Guidelines governing enrolment (4th Class)
- Mother-tongue students have the opportunity to enter the Orientation Phase after 4th class.
- Non-mother-tongue students who have good German language proficiency can enter the Orientation Phase after 4th class and be assessed as to whether they will be able to meet the advanced requirements in the long term. Non-mother-tongue students take a so-called Vergleichstest der Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen (a centrally-set language test for all official German schools abroad). By achieving A2 level in three out of four sections of the test (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written and oral communication) pupils verify that they have a sufficient knowledge of German to enter the Sek-I stream. In addition, the German grade of students who are taught German as a foreign language should be no lower than a 2 in the end-of-year report in 4th class. After the report conference, parents of non-mother-tongue students will be informed in writing as to whether their child is to be admitted to the Orientation Phase of the Sek-I stream. The Primary School Principal, the class teacher, the German teacher, the subject teachers and the Sek-I Coordinator are all involved in the report conference. If parents are not in agreement with the recommendation of this conference, they can lodge an appeal. In this case the school regulations allow the student to participate in the Sek-I stream for a trial period: after the half-year report in 5th class, a final decision is reached as to whether the requirements of the Orientation Phase can be met by the student. If this is not the case, the child will return to the group being taught exclusively within the Irish system.
- Students who join St. Kilian’s in 5th class or later – from another German School Abroad or from a German Gymnasium – will be integrated into the appropriate teaching groups.
- Suitable students are those with German as a foreign language or as their mother tongue who are able to meet more challenging demands, have the ability to develop higher order thinking and who are willing to work hard and independently.
Guidelines governing ongoing participation in the Orientation Phase
In order to determine which students appear qualified to pursue the curriculum of the Sek-I stream and to pass the centrally set exams in year 10, a two-year Orientation Phase is offered. During this Orientation Phase students are prepared for Sek-I exams according to a differentiated school system (Realschule/Gymnasium). Specific regulations apply during this Orientation Phase.
Guidelines governing student progression in 7th-10th class (Versetzungsordnung)
Overall a student’s grades in his/her end of year school report is the determining factor as to whether he/she can continue to be taught in the Sek-I stream. As a general rule, from class 7 onwards, a student can remain in the Sek-I group if his/her grades are 4 or above in all subjects. However, even if a student receives grade 5 or worse at the end of a school year in one or more subjects, there may be ways to compensate for this grade by better achievements in other subjects. The report conference decides on whether compensation is possible or not. Detailed rules for the progression of students in classes 7-10 are laid down in the Versetzungsordnung.
