English was once mandatory as far as I remember. (And you could pick French, Latin, and sometimes ancient Greek, or Spanish additionally).
But the point about Berlin is in fact a little bit different to what I've written before: You can get ABI there without any foreign language at all! (And their math and physics level was more or less comparable to my 11th grade in Bavaria). I was shocked when I leaned that… (That was the first time I've understood why some people would like to lower the ABI results of people coming form the north by one up to two grades when they come to study in the south; the different levels of education across Germany are in fact a real problem).
You can get the Abitur in Berlin without having a written or oral final exam in a foreign language in Berlin, that’s true as far as I know. You still need to take classes in at least one foreign language in the time up to the exam and the grades will be part of the final grade.
Exactly. It's possible there to have no final exam at all in English (or any other foreign language).
Whereas there were not much possibilities to get around the final exam in the second foreign language in Bavaria, and no way at all to avoid the exam in at least one foreign language. Which makes a very big difference for someone who's not good in languages—as only the grades form the exams are part of the graduation certificate (which is relevant for example when applying for a university place).
That extremely unfair!
You get Abitur in Berlin more or less for free.
The grade from the subjects you don't have any final exams in are of course not part of the graduation certificate…
I know someone who was struggling in Bavarian middle school with at best average grades, moved to Berlin, could join the "equivalent" of Gymnasium there, and got out with an A-grade ABI. Such "good" grades would get you for example prioritized for say studies in medicine or law, whereas you would not even be allowed to get into university in Bavaria with a middle school diploma.
That are literally life changing differences! That's really not OK.
I know someone who changed school from
Rheinland-Pfalz across the river to Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg) and got their Abitur essentially for free - at a private school well known for making everyone pass. So what does that tell us?
English was once mandatory as far as I remember. (And you could pick French, Latin, and sometimes ancient Greek, or Spanish additionally).
But the point about Berlin is in fact a little bit different to what I've written before: You can get ABI there without any foreign language at all! (And their math and physics level was more or less comparable to my 11th grade in Bavaria). I was shocked when I leaned that… (That was the first time I've understood why some people would like to lower the ABI results of people coming form the north by one up to two grades when they come to study in the south; the different levels of education across Germany are in fact a real problem).