Begleiter Exam

The Begleiter Exam is the final exam that is needed to graduate from the Barsburg Military Academy, and become a cadet Begleiter, where they will then lead the academy and serve under a higher-ranking officer.

The Begleiter exam is known for its difficulty, with, on average, only 25% of the original 500 candidates (125 candidates) having the skills needed to pass. Failure to pass will result in the pupil having to repeat the entire school year/grade. Being fired from one's cadet begleiter duties will also result in a repetition of the exam.

Students and examiners
The Begleiter exam is taken by every student of a military academy between the ages of 15 and 16; when they are at their last year of school, much like Year 11 in English schools.

The Begleiter exam is also sometimes overseen by some of the highest-ranking officers, including Chairman Miroku and former Chief of Staff Ayanami.

Events of the exam
The exam takes place somewhere in autumn, and all 500 students complete the exam over the course of 1 day.

Pre-exam training
Aside from school lessons and several mock exams, there is no extra work that needs to be done before the exam. Students are expected to train.

During the exam
The actual graduation exam takes place in a large arena and involves the students killing a criminal.

When the exam was shown, the criminal was a Troll, but it is unknown if the criminals to be fought in the exam are selected for their physical strength or simply at random. The criminals themselves are not forced to take part in the exam which could lead to their execution, and instead are encouraged to take part by having their sentences cut if they survive. The exam itself is supposed to determine how the cadets react to a potentially dangerous environment, and encourages quick thinking and teamwork. The cadets fail if they fail to execute the criminal, or if they choose to abandon their comrades during the battle. There are also rumors among the students that students get killed in the exam, but it is unknown if they really are left for dead, for the overseers seem to stop the exam before the situation gets out of control.

Graduation
On average, only 25% of the original 500 candidates (125 candidates) have the skills needed to pass. Those who do pass will then be relocated to Hohburg Fortress, where they will continue their education and training as cadet begleiters, at a higher level.

Conduct
Students will fail the exam if they fail to overpower the criminal, or abandon their comrades. There are rumours amongst students that people die during the exam, and teachers inform students of the risk of death during the exam. However, since many students from very rich and powerful families do the final exam, it unlikely that the academies would let the students die.

Trivia

 * The Begleiter exam can be considered the Barsburg army's equivalent of the Church's Bishop's Apprentice Exam.
 * No female students were shown taking the begleiter exam; whether this is simply due to a lack of females in the academy or because females are not allowed to take the exam is unknown.
 * It is plausible that all members of The Black Hawks have taken the Begleiter exam.