Comparison of the German and the Scottish School Systems

During our excursion to Scotland some people had the possibility to visit a real Scottish school, to see real Scottish teachers and pupils and of course learn something about the Scottish school system.

In the following text there is some information Mr Nolan, the Principle Teacher of  St Columba´s High School, gave us when he was showing us around the campus:

 

What both systems have in common:

As in Germany most of the Scottish schools are fully integrated in the state and teachers are paid by it. Nearly 90% of them are free.In addition, Mr Nolan told us, many of Scotland`s schools are Catholic and work in a partnership with the church. The schools promote respect for people of all backgrounds, cultures, religious and ethnic origins, which means that non-Catholic pupils as well are integrated into the system.

 

What are the main differences?

a)      When are children put to school?

b)      Secondary school in Scotland and in Germany

c)      School uniform

d)      Learning foreign languages

e)      Personal Comment and Special Thanks

a)  Children in Scotland enter primary school at the age of 5 and leave at 11.  They attend 7 classes and sometimes are given the chance to either learn German or French in addition to their basic subjects. In Germany  children start their school career at the age of 6 by entering the Grundschule. During classes 1 and 2 they are taught by only one teacher, their form teacher. When advancing to classes 3 and 4 they have some subject teachers for several subjects. After 4 years pupils leave the Grundschule at the age of 10.

In both systems teaching methods are playful and build a basis for continuing education, social behaviour and thinking for themselves.

b) Up to the 60s schools in Scotland were tridivided as in Germany. Now there is a full comprehensive system. Thus every child is given the same chance in educational development. In Germany`s tridivided secondary school system pupils attend either the Hauptschule, Realschule or Gymnasium according to recommendations from their former schools. In contrast the Scottish system offers so-called Standard Grade courses which have been developed for pupils of all levels of ability. Each pupil will work at a level appropriate to his / her personal ability. Work is undertaken at one of  three levels: Foundation, General and Credit.

In the Scottish system pupils enter secondary school at the age of 12. The school day starts at 9 am and ends at 4 pm. Students meet for registration with their form teacher during the first 15 minutes of each school day. Each period lasts 50 minutes whereas in Germany it takes only 45 minutes. German students enter secondary school at the age of 10. Their school day starts at 8 am and usually ends at 1 pm, in higher classes at 3 pm. In both countries students are taught almost the same subjects.

At higher levels both systems offer a greater degree of specialisation and and fewer courses are taken. Students are asked to choose subjects  which fit in with their career aspirations, their individual abilities and their personal interests.

After 11 years of school Scottish students can now decide to leave school with the General Certificate of Standard Education (GCSE) and begin an apprenticeship. This is comparable to the German “Mittlere Reife“ where students leave school after 10 years of education.

Those who want to get an admission to university take their General Certification of Advanced Education (GCE A-Level) which takes two more years.

The so-called “Advanced Highers“ take 5 examinations at the end of  their school time and in 3 of them they can take their A-levels which give them the possibility to enter university. Different from Germany A-levels allow only a subject-related access to university. In Germany this last period of school education is called “Oberstufe“. Students take their “Abitur“ after 13 years of education in 2 or 3 so-called “Leistungskursen“ depending on the Bundesland. Leistungskurse will be chosen  according to personal interest and ability. The Abitur qualifies students to go to university.

c)  In Scotland all pupils dress appropriately for school by wearing school dress which is shirt or blouse and school tie, a “respectable“ pair of trousers or skirt and a school sweatshirt or cardigan. This aims to set and maintain high standards of tidiness and behaviour.

When pupils are similarly dressed differences in family circumstances pass unnoticed. It creates a community and reduces competition. It also promotes self-respect and reflects a business-like approach to school.

d)  In Scotland French is the foreign language number one, German-by choice- only the second. When attending primary school pupils sometimes are taught either French or German. When they come to secondary school they again have to choose between these 2 languages. About 50% of the students take German as their 2nd foreign language because it has a “great reputation“, Mr Nolan-a German teacher- said.

He feels sorry that in the future German will only be taught after the first 4 years of high school so that students no longer have the choice but have to begin with French. Only those taking their  GCE A-levels will have the possibility to learn German.

According to Mr Nolan a far more crucial problem is that students in general refuse to learn a foreign language as they know English is a world language.

Motivation is low as books and materials are not interesting enough for the students to read on their own.

f) First of all I want to thank Mr Nolan for answering all of our questions, showing us around the campus and spending so much time in explaining the Scottish school system to us. And I also want to thank the students who were so kind to give us an impression about what it means to them to learn German.

What I also wanted to say is that the visit to St Columbia`s High School was very interesting for me. I learned more than I had expected... and to be honest...I really appreciate the Scottish school system as it seems to me much better structurised and reasoned than the German. Students learn to take their education seriously as their attention seems to be drawn much earlier to professional life than in Germany.

Nevertheless, both systems have their advantages and disadvantages.

Susanne Arens

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