Primary schools (elementary schools)

All children who turn 6 by 31 August of a given year start compulsory schooling on the first Monday in September that year. Parents have to register their children for primary school in the beginning of that upcoming school year.

Parents of children starting compulsory schooling will receive a letter from the Vienna Board of Education, which provides them with detailed information about the registration dates and the documents required for this purpose. It also describes available after-school care options and contains an application form for after-school care.

Both parents and children need to come in person when registering for school, as the registration appointment will also be used to determine whether a child is ready for school or not.

Registration for primary school (Volksschule)

Pre-school classes (Vorschulklasse)

If a child is not found ready for school when registering for primary school (Volksschule), they will be admitted to a pre-school class (Vorschulklasse) / pre-school year. The aim of this class is to help children get gradually used to their school responsibilities, in order to avoid the risk of poor school performance later on.

Registration for private schools

Parents who want to register their children at a private school should contact the school’s management in due time. Private schools charge school fees. There are private schools with public status, whose curriculum matches that of public schools. But there are also private schools without public status, whose curriculum differs from that of public schools. School certificates issued by the latter schools are not universally recognised.