Secondary schools: The journey to school from 7th grade onwards can be long in Berlin

Berlin children who move on to 7th grade after primary school must prepare for significantly longer journeys to school. "In some cases, the journey to school is indeed very long," Norman Heise, chairman of the state parents' committee, told the German Press Agency.

"It's a real problem for children if they have to endure an hour of door-to-door travel—that's the maximum that holds up in court," Heise said. "We consider 45 minutes to be the limit. But the education administration hasn't agreed with that."

Such very long distances, however, are the exception. "But these cases do occur, especially in districts like Pankow, where many schools are over-demanded." According to the Berlin Education Administration, almost one in ten sixth-graders in Berlin has not received a place at one of the three schools they chose during the selection process for the next school year and may have to attend a school further away.

"There are lawyers who recommend filing an objection because the administration will then have to deal with it," Heise said. "Then there's the possibility of being placed on a corresponding list, and if things get adjusted at the school later, the children might then be able to be placed closer to home," the parent representative added.

"Lawyers also say the next step is to file a lawsuit, and the odds are 50/50 – depending on whether any procedural errors can be found." In the other half of the cases, the proceedings simply went smoothly. "There's nothing you can do about it. And such lawsuits can easily cost several thousand euros."

Problems when changing schools will remain

According to Heise's assessment, it can be assumed that many students will not be able to get into their desired school after sixth grade next school year. "Because the trial year at Gymnasiums has been abolished, there will be more places at least at the integrated secondary schools, because no more students will transfer from Gymnasiums to the ISS who have failed the trial year," he said.

"Our recommendation is to start thinking about transferring to 7th grade in the fall and to pay more attention to where informational events are held." "The question is always: How do I know which school is over-demanded?" Heise said. Once you have this information, he believes other schools are more suitable.

The other question is the average grade that realistically qualifies for a place at a sought-after school. "If the average grade at the school is 1.8 and my child has an average of 2.0, that means they'll be in the draw."