Germany is a federal state and the resonsibility for education lies with the states. Therefore it is difficult to speak about one german school education system. The following is a very generalised summary of our school education system.
Children start the primary school at the age of 6. The primary school lasts 4 years. The school education system is then divided into 3 different sorts of schools which offer different levels of school certificates. There is also in some states a comprehensive school system which combines all three different levels of school certificates. Every learner has to go to school for at least 10 years. And after that when they are still under 18, they have to visit secondary schools, vocational colleges or second chance schools. That is to say that learners stay within the education system till they are 18.
At present there is a discussion in Germany about the school education system and the three grade school system is criticised as unfair.

In Germany and special in Aachen we have a system of mentoring for various target groups. There are also a lot of projects which are working with mentoring subjects.

You can find a special link about that on the city website of Aachen:

Second Chance School
Aachen´s adult education centre

Germany the responsibility for schools lies with the ministries of education of the 16 German states. The school leaving qualification courses of Aachen´s adult education centre (Second Chance School at the VHS Aachen) depend on:

1. The ministry of education of North Rhine Westfalia, which finances the courses and supervises their running and content according to legal requirements.
2. The town concil of Aachen, which finances the personnel and the premises. These public funds are subject of political negotiations.
3. Other funds of divers organizations, which finance the courses partially and therefore have a determining influence on their content and running.

The director of the Second Chance School at the VHS Aachen finally supervises the correct running of the courses in every respect. Our school leaving qualification courses support concept is based on the following personnel:

1. Teachers who do not only teach their subjects, but also train practical skills in order to prepare their students´ entry to the job market both once a week („Berufsorientierung“ - class) as well as in two weeks set aside each term („Praxisphase“). A teacher supports 30 students via verbal communication and diverse activities.
2. Social coaches Students can ask social workers for support at any time, set aside the time they need for other tasks. A social worker cares for 60 students via verbal communication and divers activities.
3. „Job Coach“ „Job Coaches“ help the students in any respect concerning their entry to the job market at restricted times. 20 Students are assigned to one „Jobcoach“.