Elementary school ends in Lower Saxony after the 4th grade. From year 5, your child goes to a secondary school. This can be a Hauptschule, a Realschule, a Oberschule, a Gesamtschule (integrated comprehensive school/cooperative comprehensive school), a Förderschule or a Gymnasium. Not all types of secondary school are offered in every region or town. You decide which one to enrol your child in.

To support you in this decision, the elementary school offers you as a parent or guardian at least two counseling sessions in the 4th grade regarding the transition to the 5th grade. The teacher will inform you about your child's individual learning development and, if desired, advise you on the choice of secondary school types and possible courses of education. Your child should be included in the consultation in an appropriate form. The basis for these discussions is the performance level, learning development during primary school, work and social behavior and the findings from discussions with you. If you wish, a school career recommendation can be made by the teacher at the second consultation. The teacher will write down the main results of the discussions in order to ensure that they are binding and transparent. You will receive a copy of this document from the teacher.

At the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th school year, there will be an information event for you. At this event, you will be informed about the educational mission, the performance requirements and working methods of the secondary schools and the options for changing school type later on.

Once you have made your decision, register your child at a secondary school.

Until the 2019/2020 school year, pupils with a need for special educational support were subject to a new assessment of their need for special educational support when changing school type. This has been discontinued since the 2020/21 school year.