Specialist school

Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialising in special needs education, which are typically known as special schools. Specialist schools often have admission criteria making them selective schools as well.

Specialist schools have been recognised in Europe for a long period of time. In some countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, education specialises when students are relatively young. In Germany, children are 10 when they are enrolled to either an academic school, which is known as a gymnasium, or a vocational school, i.e. a school offering the compulsory lower secondary education, which qualifies for subsequent vocational training. Many other countries in Europe specialise education from the age of 16.

The Nazi Regime established new specialist schools with the aim of training the future Nazi Party elite and leaders of Germany:

After the Second World War, Germany was separated into the capitalist West Germany and communist East Germany. In East Germany, a comprehensive system of education was established while in West Germany a specialised system was present. After German reunification in 1990, the former East Germany abandoned comprehensive education and implemented the specialised education of West Germany.

In modern Germany, education becomes specialised from the age of 10, with students attending either academic schools, i.e. university-preparatory schools, known as Gymnasien or vocational schools. Vocational schools offer only lower secondary education, a qualification needed for vocational training. However, schools known as Gesamtschulen combine the different tracks and are a third option.

Vocational specialist schools and academies offer vocational training and qualifications.

In the Netherlands, many specialist schools exist within the public education system. Education is specialised between vocational and academic schools from the age of 13, however there are many specialist schools in the primary sector of education, with specific types including partnership schools, Dalton schools and brede schools/community schools.

Brede schools (broad schools), also known as extended schools or community schools, combine education with important parental and children's services such as childcare and community health centres, and follow a goal of delivering effective and affectionate education while granting equal opportunities of education to adults, children and teenagers. They may also be an alliance between schools and services rather than one institution (e.g. the DE Brede School in Amsterdam is a collaboration between three separate primary schools). Brede schools do not receive additional funding on a national level, nor is there a centralised model of brede schooling, with funding and policy being decided locally. In Rotterdam for example, brede schools are integrated into the education system. In addition to primary schools, pre-schools and secondary schools can also be brede schools. There are over 1,200 brede schools. In the 1990s, the majority of breed schools were located in areas which were historically deprived, namely those with significant levels of migration.