Bilingual Classes in Primary Schools From the beginning of the school year 2024/25, the VBS-bilingual programme will be integrated into the regular school system. The aim of this bilingual programme is to implement English, as well as German, as the languages of instruction from the first day of school. The VBS-programme begins in primary school and continues through both lower and upper secondary schooling. As this is a continuous educational programme, enrolment in a bilingual class is only possible during the official enrolment period for a Year 1/1st Grade class. Late enrolment during the course of the school year or between school grades is not possible for pupils already enrolled in an Austrian school. In certain cases, exceptions can be made for bilingual children moving to Vienna from abroad during the course of their primary education. However, these children must have already been educated bilingually and their school reports must be comparable to those of Austrian primary schools. Further opportunities to join the VBS-programme are afforded at the transfer from primary to lower secondary and from lower secondary into upper secondary school.
 

In a bilingual class, your child will learn to read and write in their first or dominant language (German or English). Bilingual classes may be divided into two language groups for this purpose. Reading and writing in the second language begins at the latest in Year 2, and will be determined on an individual basis, depending on the skills already acquired in the first language. All other lessons may be taught in German, English or bilingually in a co-teaching setting. All subjects in a bilingual class are taught according to the Austrian curriculum and a special curriculum has been developed for the subject of English.