The ''Kollegstufe'', ''Oberstufe'' or ''Sekundarstufe II'' is the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
equivalent of the
sixth form
In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
of
secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
in the upper stage (grades 12–13, or 11–12) of German
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
s. Class groupings are dissolved and instead students choose an individual combination of courses.
The idea behind this concept is not to prepare students for
university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, where they have to create their own timetable, as is sometimes claimed based on the mere analogy. The idea is to allow students to diversify and pick subjects of their personal preference. The Kollegstufe does not yet allow students to specialize on one or very few subjects like the university does, so a complex set of rules for the Kollegstufe ensures that important subjects (e.g. mathematics, languages) cannot be dropped, a sufficient coverage for different fields of education is achieved and the number of lessons per week covers the required minimum. If you finish the Kollegstufe successfully, which means you comply with all the regulations and pass the final exams, you get the "Abiturzeugnis", formally called "Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife", which entitles one to attend a German university.
The regulations for the Kollegstufe and also for the
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
are different in the different
"Länder" (federal states) of Germany. As educational matters are decided by the governments of the federal states, these differences can be quite big.
See also
*
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
*
Education in Germany
Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government only playing a minor role.
While kindergarten (nursery school) is optional, formal education is compulsory for a ...
*
Gymnasium (school)
''Gymnasium'' (and Gymnasium (school)#By country, variations of the word) is a term in various European languages for a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university. It is comparable to the US English term ''U ...
References
Education in Germany
{{Germany-school-stub
de:Kollegstufe