School starts in Germany: Summer heat brings new challenges!

School starts in Germany: Summer heat brings new challenges!

The holiday season is coming to an end and with it the summer holidays for many students in Germany. Things will get really hot on August 11, 2025, when the first little ones return to school. In the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, the school holidays end on August 14th, bringing the first young people back to the classroom, while the summer heat accompanies the start of the new school year. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), highs of up to 35 degrees can be expected on Tuesday, with peaks of up to 38 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday. You work up a sweat, both in the classroom and on the way to school. antenna reports that students in Lower Saxony and Bremen have vacation until Thursday.

Things will get serious for many students next week, and at one of the hottest times of the year. Only a few federal states still have the holidays ahead of them, while the rest of Germany is preparing for the start of school. The dates for starting school in the different federal states are extremely different; For example, Saarland starts on Friday, August 16th, closely followed by Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, which go back to school on Monday, August 18th. North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg also start school later, with NRW on August 27th and Hamburg on September 4th. Schoolholidays.org has listed the exact holiday dates.

Holiday dates at a glance

The summer holidays in Germany last over three months, traditionally from June 20th to September 15th, which leads to a lively exchange about the holiday dates for the coming years. Things could get even more exciting from 2030 onwards, when discussions about possible date changes increase, especially in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Prime Minister Markus Söder of Bavaria recently emphasized that the holiday rhythm in his state should be maintained in order to ensure adequate learning and exam time.

• Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen: Ferienende 14. August
• Saarland: 16. August
• Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz: 18. August
• Nordrhein-Westfalen: 27. August
• Hamburg: 4. September
• Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein: 8. September
• Baden-Württemberg: 15. September
• Bayern: 16. September

For many families, the end of the summer holidays means there is an opportunity to take advantage of cheaper holiday offers or to enjoy the last remnants of summer. For the next school holidays, the autumn holidays, students in Hesse, Saxony and Thuringia can look forward to October 6th, with October 3rd being celebrated as a school-free holiday on the day of German reunification. The Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has courageously processed the appointment announcements for the coming years and is relying on a coordinated system to optimize the distribution of travelers and avoid traffic problems.