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Until they move into their building in a year, the students of the Neues Gymnasium will be learning in containers. Christoph Boeckheler © Christoph Boeckheler
The new high school in Frankfurt has opened – with mixed feelings at the school enrollment ceremony. About the first day of school on August 26th.
Frankfurt – When a new School opened, then of course she has a problem at the school entrance ceremony: There is no school community yet. No students to organize a supporting program for the new arrivals, no Parentswho bake cakes for the new year group. And often enough, the new school doesn’t even have an auditorium for the school entrance ceremony. That’s what happened to the New Gymnasium Frankfurt on Monday (26 August). But problems are there to be solved. The school entrance ceremony took place in the Schönhof hall, there was catering and the students of the model school helped out and sang and played “Que sera, sera, what ever will be, will be”. What will be, will be.
Theodora Bellou, whose daughter Zoe is starting school at the New Gymnasium on this day, thinks the same thing. The family did not choose the school. Zoe was assigned to one. Bellou is now sitting in the hall with mixed feelings. “We’ll see and hope for the best,” she says. She is prepared for things to be “chaotic” at the beginning of a school under construction. “It all has to settle down first,” says Bellou. We’ll just take it as it comes. What will be, will be.
The New Gymnasium in Frankfurt has opened – Another year of learning in containers
Around 80 percent of the students at the Neues Gymnasium are assigned. This is not unusual for a new school. After all, other Kinder and parents report on their experiences. “But,” says education minister Sylvia Weber (SPD) at the school enrollment ceremony, he told the children, “you are the pioneers.” They can have a say and help shape the school. Just like the parents can help to build something new. “See this as an opportunity.” All new schools have a few teething problems, “But all of them have become attractive and well-selected schools.” Frankfurt has a lot of experience in this area, after all, eleven schools have been founded since 2016 – and more than 20 are planned.
The new high school is opening in the former New Stock Exchange at Industriehof. To be more precise, in a pavilion complex, because the office building still has to be converted. Work is just beginning. Two high schools with a total of up to 1,700 students will share the complex of eight interconnected wings. Annual rent: 13 million euros. The renovation is being paid for by the landlord, the Cells Group. Everything should be completely finished by 2026. The students will now be taught in the containers for a year, then move into the first completed part. “It will be a modern, large, great building with a spacious outdoor area,” Weber says to the children. “Many will envy you for this school building.”
New high school in Frankfurt in the Industriehof
The head of the planning group, Melitta Luta, has set herself the goal of not only imparting knowledge at her school, but also “allowing children to develop their personality”. The educational concept provides for individual support. “Learning in step doesn’t work so well for most of the time.” But there are no compromises in terms of the high school standards. “We are performance-oriented.” But there are times for self-organized learning at the high school with a focus on science and economics. For Dieter Clemens, head of the high school department at the State School Office, the world needs young people with a thirst for research in order to develop solutions to problems such as the climate crisis. He is certain that “the MINT profile and the promotion of social engagement at the New High School will awaken this thirst for research.”
Parents’ phone
The Hessian Ministry of Culture, This year, Education and Opportunities is again offering a “parents’ hotline” together with the state school authorities at the start of the new school year. Questions about the school and the educational offerings can be asked there. The parents’ hotline is available during the first two weeks of school, from August 26th to September 6th, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The central telephone number The number of the parents’ telephone in the ministry is 0611 / 368-2368.
The State School Offices offer phone numbers. Among others:
Frankfurt: 069/389 89-128
District of Darmstadt-Dieburg and City of Darmstadt: 06151/36 82-500
District of Offenbach and City of Offenbach: 069/800 53-119
Rheingau-Taunus district and state capital Wiesbaden: 0611/88 03-490 sabu
There are 14 teachers, John-Luke Ingleson is one of them. “We are all innovative,” he says. He talks about methods and processes such as design thinking and deep learning and finds it “exciting to develop a new high school concept.”
For Ursula Kocabas, this all sounds great. Her daughter Frida was assigned to the family, but the family had Maximum had already been considering schools “that work in an alternative way”. But schools in Höchst were chosen because of the shorter journey. When Frida was assigned to the Neues Gymnasium, “we weren’t that disappointed,” says Kocabas. “It’s fate now.” The ten-year-old does have an hour’s journey to school, “but from January there will be school buses.” Not just from Höchst, but from other parts of the city too.
“We are all innovative”: This is how the New Gymnasium wants to convince
After the school enrollment ceremony, the new school community makes its way to the three-story container facility. The classrooms for the 135 students of the New High School are on the first floor. The city high school will open on the second floor and will have its school enrollment ceremony the next day. The cafeteria and administration are located on the ground floor. Father Ramon, whose daughter Amihan was assigned, is not very enthusiastic about containers. “You know how many children there are, so you could plan in advance.”
City Councillor Sylvia Weber opens the New Gymnasium Frankfurt. christoph Boeckheler © christoph boeckheler
Müslüm Yorulmaz on the first floor is more enthusiastic. “Everything is brand new,” he says as he looks around the classroom. He tests the turquoise chairs and jokes with his daughter and other children: “You’re lucky, they’re really comfortable. We could take a few for the balcony.” His daughter was also assigned, “we were a bit disappointed.” And at the New Gymnasium, “we don’t know what’s coming. But we’ll wait and see.” Because: what will be, will be. (Sandra Busch)
Tips for starting school for first-graders – and for their parents: ADAC Hessen-Thüringen warns.
