Hamburg
Parents of school-age children receive an invitation and an application form for primary school in good time before the registration date. The completed application form (with three school wishes) is submitted by the parents at the school of their choice. The school will notify parents in due time before the start of the summer holidays if their child can be admitted there. If the registration school is not able to admit the child due to a lack of places, it will be admitted at the second or third choice school (http://www.hamburg.de/grundschulen/).
The application form for the secondary school will be given to parents in January together with the child's mid-term certificate. In the application form three desired schools can be specified (first, second, third choice). If the first-choice school does not have enough places, the child will be admitted to the second-choice school or to the third-choice school. If none of the three wishes can be fulfilled, the child will be assigned to a school at a reasonable distance from the place of residence (http://www.hamburg.de/weiterfuehrende-schulen/).