New Secondary School at the bilingual Josef-Schwarz-Schule

At the start of the 2016 academic year, a level I secondary school will open its doors at Josef-Schwarz-Schule. ‘The first students from our primary school will then reach secondary level I,’ explains Antje David, head teacher at the Josef-Schwarz secondary school.

As a result, the bilingual ethos of the Josef-Schwarz primary school will be carried forward into the secondary school. At the heart of the building are open-plan learning areas in which each child has their own workspace. These are complemented by smaller group spaces, learning workshops, quiet areas and specialist rooms for music, art, technology and science.

Furthermore, a relaxation lounge for learners has been incorporated into each floor.‘We have developed an environment that allows students to live and learn in a modern way,’ says Antje David. In three-storey learning centres, some 400 children and young people from all year groups can work together. ‘The focus of our educational efforts is on increasingly independent learning, the joy of achievement and intercultural cohesion,’ explains Antje David.

Therefore, modern foreign languages and STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, maths) will be at the forefront of the school´s curriculum.

Secondary level II (sixth form) and therefore the Abitur as a school-leaving certificate are very much on the school’s agenda. ‘But we won’t need a sixth form for at least another three years, when our oldest students have reached that age’, says the head.