working and lower class children attending Gymnasium nearly caught up to their peers attending the same school. However, special care must be taken in interpreting the data, since lower and working class children admitted to Gymnasium may be different from other pupils in their class ab initio.

Does Gymnasium matter after all?

A study done by Helmut Fend revealed that Gymnasium may not matter as much as is generally perceived. According to the study, parents' social class, not schooling, determined children's life trajectories. The study revealed that upper middle class children graduating from Gymnasium (and upper middle class children graduating from comprehensive schools) later graduated from college and followed the footsteps of their parents into higher professional jobs. It also revealed that for every working class child who graduated from college, there were 12 upper middle class children who did.

Gymnasium and IQ

Only a few specialised Gymnasia admit their students on the basis of IQ tests. A 1999 study revealed 10th graders attending a normal Gymnasium and 10th graders attending a Realschule

Realschule

had higher IQs than 10th graders attending a comprehensive. It also revealed that the difference was greater in 10th grade than it had been in 7th grade. The media reacted to the charge that comprehensive schools are "the place where intelligence atrophies". The Max Planck Institute for Human Development stated that nobody was "dumbed down" at the comprehensive school and that those attending a comprehensive in 10th grade did no worse on IQ tests than in 7th grade. The institute also stated that the IQ difference between comprehensives on the one hand and Gymnasia and Realschule

Realschule

n on the other was greater by 10th grade than in 7th grade because the mean IQ of those at Gymnasium and Realschule had risen. The institute did not believe, however, that attending Realschule or Gymnasium boosts students' IQ. Instead, they stated that students with lower IQs who attend Gymnasium or Realschule might find themselves increasingly unable to keep up and thus may drop out by 10th grade.

Gymnasium and performance on standardised tests

As has been mentioned before, Gymnasia and Gesamtschulen in Germany do not administer standardised tests to their students and few students are familiar with those kinds of tests. Yet, scientists sometimes use standardised tests to evaluate schools. 10th graders attending a Gymnasium have been shown to outperform 10th graders attending a comprehensive school by one standard deviation on a standardised mathematics test. That equals 2 to 3 years of schooling. Proponents of comprehensive schools have criticised such studies, stating they believe standardised tests to be biased against those attending comprehensive school. They have said comprehensives taught their students "Independence, capacity for team work, creativity, conflict management and broad mindedness" and that those qualities cannot be measured on standardised tests.

Gymnasium and selflessness

According to a disputed study evaluating students' character, based on a standardised test, those attending a Realschule or Gymnasium were more likely to be respectful and considerate of other peoples' feelings than those attending a comprehensive school. According to this study, Gymnasium students were more likely to be classified as "selfless" than students attending any other kind of school and those attending a comprehensive were more likely to be classified "self-serving" than those attending any other type of school. This study has been widely criticised. It has been claimed that character cannot be measured on standardised tests and that students' answers might not reflect their real behaviour. Charges were raised that questions were worded in academic language thus, students attending a comprehensive may not have understood them properly. It has also been suggested that the answers the students gave may have been influenced by social class, that Gymnasium students may have been brought up to think they were selfless, while really they were not. Proponents of comprehensive schools stated Gymnasium students were phony and elitist while pretending to be selfless.

Gymnasium and performance on the TOEFL

A study revealed that college-bound students attending a traditional Gymnasium did better on the TOEFL

TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL , evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting....

than college-bound students attending a comprehensive, but those did better than college-bound students attending a "Aufbaugymnasium

Aufbaugymnasium

The Aufbaugymnasium is a school for mature students in Germany and Austria. It serves students who graduated from a Hauptschule or Realschule and are headed for the Abitur....

", "Technisches Gymnasium" or "Wirtschaftsgymnasium

Wirtschaftsgymnasium

" (the last three schools serve students, who graduated from another school receiving no Abitur

Abitur

and give them the opportunity to earn the Abitur).

Type of school	Percentage of students earning at least 500 points	Percentage of students earning at least 550 points	Percentage of students earning at least 600 points
Traditional Gymnasium	64.7 %	32.0 %	8.1 %
Comprehensive school	30.5 %	11.3 %	2.2 %
Aufbaugymnasium	18.9%	5.2 %	.9 %
Wirtschaftsgymnasium Wirtschaftsgymnasium A Wirtschaftsgymnasium is a kind of school in Germany. Unlike the German Gymnasium, which spans grades 5 to 13, the Wirtschaftsgymnasium has only the top three grades and specializes in teaching business-related topics beside the normal subjects in the Gymnasium.- Admission :Admission to the...	19.7 %	5.7 %	.4 %
Technical Gymnasium	22.3 %	12.6 %	1.0%

Defending comprehensive schools

Proponents of comprehensive schools often hold the opinion that it is unfair to compare Gymnasia and Realschulen with comprehensive schools. While Gymnasia and Realschulen often handpick their students, comprehensives are open to all.

Proponents of comprehensives also think they lack the most academically promising young people, who have been skimmed off by other schools. They also point out that some comprehensives (such as the "Laborschule Bielefeld

Laborschule Bielefeld

The Laborschule Bielefeld is an alternative school located in the city of Bielefeld, Germany. It has received significant media coverage in Germany because it is one of Germany's few "democratic" schools. The Laborschule has been called one of Germany's best schools by the media...

" and the "Helene Lange School

Helene-Lange-School (Wiesbaden)

The Helene-Lange-School is a comprehensive school in Wiesbaden, Germany. The school received much media coverage for its pedagogic methods. While proponents of comprehensive schools believe it is one of Germany's best schools, opponents believe it is just a run-of-the-mill-school that serves...

") in Wiesbaden ranked among Germany's best schools.

Quotas

Germany's Left Party

The Left (Germany)

The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....

introduced a discussion concerning affirmative action

Affirmative action

Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...

. According to Stefan Zillich, quotas should be "a possibility" to help working class children who do not do well in school gain access to Gymnasium. Gymnasia headmasters have objected, saying this type of policy would be "a disservice" to poor children, that they would not be able to keep up academically. The headmasters have also expressed concerns that children of working class families would not feel welcome at Gymnasia. Wolfgang Harnischfeger, headmaster of a well-known Berlin Gymnasium, has stated,

It can be noticed in children as young as kindergarten students, that children take after their parents. They emulate their language, their way of dressing, their way of spending their free time. Kids from Neukölln
Neukölln
Neukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city...

[a poor neighbourhood] would not feel good about themselves if they had to attend a type of school that mainly serves students from social classes different from their own. They will not be able to integrate. Every field day, every school party will show that".

He also said "this kind of policy would weaken the Gymnasium" and that this would be dangerous because "German society could not afford to do without the excellence the Gymnasium produces". Stefan Zillich answered this, saying that "German society [cannot] afford to have so few adults with a world-class education".

The Berlin Gymnasium lottery

In 2009, the Senate of Berlin

Senate of Berlin

The Senate of Berlin is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to eight Senators appointed by the Governing Mayor, two of whom are appointed ...

decided that Berlin's Gymnasium should no longer be allowed to handpick all of their students. It was ruled that while Gymnasia should be able to pick 70% to 65% of their students, the other places are to be allocated by lottery. Every child will be able to enter the lottery, no matter how he or she performed in primary school. It is hoped that this policy will increase the number of working class students attending Gymnasium. The Left Party

The Left (Germany)

The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....

proposed that Berlin Gymnasia should no longer be allowed to expel students who perform poorly, so that the students who won a Gymnasium place in the lottery have a fair chance of graduating from that school. It is not clear yet whether the Berlin Senate will decide in favour of The Left Party's proposal.

Opinions about Gymnasium

The Education and Science Workers’ Union advocates the abolition of Gymnasium schools in favour of comprehensive schools, arguing that, while Gymnasium schools admit middle class students of average ability, working class students are admitted only if they are unusually academically able. The Union believes that Gymnasium schools select not only for academic merit, but for manners, background and social class.
The Deutscher Lehrerverband (German Teachers' Union) supports Gymnasia; their chairman, Josef Kraus, has claimed that German Gymnasia "ranked among the finest institutions in the world" and should not be abolished. Kraus also rejected claims that the German system was biased against working-class children, arguing that the German system should not be seen as inferior simply because its qualification system is structured differently from that of other countries: "in Finland or the USA nurses are college educated, yet in Germany they do not have to attend a Gymnasium or a college. The Finnish worker's daughter who becomes a nurse is seen as upwardly mobile. The German nurse is just as qualified, but yet she is not seen as upwardly mobile".
The Left Party
The Left (Germany)
The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....

called the Gymnasia "an outdated institution" and wants them to be abolished. According to "The Left Party" working class children are as talented as middle class children, yet not admitted for Gymnasium. The party furthermore holds the opinion that the majority of Germans is opposed to Gymnasia and wants them to be abolished. If Gymnasia will not be abolished "The Left Party" is in favour of affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...

.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

wants to abolish Gymnasia in favour of comprehensive schools, but they have been criticised by the media after it turned out that SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

politicians such as Andrea Ypsilanti
Andrea Ypsilanti
Andrea Ypsilanti is a German politician.-Political career:Ypsilanti is a member of the Hessian Landtag and was chairperson of the Social Democratic Party of Hesse from March 2003 to January 2009.In the Hesse state elections of 2008, held on 27 January 2008, she was the SPD's candidate for the...

send their children to a fancy private Gymnasium.
The Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...

Party is in favour of abolishing Gymnasia. Renate Künast
Renate Künast
Renate Künast is a German politician who is chairwoman of the Alliance '90/The Greens Bundestag parliamentary group. She was the Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture from 2001 to 2005...

has said that every child should have the possibility to realise his or her potential, but that the German class system was keeping them from doing so. "Students from poor backgrounds attend the Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...

, students from middle class backgrounds the Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...

and students who come from a background of privilege the Gymnasium. That's a caste-system"
According to The Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

parents should be able to choose from a variety of schools and Gymnasia should be one of those. Roland Pofalla said wanting to abolish Gymnasia smacks of "egalitarism" and that those who want to do this overlook the fact that children have different talents and thus different needs. According to Anette Schavan a majority of Germans did not want Gymnasia to be abolished.
The Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...

is in favour of the Gymnasium. They said that parents should be able to choose from a number of schools and decide which one was right for their individual child. They also said it should be made easier for students from poor families to attend a private school, the state should pay for that.

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