School System in Austria

Austria has a public school system. Compulsory schooling starts on the first of September following the child´s sixth birthday and lasts nine years. In Vienna, Vienna School Board (Stadtschulrat für Wien) asks the parents of children subject to compulsory schooling by mail to enrol them at a school. The school year begins in September and ends in Juni or early July. If your child has come to Vienna during a school year, please contact your local district school inspector (German) in order that a public school place will be allocated to your child.

Possible school attendances are:

• 1st to 4th grade:
  Primary school (Volksschule)
  Special needs school (Sonderschule) (German)
• 5th to 8th grade:
  Secondary academic school (Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule-AHS)
  New secondary school - pilot project (Neue Mittelschule - Pilotprojekt) (German)
  Lower secondary school (Hauptschule)
  Special needs school (Sonderschule)
• 9th grade:
  Pre-vocational year (Polytechnischer Lehrgang)
• 9th to 12th grade:
  Secondary academic school (Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule-AHS)
• 9th to 13th grade:
  Upper-level secondary technical and vocational colleges (Höhere Technische Lehranstalten-HTL, Berufsbildende höhere Schulen-BHS)
• 9th to 12th grade:
  Medium-level secondary technical and vocational colleges (Berufsbildende mittlere Schulen-BMS)
• 10th to 13th grade:
  Vocational schools for apprentices - Dual System (Berufsschulen und Lehre - Duales System)

For further information:

• Schools in Vienna (German)
• HTL in Vienna (German)
• International schools in Vienna (German)
• Private schools in Vienna (German)