Berlin school place allocation: 31,000 children and a fight for places!

Berlin school place allocation: 31,000 children and a fight for places!

The school place notices for seventh graders in Berlin were published today, and the numbers show a pretty encouraging picture. Loud rbb24 More than 90% of the children received a place at one of their desired schools. Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünschen (CDU) announced that a total of 31,000 students could be accommodated in 7th grade. Of the 27,309 places available, 10,265 are in high schools, while 17,044 places went to integrated secondary schools (ISS) and community schools.

Interestingly, a quarter of the children who were recommended to go to high school chose an ISS or community school. This shows that parents and students are considering more options than one might think. Access to these high schools is based on the average grade in the funding forecast, and the Numerus Clausus (NC) varies from year to year, depending on the best applications. In Pankow, on the other hand, the lack of school places leads to long commute times for students, which is upsetting many a family.

Strategic school choice in Pankow

The situation in Pankow is particularly tense. School leaders advise parents to be strategic when choosing their preferred schools, as many schools are in high demand. One example is Romy from Prenzlauer Berg, who was not given a place at her dream school and is now expected to commute to Neukölln. Her parents are already considering legal action against the school assignment. In districts with a large number of children, such as Pankow or Lichtenberg, access is particularly jeopardized by poor grades, which makes finding a place in a desired school even more difficult ZDF reported.

The practice of allocating school places is also a hotly debated topic. It's no secret that at least 60% of places are allocated based on performance and many schools use the grades from the last two semesters. But especially in large cities, such as Cologne, schools are often overcrowded, which becomes a real headache for many families.

Criticism of the award criteria

Education experts clearly criticize this performance-based award process. Klaus Hurrelmann from the Hertie School speaks of a catastrophic situation for the promotion of educational talent and describes the immense pressure that lies on both the children and the parents. The primary school association and the comprehensive school association even see a “chain of scandals” that have arisen as a result of the new regulations and grade averages.

What is new is that sixth graders now have to achieve a certain grade point average in order to be allowed to move on to high school. Children who do not pass can complete a one-day “trial lesson”, but only a fraction of children pass this. The result? Hundreds of children find out when they receive school notices that they cannot attend any of their three desired schools due to space problems and are often “moved” to schools that are far away, which leads to inconveniently long distances to school. For many Berliners, a walk to school of around an hour each way is considered “reasonable”.

The education administration will soon present the final figures on student distribution, but the situation remains tense. Schools may need to increase class sizes or add additional 7th graders to cope with the rush. In this context, the associations are calling for new regulations to ensure a smooth transition to lower secondary school without uncertainty and humiliation, so that children do not feel demotivated in this crucial phase of school education.