Education for 5 year old moving from UK to Germany

burdettp

New member

Member since 10 July 2018

burdettp

10 July 2018 11:26:39

burdettp

10 July 2018 11:26:39

Hi,
I have been offered a job in Stuttgart and would move out to live there with my partner and two children who are 5 and 1.

One of our worries is about schooling for our 5 year old. She has already started school in the UK and is reading and wriitng and progressing really well. We know that children don't start school in Germany until they are 6, but what we're concerned about is that if she went to pre-school until September 2019 (which we believe has an emphasis on play and not formal education as such) she wouldn't feel stimulated and her education may suffer as a result. Are we correct about the pre-school education at the age of 5 ? And also are of aware of anyone from the UK that has been through a relocation with similar issues ? We'd be very interested to hear how they found the education transition for their 5 year old.

Thanks for your help,
Paul

TominStuttgart

Germany Expert

Member since 19 March 2012

Stuttgart

TominStuttgart

10 July 2018 13:03:58

2619

TominStuttgart

10 July 2018 13:03:58

2619

Stuttgart

I can't give a good answer to your specific question but would bring up another matter – language. Does she speak German? Because if not, I would think the focus on the first year would be to learn the language. This might be easier in the context of a more playful environment rather than an academic demanding one. Thus the situation actually sounds ideal. I think a kid could get stressed out trying to learn new subjects in a language they hardly understand. But if immersed, most kids at this age are usually pretty comfortable if not fluent after just a year. And nothing says things like reading skills cannot be learned or practiced parallel at home.