Schools in Munich and the Bavarian school system

• Who must start. Children who turn six by 30 September are of compulsory school age and start school in September. For children who turn six between 1 July and 30 September, parents can postpone the start by one year with a written declaration to the school by 10 April.
• Registration day. All Munich primary schools hold registration (Schuleinschreibung) on the same day; for September 2027 it is Wednesday 3 March 2027. Your catchment school tells you the time. Registration is compulsory (Article 119 of the Bavarian Education Act).
• What to bring. The Kita's handover sheet (Informationen für die Grundschule) if your child attends a Kita, and, by the start of school at the latest, the certificate of the school health examination (Gesundheitsuntersuchung zur Einschulung).
• German before school. Children with insufficient German can be deferred and may then be required to attend a Kita with the preschool German course (Vorkurs Deutsch), which provides 240 hours of German support before school entry.

Information sheets on registration are available in English, French, Russian and Turkish.

State primary schools have fixed catchment areas (Schulsprengel). Your child registers at the school for the area where you usually live; children with special educational needs are also registered there first. Use the city's catchment school search to find yours. Because the address decides the school, check the catchment school before you sign a lease if this matters to you.

• All-day classes and cooperative all-day education are requested on the registration day at the school.
• Municipal day homes (Tagesheime) are requested on registration day or through kita finder+.
• Hort places are applied for through kita finder+; see childcare and Kita in Munich.
• Lunchtime care (Mittagsbetreuung) is arranged through the school.

In early May of grade 4, every child receives a transfer certificate (Übertrittszeugnis) with a recommendation based on the average grade in German, mathematics and local and natural science (Heimat- und Sachunterricht):

• average of 2.33 or better: recommendation for the Gymnasium, which leads directly to the Abitur;
• average of 2.66 or better: recommendation for the Realschule, which ends with a central exam after grade 10;
• otherwise the Mittelschule (grades 5 to 9, or to grade 10 with the intermediate qualification).

If the recommendation is not for the type you want, your child can take a trial lesson period (Probeunterricht) at the Realschule or Gymnasium. The choice is not final: the Bavarian Ministry of Education stresses that pupils can change school type later. Talk to your child's teachers, or to Schulberatung International, well before grade 4.

Bavaria runs special classes for newly arrived pupils:

• German classes (Deutschklassen) at primary and middle schools offer intensive German as a second language (10 lessons a week) across all subjects. Children can join or move into a regular class during the school year; attendance usually lasts one year and at most two.
• School-type-independent German classes for children of grade 5 and 6 age (since 2024/25) at middle schools, Realschulen and Gymnasien, with 11 lessons of German as a second language a week; the final school type is not decided in advance.

The city's Schulberatung International (Pädagogisches Institut, Goethestraße 53) gives free advice to parents and pupils on the Bavarian school system, school changes and German courses, by phone, email, video or in person. Phone 089 233-26875, Monday to Friday 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00 (2026). Contact it as soon as you know your move date.

Bavaria sets its own school holidays. In the school year 2026/2027 they are: 2 to 6 November 2026, 24 December 2026 to 8 January 2027, 8 to 12 February 2027, 22 March to 2 April 2027, 18 to 28 May 2027, and summer from 2 August to 13 September 2027. There are no lessons on Buß- und Bettag (18 November 2026). See public holidays in Bavaria.