primary "folk" school

thumb|Students of the Münsterschule in Bonn in 1954 The German term Volksschule () generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, Volk) is required to attend.

In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary (Grundschule and Primarschule, respectively) and lower secondary education (Hauptschule or Sekundarschule), usually comprising mandatory attendance of nine years. In Austria, Volksschule only refers to primary school lasting four years. In Denmark and Norway, they were referred to as folkeskole and in Sweden as folkskola; the Finnish term kansakoulu is a direct translation. These Nordic schools covered the first years of primary education, from the ages of 7 to 11 or 12.