On Monday 17 August, the new school year begins in Saxony for pupils at primary, secondary and special needs schools, at grammar schools and vocational schools, as well as for young people and adults seeking to obtain a school-leaving qualification through adult education.
According to the State Office for Schools and Education (LaSuB), around 1,800 children starting school in Chemnitz will have their first day at one of the 41 local primary schools on Monday. In addition, there are around 100 new pupils at the Chemnitz Cooperation School and the Chemnitz School Model (which are schools of a special kind), and around 100 at the ten special schools.
In total, lessons will begin on Monday in Chemnitz for more than 19,500 pupils at municipal schools (41 primary schools, 14 lower secondary schools, 7 grammar schools, 10 special schools, 2 schools of a special kind and 2 schools for adult learners). In addition, there are 6 municipal vocational schools and 10 schools run by independent bodies (primary schools, lower secondary schools, grammar schools and special schools). (Source of pupil figures: LaSuB, 11 August 2026)
Costs for learning materials:
The city of Chemnitz is spending around 1.65 million euros this year on new textbooks and other learning materials. The cost for municipal primary schools is around 458,000 euros, for secondary schools around 322,000 euros, for grammar schools around 396,000 euros, for the two comprehensive schools around 62,000 euros, for special schools around 85,000 euros and for the seven vocational schools around 310,000 euros. The costs for adult education centres amount to around 16,000 euros.
School transport:
The processing of applications for the 2026/27 school year has not yet been completed, so the costs for this have not yet been finalised. In the previous school year 2025/26, 286 applications – excluding those for special transport services – were processed. The City of Chemnitz’s expenditure on this amounted to around 2.1 million euros.
Special transport services – i.e. journeys for pupils with special educational needs to their special schools within the Chemnitz city area – are also funded from the city budget. Transport operators under contract with the City of Chemnitz transport 613 pupils with disabilities to their schools every day on behalf of the city. The costs for these special transport services amounted to around 6 million euros in the 2025/26 school year. Currently, 638 of these applications are being processed for the new school year.
Application forms for school transport are available at schools, from the city council and at www.chemnitz.de/schuelerbefoerderung.
Construction work:
- For the Chemnitz partner school, the school year begins with the opening of the long-awaited extension. This provides the school with twelve additional classrooms at its Brauhausstraße site.
- Now that the extension to Adelsberg Primary School is already in use, the completed outdoor area will be ready for use from the end of August.
- Following the refurbishment and construction work carried out in previous years, the dual site comprising Schönau Primary School and Schönau/Siegmar Secondary School is now also being upgraded with new outdoor facilities. A playground offering opportunities for exercise, play and relaxation for pupils in Years 1 to 10 is being created, along with a short-distance sprint track, a long-jump area and a streetball court.
- The refurbishment of the main building of the Gebrüder-Grimm Primary School on Heinrich-Beck-Straße is progressing according to plan, meaning that the classes currently housed in the secondary school building on Hartmannplatz are expected to be able to return to the Gebrüder-Grimm Primary School in 2028.
Further information on starting school is available in the brochure published by Chemnitz City Council’s Youth Welfare Office (available for download): ‘My child is starting school’