The Fachoberschule is a type of German

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

for young people aged 16 to 18 years old. It also provides a pathway into university in some areas of Germany.

History

The concept of the Fachoberschule was introduced in 1969 in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

as a result of student protests in the 1960s, which culminated in the protests of 1968, except for

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. They were opened throughout most of the country at the beginning of the school year 1969/70.

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

started at Easter 1970 and

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

on 9 September 1970.

Grades

The Fachoberschule is usually attended by students of the German school grades 11 and 12. In the German federal states of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, Hamburg, Bavaria (since the 2004/2005 school year), and Berlin (since 2010 in the form of a pilot project at two schools), there is also a further year group, where students can complete their

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 ...

(university entrance qualification).

Curriculum

Different subjects are offered depending on the state. In

this type of school does not exist; instead, various types of school offer vocational education, which lead to similar qualifications as a Fachoberschule.

References

{{Reflist School types Vocational education in Germany