School enrollment boom in Barnim: Over 5,000 new students by 2029!

School enrollment boom in Barnim: Over 5,000 new students by 2029!

The first school buses will be rolling again in Barnim from September 2025, bringing thousands of excited children to primary schools. Registrations had to be completed by the end of February 2025 to ensure that everything was organized in time for the start of school. Moz.de reports that a total of 2,007 children have already been examined this year, including 1,850 of regular age, 131 children who were deferred from last year and 26 children who can start school early. The results of these school entrance examinations are only recommendations that are ultimately decided by the school management, but they represent an important step in the school organization.

Another notable phenomenon is the increasing accruals, which increased from 10.1% in the 2020/2021 school year to 12.2% in 2024. This may give pause to parents who are concerned about whether their child is ready for school. At the same time, applications for early school enrollment are often rejected because they are rarely approved. Despite these challenges, the number of students in the district is growing rapidly - a trend that is expected to continue until 2029, as forecasts show.

Entrance examinations and language proficiency assessment

But it's not just the numbers that make headlines. School preparation is also important. As part of the initial examinations, children in Brandenburg must take part in the language proficiency assessment. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports emphasizes that this is an important measure to identify language problems at an early stage and to improve school entry conditions. Parents will receive a confirmation of participation, which must be presented when registering.

A particularly sensitive area is the participation of children with a migrant background. These children are specifically assessed as part of the language proficiency assessment in order to assess their German language skills. An initiative, which deals with compensatory language development, describes different approaches for different language levels. Children who only speak a little German must be individually accompanied by specialists, while children with a larger vocabulary can take part in the test procedure as normal.

Investments in school structures

In order to do justice to the growing number of students, the Barnim district is investing an impressive 450 million euros in the school and daycare structure by 2027. The boom in Barnim is obvious: especially in Berlin's suburbs, more and more families are moving to the region, which has literally doubled the population of Bernau in the last 20 years. Despite all this, the district is also faced with a sharp decline in the number of births. This is a circumstance that is becoming more and more important and must be taken into account when planning future school structures.

In summary, it can be said that the school enrollment wave in Barnim holds many surprises, both positive and challenging. Discussions with parents about choosing the right school and preparing children for school will certainly become more important in the coming months. However, the real adventure begins not only for the children, but also for the parents, who should always keep an eye on how the school landscape is developing.