Abitur

Abitur is the word commonly used in Germany for the final exams young adults (aged 18 or 19) take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling. The Abiturzeugnis, issued after a candidate has passed their final exams, is the document which contains their grades and which formally enables them to go to university.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It can only roughly be compared with a High school degree of secondary education as it allows the graduate, the Abiturient, to start studying at a University. Its importance has grown beyond admission to the university, however, in that it became a frequent prerequisite to start an apprenticeship in some professions (e.g. banking).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The official term for Abitur in Germany is allgemeine Hochschulreife. The equivalent exam in Austria and other countries of continental Europe is Matura, while in the United Kingdom outside Scotland it is A-levels, and in Scotland it is Advanced Higher Grade.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

University: A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education. University is derived from the Latin universitas, meaning corporation (since the first medieval European universities were simply groups of...

High school: : High School also refers to the highest form of classical riding, High School Dressage....

Austria: The Republic of Austria (German: Republik ?sterreich) is a landlocked country in central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienn...