Overview

• Classes resume next week for about 2.5 million students in North Rhine-Westphalia, including roughly 174,000 first‑graders whose enrollment day is set locally for Wednesday or Thursday.
• In 2025/26, Gymnasien will have no regular Abitur cohort due to the shift back to G9, while Gesamtschulen and Berufskollegs still offer paths to the university entrance certificate in 2026 and repeat candidates may sit exams.
• From autumn, the digital writing tool Skribi will be tested at 100 primary schools to help pupils from Year 2 draft texts, receive feedback, and practice orthography with peer support.
• A new digital offer will support newly arrived students in learning German through animated dialogues, teaching materials, and a sound table introducing the Latin alphabet.
• The teachers’ union VBE urges families to practice safe routes, avoid the ‘parent taxi’, keep schoolbags light with reflective elements, and provide a proper breakfast with low‑sugar drinks.