Birklehof School (german: Schule Birklehof) is a

progressive education Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...

al boarding school and

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

with a holistic approach located in

Hinterzarten Hinterzarten is a resort village in the Black Forest (German: ''Schwarzwald''), located in the southwest of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Although Hinterzarten is mostly famous for its ski jumping, it has many other tourist attractions. ...

in the High Black Forest in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, approximately 25 km from

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. It is a private coeducational secondary school (German: Gymnasium). Currently, the school has approximately 230 students, 170 of whom are boarders who live on campus. The school was established by educator

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonsto ...

in 1932 and from the beginning accepted girls and boys. Under the Nazi regime, Hahn was forced to emigrate to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

where he founded

Gordonstoun School Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

as well as later

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...

Round Square Round Square is an international network of schools, based on the educational concepts of Kurt Hahn, and named after a distinctive building at Gordonstoun. Founded by a group of seven schools in the late 1960s, by 1996 it had grown to 20 member ...

and the

United World Colleges United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organization was founde ...

Location

The school is in the postal district of

, although much of the building lies on the territory of neighbouring

Breitnau Breitnau is a municipality in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, about 30 kilometres from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is located within the High Black Forest. Geography The municipal ...

. The building ''Studio 1'' lies on the boundary and is thus used occasionally for joint council meetings between the two municipalities which, according to municipal rules, must take place on their own soil.

Educational philosophy

The school stands in the tradition of

reform, or "reform pedagogy" as it is called in Germany. This movement originated in the 1920s. Among other things, Birklehof prides itself in giving students real responsibility in the running of the school. Student representatives have voting rights on all educational matters in general conferences.

History

Birklehof was founded in 1932 by German educator

. The old Birklehof is a grade-listed farmhouse dating back to 1550. In the early 1920s, a villa was built on the Birklehof estate by a German industrialist. The estate was then given to Hahn for his school. Hahn, after being driven from Germany by the Nazis, went on to found

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is locate ...

in Scotland in 1934 and

Atlantic College Atlantic College (formally the United World College of the Atlantic; alternatively styled UWC Atlantic College, UWCAC, or UWCA) is an independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Founded in 1962, it was the first of ...

in 1962. It is also a sister school to the more famous Schloss Salem, founded by Hahn in 1920. In 1946, it was reopened by its then head, German philosopher

Georg Picht Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) George is a surname of Irish, English, Welsh, South Indian Christian, Middle Eastern Christian (usually Lebanese), French, or ...

Developments

In 2009, the newest building project was completed with the inauguration of the rebuilt Neubirkle boarding house. This state-of-art eco building will be home to 19 boarders and two teachers' families. It also boasts a flat for a boarding house assistant. In the academic year 2010—11, the school will launch a new third middle-school stream. In addition to Foreign Languages or Sciences, students of Years 8 to 10 will be able to choose a musical specialisation. This will include aspects of drama, film making, fine arts and music. It follows an integrated, project-based approach. Furthermore, the school is in the process of switching to 8 instead of 9 years of grammar school, which will be implemented fully in 2012.

Boarding Houses

Birklehof school currently has ten boarding houses. Reflecting its educational philosophy, all houses (with the exception of the Neuer Hirschen West and Neuer Hirschen Ost) have integrated teaching rooms and teachers' flats as well as students' bedrooms. With the exception of the coeducational Unterhaus (Years 5-7) they are all single-sex houses, supervised by a resident houseparent. * Haupthaus (1923) * Neubirkle (2009) * Studio * Saalbau * Wolffsburg * Kopphaus * Neuer Hirschen West * Neuer Hirschen Ost * Petersbau * Unterhaus * Altbirkle

Notable alumni

* Karl Heinz Bohrer, German literary scholar and essayist *

Caio Koch-Weser Caio Kai Koch-Weser (born July 25, 1944 in Rolândia, Brazil) is a German economist, civil servant and business executive. He was Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Finance 1999–2005. Prior to becoming Secretary of State, he served ...

, politician, economist, former vice president and managing director of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

* Uwe Nettelbeck, German record producer, journalist and film critic * Herbert Girardet, author, visiting professor at various universities in England, program director of the

World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations. FuturePolicy.org The website f ...

Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (born 25 June 1939) is a German scientist and politician ( SPD). He was a member of the German Bundestag and served as co-president of the Club of Rome jointly with Anders Wijkman 2011 – 2019. Family A member of ...

, German scientist and politician * Gabrielle Donnay, German-born American mineraologist

References

Literature

* Teresa Löwe:
Georg Picht und die Schule Birklehof in der Nachkriegszeit (1946–1955)
(PDF-Datei; 170 kB)'', Berlin 2004 * Karl Heinz Bohrer: Granatsplitter - Erzählung einer Jugend, dtb, München 2014, S. 137ff * Stefan Würthle (MA thesis Freiburg, 2nd. edition 1998) Der Birklehof - Ein deutsches Landerziehungsheim in nationalsozialistischer Zeit.

External links

* {{Authority control Alternative schools Co-educational boarding schools Gifted education Round Square schools Boarding schools in Germany Private schools in Germany Gymnasiums in Germany Schools in Baden-Württemberg Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Baden Educational institutions established in 1932 1932 establishments in Germany