How to complete high school education in Germany in the age of 19?

Question

Hello!

My sister started her education in Sweden from grade 5 and continued to the 11th grade and had to move to Germany for some reasons ( she has her certificates). Now she is 19 years old and don’t know how or where she could complete her high school education, 12th grade. We would be really glad if you could advise us about it.

Answer 1

Hi @a_2023

She should first have her school certificates from Sweden recognised. There are offices for this in each federal state of Germany. If you let me know which state she lives in, I can find out which office is responsible.

As she is 19, she is no longer able to attend regular German schools. There are, however, many options for adults to complete their secondary education in Germany. If she completed the 11^th grade, then presumably she would be assessed as having reached the level equivalent to a German ‘Realschulabschluss’. This is given after ten years of school education in Germany. With this she can then apply to do an adult education course to complete her education to the level of ‘Abitur’, which is the highest German school leaving certificate and is used for admittance to university.

Throughout Germany, there are adult education schools which offer the chance to do the Abitur. These are commonly called ‘Abendschule / Abendgymnasium / Berufschule / Kolleg’. Some offer the course only in the evening, some are only for people who are working. Again, if I know the part of Germany she is in I can **** for the suitable local one for her.

In addition to having her education from Sweden recognised, she will also have to speak German to a certain level in order to take the course. The most common way to do this is via an integration course. Here is more about it:

https://***.bamf.de/EN/Themen/Integration/ZugewanderteTeilnehmende/Integrationskurse/integrationskurse-node.html

 Best,

Éanna

Comments

Hello! Éanna

She lives in Schleswig-Holstein and the nearest city is Kiel.

---

Hi @a_2023 

Then to have her school certificates recognised, she needs to make a written application to the Ministry of Education in Kiel. She can send the application by post or give it in person. Here you can find information about the process and the application form: 

https://schleswig--holstein-de.translate.goog/DE/fachinhalte/F/fluechtlinge/schulabschluesse.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp 

I had a quick **** at the adult education offers in Kiel. I think the schools on this list are probably the best suited for a young person who has the middle school qualification and wishes to get the higher one (Abitur): 

https://kiel-de.translate.goog/de/bildung_wissenschaft/schulen/berufsbildende/berufliche_gymnasien_kiel.php?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp 

She will, however, first have to achieve a certain level of German. It would be a good idea for your sister to make contact with the youth migration service in Kiel (in German it's called Jugendmigrationsdienst or JMD). They can provide help in English for free with exactly such questions. They have experience in young people coming to Germany form abroad and needing help finishing their education or knowing what options and supports are available to them. Here is their information: 

https://migration--kiel-de.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp 

Please note the links are in English via online translation and not everything may have been translated 100% accurately.

---

Thank you for your answer Éanna.

But, unfortunately the links about the school lists in Kiel is not opening.

---

You're welcome, now they should work.