Revolution in Saarland: Community schools will be fit for the future!

Revolution in Saarland: Community schools will be fit for the future!

The Saarland state government has announced a revolutionary reform for community schools that come into force in the school year 2025/2026! After twelve years of existence, the new Community School Ordinance (GEMS-VO) will make schools fit for the future. Minister of Education Christine Streichert-Clivot emphasizes that these adjustments are better reflected in the realities of life of the students and at the same time strengthen the pedagogical possibilities of the teachers. A real turning point for the educational landscape in Saarland!

The reform brings numerous exciting innovations! From the fifth grade, students receive targeted insights into different professional worlds, supported by internships and projects from class 8. “Seys are not seated” is expanded up to and including class 9, which means that pupils receive individual support in order to process deficits in the next grade. The headmaster are enthusiastic about the strengthening of the performance principle and the quality, which the community schools will further upgrade as an equivalent alternative to high school.

key points of the reform

Another exciting aspect is the promotion of digital education! Computer science becomes compulsory from class 7, and over 100 specially trained teachers are ready to prepare the students for the digital transformation. In addition, democracy education is being expanded: more hours in social sciences are intended to strengthen the adolescent democracy skills. The headmaster emphasize the importance of these reforms and see them as an opportunity to make the community schools even more attractive.

The reform was developed in a broad participation process, in which representatives from associations, unions and student representatives worked closely. The working group of headmaster sees the new regulation a strong signal for longer learning and educational justice. "The new Gemsvo will help us create a supportive atmosphere in which the valuable work of the teachers comes into its own even better," the spokesman concluded. A truly historical moment for education in Saarland!