Gymnasium (Germany)
Gymnasium, in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being Hauptschule and Realschule. Gymnasium strongly emphasizes academic learning, comparable to the British grammar school system or with prep schools in the United States. A student attending Gymnasium is called a Gymnasiast. In 2009/10 there were 3,094 gymnasia in Germany, with students, 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 exist. 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 schools, while others run as day schools; they are now predominantly co-educational, and few single-sex schools remain.
Students are generally admitted at 10 years of age and are required to have completed four years of Grundschule. In some states of Germany, permission to apply for gymnasium is nominally dependent on a letter of recommendation written by a teacher or a certain GPA, although when parents petition, an examination can be used to decide the outcome.
Traditionally, a pupil attended gymnasium for nine years in western Germany. However, in the early 2000s, there was a strong political movement to reduce the time spent at the gymnasium to eight years throughout Germany; for a short time most pupils throughout Germany attended the gymnasium for 8 years, dispensing with the traditional ninth year or oberprima. In 2014, Lower Saxony became the first federal state to switch back to G9, i.e. reintroducing the 13th year, with a number of states following, most recently Bavaria, and, coming up, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.
Final year students take the Abitur final exams. The results of these exams are combined with grades achieved during the last two years of school in order to obtain the final grade.
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 in 1528, with the study of Greek and Latin 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. The integration of philosophy, English, and chemistry into the curriculum also set the gymnasium apart from other schools.Prussian secondary schools only received the title "Gymnasium" in 1918, which for some time would be the only path to university study. Due to the rise of German nationalism in the 1900s, the Gymnasium's focus on humanism came under attack, causing it to lose prestige. One of the harshest critics was Friedrich Lange, who assaulted the school's "excessive humanism" and "aesthetic idealism." He argued that they are not aligned with the aims of patriotism, duty, and the idea of Germanhood and that the country's history could also provide the education and insights offered by the models of classical antiquity. During the National Socialism era, it became virtually impossible for girls to study at a Gymnasium according to Hitler's idea, as stated in Mein Kampf, the education of girls should be conditioned only by the task of motherhood.
After the Second World War, German education was reformed with the introduction of new system, content, aims, and ethos. The Gymnasium was retained, along with vocational and general schools.
Other methods
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 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 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 at the end of the ninth or tenth grade, the gymnasium used special terms for its grade levels:| School year | Age group | Year in gymnasium |
| Fifth | 10–11 | Sexta |
| Sixth | 11–12 | Quinta |
| Seventh | 12–13 | Quarta |
| Eighth | 13–14 | Untertertia |
| Ninth | 14–15 | Obertertia |
| Tenth | 15–16 | Untersekunda |
| Eleventh | 16–17 | Obersekunda |
| Twelfth | 17–18 | Unterprima |
| Thirteenth | 18–19 | Oberprima |
Modern languages
Today, nearly all German gymnasia, just like nearly all German secondary schools, teach English as a compulsory primary foreign language, with French or Latin sometimes posing an alternative, though English must usually be taken as a compulsory second foreign language in these cases. The German State of Berlin, 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. English has been a compulsory subject in gymnasia since 1957. Usually, children have already been taught some English in primary schools, where classes often begin in Year 3.Many gymnasia offer bilingual classes, in which certain subjects, often history, PE and geography, are taught in English, or sometimes in French, usually after a year or two of normal classes.
A second foreign language is usually compulsory, with gymnasia usually offering 2 or 3 different options. French is the most prevalent choice, followed by Latin, though Spanish has been taking over in recent years. Other options sometimes offered include Russian, which used to be more common, Ancient Greek and Italian. The percentages vary between regions.
It is possible to take an additional third foreign language. In the final years, which are called Oberstufe, it is usually only possible to take two foreign languages, though a number of schools also make it possible to for one of these to be a new foreign language.
The manner in which English is taught has changed since the late 19th century, when it was first offered as an optional subject, usually after Latin, Ancient Greek and French, and on the same level as Hebrew. At first, English was taught in a similar way to Latin, i.e. by translating texts word for word. Over time, this has changed a lot, with lessons usually being conducted entirely or almost entirely in English, for example. Methods are still changing, e.g. a stronger focus on the diversity of the language and the cultures it is intertwined with instead of just an Anglo-American focus.
Languages of instruction
Although some specialist gymnasia have English or French as the language of instruction, most lessons in a typical gymnasium are conducted in Standard High German. 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, mathematics, informatics/computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, art, music, history, philosophy, civics / 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.
Schools for the gifted
Gymnasien are often conceived as schools for the gifted. This, however, depends on many factors; some states such as Bavaria select their students by elementary grades or by entrance examination, and so do certain specialist schools, like the Sächsisches Landesgymnasium Sankt Afra zu Meißen, in other states. In these federal states, it is not up to the parents to decide if a pupil will attend the Gymnasium but decision will mainly be based on the performance in elementary schools. However, even "the gifted" in this sense comprise a fourth or fifth of the population. Other gymnasia in other states have no such strict provisions. Though gymnasia traditionally impose strict grading that causes students of average academic ability to struggle, many schools share the motto: "No child left behind".Common types of gymnasium
Humanistisches Gymnasium (humanities-oriented)
Humanities-oriented gymnasia usually have a long tradition. They teach Latin and Ancient Greek and additionally teach English or French or both. The focus is on the classical antiquity and the civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome.For certain subjects, such as History, many universities still require the Latinum, some also the Graecum, proof of study or comprehension of Latin or Ancient Greek, respectively.