Schools in Hamburg: starting school, choosing a secondary school and support for newly arrived children

• Age: children whose sixth birthday falls before 1 July start school in August of that year.
• Presentation at four and a half: about 18 months before school, every child is invited with their parents to a compulsory get-to-know talk at the local primary school (Vorstellung der Viereinhalbjährigen). Kitas hold a parent talk beforehand. For children starting school in summer 2028 (born between 2 July 2021 and 1 July 2022), the Kita talks run from 20 August to 16 October 2026 and the school presentations from 4 November 2026 to 15 January 2027.
• Language support: if your child's German is not developed enough for their age, they must attend a pre-school class (Vorschulklasse) or a Kita offering additional language support in the year before school.
• Choosing a primary school: when you register, you name a preferred school and two alternatives. The school information system shows all schools and helps you plan the way to school.

If you move to Hamburg with a child of this age after the presentation dates, contact the local primary school or the school information centre (ZSJ) to arrange the presentation and registration.

• Grades 2 to 4, 6 and 8 to 10: apply directly to the school you want. If it has no place, it forwards your application to the school authority.
• Grades 1 and 5: central registration procedures apply; apply to your preferred school.
• Grade 7: apply to the school, which may forward the application to the school authority.
• Upper secondary (grades 11 to 13): arrange the transfer directly with the school.

Bring proof of your Hamburg address, the latest school report and the form Schulplatzsuche in Hamburg. If you move during the holidays, or need a place shortly before the summer, email the school authority's mailbox schulwechsel@bsfb.hamburg.de with the form, the last report and proof of residence. Applications for transfers for a new school year outside the central procedures are due by 31 May.

Newly arrived children can be admitted at any time of the school year.

• Under 16: the school information centre places your child in a school. Book a consultation in advance and bring a valid ID or passport (or birth certificate) and your Hamburg registration confirmation; your child's previous schooling is taken into account.
• Basisklassen (BK): for children who cannot yet read and write the Latin alphabet; after at most twelve months they move to an international preparatory class.
• Internationale Vorbereitungsklassen (IVK): for children who can read the Latin alphabet; they get intensive German lessons and then move into a regular class.
• Ages 16 and 17: young people are usually placed in the two-year vocational preparation course for migrants (AvM Dual) through the vocational schools' information centre (IZ-HIBB). Book an appointment in good time.

If needed, the school can arrange an interpreter for parent-teacher meetings at its own cost.

The Zentrum für Schul- und Jugendinformation (ZSJ), Hamburger Straße 125a, 22083 Hamburg, is the school authority's central advice centre. It handles school placements of newly arrived children, advises parents and recognises foreign school certificates. Advice is by appointment only; call 040 428 99 22 11 during the phone hours (Tuesday 14:00-16:00, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00-12:00) or email schulinformation@bsfb.hamburg.de.

At the end of January of grade 4, you receive the registration form with your child's half-year report. You then register your child at your preferred Stadtteilschule or Gymnasium during the registration week, which for the school year 2027/28 is 1 to 5 February 2027. On the form you give three school wishes. If your first-choice school has enough places, it admits your child; only if none of your three wishes can be met is your child assigned to a school of the same type within a reasonable distance.

Schools hold open days and information evenings in the months before; check their websites. Some schools give appointments for the registration talk.

• Autumn: 19 to 30 October 2026
• Christmas: 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027
• Half-year break: 29 January 2027
• Spring: 1 to 12 March 2027
• Ascension/Whitsun: 7 to 14 May 2027
• Summer: 1 July to 11 August 2027

The full holiday plan up to 2029/30 is published by the school authority.