Differences between quality of local schools

A while back my father-in-law cut an article out of the FAZ that described "ghettos" in Berlin and Munich -- neighborhoods with a high percentage of people on welfare, and often many foreigners. The article suggested that the schools in these parts of town were inferior/rougher in these parts of town (ie Feldmoching/Hasenbergle, Ramersdorf).

This led me to wondering if there are significant differences in the quality of education at Grundschule and Gymnasia in Munich, especially as we are looking to buy an apartment here eventually. If I send my children to a Grundschule in Moosach or Milbertshofen, will they have less chance of getting into Gymnasium than if they attend a Grundschule in Schwabing?? And are the Gymnasia substantially different? On an old thread someone suggested that some schools have a reputation for being "easier" -- I'd like any opinions on this.

In the US the differences are extreme but I had thought that public schools in Germany were all basically equivalent...

No, they're not. That much I know. I do however not know whether you have to send your kids to the local school or whether you can choose. No clue what the situation in Munich is like. But friends of mine in Berlin moved house to ensure that their kids went to a different school (grundschule). Guess they wanted to move anyway and it had more to do with being close to the school than with rules and regulations.
If I were you I'd go to the school your children are most likely to attend and check it out myself. Have a look at the building, the kids, the teachers. You won't be able to actually sneak into a classroom but you'll get a first impression. Then ask to talk to someone responsible about your worries. If that's too much to ask: Leave and explore other options.

I am not sure if you can choose the Grundschule, but you can definitely choose the Gymnasium (e.g.). I went to a private one that was a good 30 mins away from my house (walking, S-Bahn).

I went to Grundschule in Neuperlach, and I turned out alright, not sure how much the situation has changed but Neuperlach is definitely one of the "ghettos" of Munich. I lived there until I was 13, it's really not that ghetto. I had a 2.0 average on my Übertrittszeugnis, and also got a recommendation for Musisches Gymnasium.

I would not want my child to have to walk very far or take the U/S-Bahn halfway across town to get to the Grundschule, though. So it might make sense to move close to where you want your child to attend school.

One thing to keep in mind: your child only gets the MVV ticket for free as long as the school is the closest to your house of its kind.

Edit: I think, at any school your child could be a victim of a bullying student or teacher, so it's a matter of luck. Bullies do not only go to "ghetto schools", and bad teachers can also teach at any school.
Basically, I think, as a parent in Munich I'd be more worried about that, than whether there are a lot of Turkish, Russian or whatever kids from poorer families.

Catholic I hope.

Haha of course. With nuns and all that. We prayed like 5 times a day (I stayed at the Nachmittagsbetreuung, so I was in school until 5 from 5th to 7th grade).

Well, of course you can send your kids to private schools if you can afford the cost and the - how shall I put it - interesting personalities your kids might develop.

The public school system here is not at all bad. But some schools suck. So it's well worth checking them out. Guess (if you believe the PISA stats) Bavaria is not the worst place to go.

If I'm not mistaken you can't choose a Grundschule for your child. It has to be one that's in your neighbourhood, although in some cases it's possible to get a waiver (if you move house in the middle of the school year, for example, your child is normally allowed to finish the year in the "old" school).

Try to do an advanced search for posts containing likely terms, all this has been discussed before.

Edit: I managed to find a couple of earlier threads. Here they are:

1. Regional variation in German state school quality. Useful information throughout and useful contact details in the last post.

2. Continuing to attend a Grundschule despite moving. Relocating to outside the school catchment area.

It was a "staatlich anerkannte" private school. No tuition.
I don't think anyone in my class developed any "interesting" personality. Sure, some were spoiled brats, but many were just normal kids from middle class. (Like me.)

That's a pity, though. No?

Good one!

Kay, thanks for the link to the old thread about regional differences. That thread seemed to indicate that a school's quality/reputation was based more on the specific staff than if its an affluent neighborhood or not. That makes things even more difficult -- how on earth can i find out if the specific Grundschule my children would attend for a particular apartment has a good reputation? Dimmer's advice sounds good, but bear in mind that usually you have to make a pretty quick decision if you find an apartment that is a good deal (although since I've been looking for a year and haven't found anything yet god knows when we will actually buy something anyway.)--not sure how I can manage a scouting visit to the elementary school before committing to buying a place.

Mariposa, thanks for your comment about going to a school in a "bad" neighborhood...problem is some of the neighborhoods convenient to my hubby's workplace aren't that great, so this is somewhat reassuring. I think we will probably avoid Hasenbergl, but do we need to avoid Moosach and Milbertshofen and try to find something in Schwabing West??

Well, seeing as most of them did develop interesting personalities, not really...
I am not in touch with many any more, only my friends, so maybe some of them have developed "interesting" personalities as well by now.

By the way, just a mention, the reason my parents/I chose this school was the Nachmittagsbetreuung. Seeing as both of my parents work, they didn't want me home by myself in the afternoons. My brother went to a public school though, Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium, which is in Neuperlach, and he turned out quote alright too.
My school was Edith-Stein-Gymnasium, if anyone is wondering.

Hello
I'm new here! I am moving to Munich in March to live with my husband.
I'm hoping for some honest opinions please!
My husband currently lives between Wettersteinplatz and Silberhornstrasse (in the centre). Is that a "good" neighbourhood or a "bad" one?
Of course at the minute I have no idea about which bits of Munich have reputations / crime levels etc.
We are thinking about moving anyway, but only because our apartment block does not have a lift and we are up 4 flights of stairs, and we are expecting our first child in September!
If you could recommend the best areas to look at, that would be great, thanks. We need a 2 bedroom place, modest is good, as we only have 1 income between us.
Thanks also to everyone who has been posting with reviews about hospitals and births! This information is greatly appreciated, thanks.

Hi, I may be too late to pick up on this topic, but I am also currently thinking about where I should or should not be
in regard to schooling, even though I have a few years till I need to make a decision. As far as good and bad areas
of Munich are concerned, I think it is a very personal thing. Some people may feel fine about sending their kids
to a school which is largely visited by foreigners - there are good and bad foreigners all over the place. I personally have decided that I would like my child to be in an international envirnment (thats why I still live in the city) but am
being a bit careful to keep him in a relatively mixed area (i.e. not totally foreign, where German kids are kept back
because most other cannot even speak decent German. My child is biligual and I would like to keep it that way
but cannot afford any of these international schools, kindergartens etc... As long as the kids grow up safe
and have time to speak their mother language - I hope the German schools will come up to scratch. Does anyone
have any other advice? I would avoid Neuperlach, Milbertshofen as there are too few German kids so the play
language is Turkish or Croat etc. and a rather different upbringing than we west-europeans maybe want - no offence
wanted, as my kid has great Turkisch/Croat mates - difference being, they can speak German well and are integrated. I live in Neuhausen by the way

Thanks for the response -- to be honest I was really hoping for more input than what's been posted so far, so maybe this will revive the thread.