Registration for admission to a grammar school (transition 4 to 5) 
You would like to register your child for the 5th grade at a school in Bremen?
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Basic information
You have the choice between high school and grammar school. Choosing the type of school is a responsible decision in which you will be supported by the school. For this reason, your elementary school offers you parent-teacher conferences at the half-year change of the 4th grade. Take advantage of this opportunity to have your child's prerequisites for learning in lower secondary school explained to you by the teachers and to discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages of the individual types of school for your child's further school career. At the same time, you as parents have the opportunity to describe how you yourself assess your child. You also know your child from other life situations and naturally associate the choice for your child with wishes and hopes for the further school career.
It is up to you to decide which type of school is suitable for your child. However, you must have participated in the counseling interview offered. Your participation in the counseling session is mandatory. If you do not participate in the counseling session, the elementary school will assign your child to a school type.
Requirements
The child must be in the 4th grade.
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Procedure
Be sure to indicate 3 different preferred schools. The first, second and third choices represent a ranking order. If you have only chosen one school and your child cannot be admitted to this preferred school, it will not take part in the further admission procedure for the second and third choice.
The admissions procedure for Year 5 is managed centrally by the Senator for Children and Education using a technology-based system. This means that all data is anonymized and forwarded to your preferred lower secondary school (Oberschule or Gymnasium) for the admissions procedure. This procedure ensures that each child can only register once per choice.
At the end of February/beginning of March, three separate admissions procedures are carried out at the lower secondary level schools, one after the other, in the order of first to third choice.
If there are enough places available, all children will be admitted, regardless of the performance criteria or the allocation of elementary school.
If demand exceeds the school's admission capacity, the so-called admission procedure is carried out. A distinction is made between the Gymnasium and the Oberschule.
The admission procedure for the secondary school
Initially, up to 10% of the available places may be allocated to hardship cases.
Subsequently, up to a third of the total number of places available will be allocated to pupils from the assigned elementary school whose learning development report for the school semester of year 4 shows performance above the regular standard in the subjects German and mathematics. An overview of the elementary school assigned to the secondary schools can be found at the end of this brochure.
The children from the assigned elementary school are then taken into account without the performance criterion being relevant. A list of the elementary school assigned to the secondary schools can be found at the end of this brochure.
If there are still places available, children from other elementary school can also be accepted.
If the number of applications within a group exceeds the number of places available for this group, the decision is made by drawing lots within the respective group.
The admission procedure for the grammar school
Initially, up to 10% of the available places may be allocated to hardship cases.
Subsequently, pupils whose learning development report for the school semester of year 4 shows performance above the regular standard in the subjects German and mathematics will be admitted.
If there are still places available, the remaining children can also be admitted.
If the number of applications within a group exceeds the number of places available for this group, a lottery will be held within this group.
Once the admission procedure has been completed, you will receive a decision.
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Necessary Documents
- No documents are required for all children of the schools in the city of Bremen. For all other children (incl. Bremerhaven) the following documents are required:
- Proof of move to Bremen at the beginning of the school year
- Competence descriptions for the subjects German and mathematics
- Log sheet
- No documents are required for all children of the schools in the city of Bremen. For all other children (incl. Bremerhaven) the following documents are required:
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Competent Department
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Fees / Costs
gebührenfrei
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Deadlines & processing time
What deadlines must be paid attention to?
Each year, a deadline is published online by which the application must be submitted.
How long does it take to process
Not specified
This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.
The official information in German is complete and correct. 17.10.2025