I am very
happy that you would like to know more about our school. My name is Norbert
Edel, the Principal of the Elly-Heuss-Knapp Gymnasium, and I would like to give
you a brief overview of the school.
The Elly-Heuss-Knapp Gymnasium is a co-educational grammar school with approximately 500 students situated on the edge of Bad Cannstatt, a suburb of Stuttgart. Lying in the vicinity of the vineyards it is in a very quiet area, but nevertheless easily accessible by public transport. It follows that we draw students from a variety of areas and from some distance away.
Stuttgart, the city in which our school is situated, is the capital of the state
of Baden-Württemberg in the south west of Germany. Stuttgart is famous for the manufacture of
cars, but it also has many cultural attractions,
an important art museum – the
State Gallery – and acclaimed theatre, opera and ballet companies. A new
highlight is the Mercedes
Benz Museum,
housed in an impressive state of the art building, where the visitor can
experience the history of the automobile and its relationship to world history.
In Baden
Württemberg grammar school starts with the 5th Grade. Students are usually
around eleven years old. Up till now, grammar school has taken nine years. This
has now been shortened
by one year, so that students will finish grammar school
with the 12th Grade.
At “Elly” students start English in Grade 5. The children have already been learning English in primary school (Grades 1-4). In Grade 6 students begin a second language: French or Latin. In Grade 8 students elect either a scientific strand, a science and technology strand, or a third language: Spanish.
In the
final two years of grammar school more elective subjects are offered. Some
subjects are compulsory
(German, mathematics and a foreign language), but
students can choose their other subjects (e.g. psychology). Each student puts
together his or her own plan of studies. So that as many subjects as possible
can be offered, we work together with other grammar schools in the area in
order to meet the great majority of elective choices.
In order to enliven the learning of foreign languages we have a range of student exchanges on offer:
We have
started up a student exchange for French with Villiers St George near Paris,
have an ongoing exchange with La Réunion, and we
also run a combined school camp which involves students from “Elly” school and
students from France.
The English language exchange is to Sydney. We are still in the planning phase for exchanges
to Spain and Finland.
“Elly” has a good tradition in the arts, and there are a wide variety of opportunities in the areas of music, art and sport. Drama and dramatic productions also play an important role in the life of the school.
As a school with extended hours “Elly” Grammar School is able to offer students the possibility of spending their after school hours engaged in interesting and constructive activities.
Students are also able to have a warm lunch at school with the choice of several menus.
For Grades
5 and 6
we have an out of school hours care centre, where the children are
supervised till 5.00 pm by a team of carers under the leadership of a social
worker.
From Grade 7 up we offer a variety of activities in the afternoons e.g. basketball, pottery, table tennis or orchestra.
The school has an active student council (Schülermitarbeit – SMV) and, among other things, a school first aid team, and student mentors for Grade 5 who are also trained in conflict resolution.
Feel free
to familiarise yourself with our school.
Come and visit us soon.
With warm regards,
Norbert Edel
School Principal