London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Germany is reopening its schools and the world is watching

The country has recorded a high number of cases, but far fewer deaths than Spain, France, Italy or the UK.

When is the right time to open up schools, to welcome back pupils and allow student life to feel the same again?

It is a question that is challenging governments across the world, particularly in Europe. But after weeks of plaudits about how it has handled the pandemic, Germany is about to take a small but significant step towards a sort of normality.

In the coming days, children from two school years will be going back to the classroom.

Well, at least some of them will, in some regions, on some days. It is a toe in the water, but an important one.

A decision about the wider return to school is also due in the coming days, but for two year groups the doors will be open.

Pupils who are either about to make the move from primary school to secondary school or those about to take exams will be welcomed back.

But they will have to abide by strict hygiene and social distancing rules. Easy to say but perhaps not so easy to maintain when your subjects are young children excited to see their friends again.

Education is a devolved responsibility in Germany, which is why Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to reopen schools in the coming days came only after a conference call with leaders of the 16 states.

Some are keen to bring children back into the classroom. Others, such as Bavaria, which has been badly hit by the virus, are more wary.

Bavaria has delayed the opening of any schools until 11 May. There are lively arguments about whether it is more decisive to push through the return - or to wait.

And that impression is important. Prominent figures within the ruling CDU party are dealing with the virus while keeping half an eye on the impending leadership contest.

Politics, as ever, does not exist in a vacuum, although the identity of the new leader may not be decided until later in the year.

Few, after all, doubt that Angela Merkel has handled this crisis with the confidence of a trained scientist who also happens to be the German chancellor.

There is little appetite for a leadership contest at the moment, but the candidates are keen to emerge from the pandemic with credit.

Certainly Germany feels different. In Dusseldorf, as across the country, small shops have been allowed to open as long as they follow guidelines on social distancing.

There is a queue of a dozen people outside one clothes shop. A mobile phone shop is doing a roaring trade. It feels like a culture shock to be in a city where you can simply wander in and out of non-essential stores.

At the city's international school, a few pupils have already returned to the classroom, and they are making preparations for the return of two year groups.

Eileen Lyons, the school's director, says it will be difficult, but insists the school will cope.

She told Sky News: "We have set up the classrooms to have the social distancing of two metres - not just one and a half - and we've put in place all the signs and the equipment. We won't insist on masks, but we will encourage them.

"We've been kept informed all the way through. The pandemic has been hugely disruptive and returning will be hugely challenging but I'm confident we will manage it."

Germany has received many plaudits for its performance during this epidemic. The country has recorded a high number of cases, but far fewer deaths than Spain, France, Italy or the UK.

Many have looked at its record of investment in health facilities, in testing and tracing.

Now, they look at something else - how Germany will manage this gradual return to something like normal life.

At the moment there are no dates for the sporting events to restart, no consensus on when normal travel can resume. The return of other pupils awaits a decision, along with big shops.

But there is a kind of impetus here, as there is in some other European nations.

The question they all ask, though, is profound: How to balance the need to reopen life with the fear of a resurgence of the virus?

That is why, as it prepares to welcome back some of its millions of schoolchildren, much of the world will once again be watching Germany, and waiting to see what happens next.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×