Future mixed classes - Straubing Real Schools will abolish co-education in 2025
The gender-specific separation of Realschools in the lower Bavarian town of Straubing is to be abolished. According to the Culture Ministry in Munich, the boys-designated Jakob-Sandtner Realschool and the girls-designated Ursulinen Realschool may open for the opposite gender. "From the school year 2025/2026, girls and boys can be admitted to both schools, starting with the 5th grade, annually increasing," a spokeswoman for the ministry said.
The girls' school dates back to 1691 when Ursuline nuns opened a girls' school in Straubing. As an addition, a state boys' school was built in the 1950s, which developed into the today's Jakob-Sandtner-Realschool (JSR). The JSR paved the way for the girls' school, which then followed this path. The schools aim to prevent having fewer pupils and pupils in the future due to focusing on only one gender.
Clear Trend
With the opening, the two Realschools are following a trend, as a look at the statistics shows: According to the Culture Ministry, there are approximately 4600 general educational schools in the Free State, of which there are around 60 girls' schools and 11 boys' schools in the school year 2023/2024. In contrast, in the school year 2010/2011, there were a total of 93 girls' schools.
The ministry refers to the fact that under the term girls' or boys' schools, schools are meant that have at least 95% of the respective gender. In exceptional cases, children of the other gender can also be enrolled in such schools.
- The decision to abolish gender separation in Straubing's Real Schools, specifically at the Jakob-Sandtner Realschool and the Ursulinen Realschool, is aligned with a larger trend in Bavaria, as highlighted by the Cultus Ministry in Munich.
- Beginning from the school year 2025/2026, the co-educational system will be implemented in both Straubing's Real Schools, allowing boys to enroll in the Ursulinen Realschool and girls in the Jakob-Sandtner Realschool, starting with the 5th grade.
- The move towards co-educational schools in Straubing is reflected in the broader educational landscape of Bavaria, where, as reported by the Cultus Ministry, there are less than double the number of general educational schools (approximately 4600) compared to the combined count of girls' and boys' schools in 2023/2024 (around 60 girls' schools and 11 boys' schools).
- The Cultus Ministry in Munich, while acknowledging the existence of schools that maintain at least 95% of the respective gender (girls' or boys' schools), also permits children of the opposite gender to enroll in these exceptional cases.
