In general, each class consists of 24 students. As in the primary school, all classrooms are equipped with an interactive whiteboard which makes it possible to engage students in modern lessons that are rich in variety. Furthermore, laptops are used during lessons on a regular basis. Our secondary school also offers a range of specialist rooms to the students such as a science laboratory, music and art room and a bilingual library.
Our secondary school follows the Bavarian curriculum. Mathematics and science subjects are taught by teachers whose mother tongue is English. Cultural subjects such as history are taught by German-speaking teachers in German. In English, the students are split up into different groups depending on their level, as a German native speaker joining at a later stage has different needs to an English native speaker.
All our children learn and speak German and English from the very beginning. In year 6, the students choose between French and Latin, and in year 8 between Spanish and Economics. All students take the Bavarian Abitur. In June 2014, we became a registered IB World School and can offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme as of the school year 2014/15.
Students can complete the IB as an additional certificate if they meet certain requirements. Our teachers create an atmosphere which motivates the students to learn. Our students’ individual needs are not only met during the lessons, but also outside of the regular lessons. In order for our students to move through life and school successfully, it is important for our teachers to know how every student feels and what they are concerned about. In the mentoring programme, we provide the student with either 1-on-1 mentoring with their personal mentor or offer small group sessions. For discussions which take place between the whole class and the teacher, there is a special time set aside called ‘class–teacher time’.
In order for our students to learn to be responsible for their own academic success, there are ‘study times’, in particular in lower and middle school. During ‘study time’, students can do homework or focus on other academic content. As our primary and secondary school are under one roof, we are keen to further strengthen the relationship between them. Therefore, we have implemented a buddy system. In the buddy system, secondary students are matched together or, as we call it, ‘buddied’ with primary students. There are regular meetings and activities during regular school times which both primary and secondary students greatly enjoy.
