Germany honoured a special education school in the western city of Bonn which has largely abolished regular lessons with the country’s annual School Prize on Wednesday.
About 250 children and young people learn independently at the Siebengebirgsschule (Seven Mountains School), according to the Robert Bosch Foundation, which awards the prize together with the Heidehof Foundation. Pupils have access to learning studios, creative workshops and a study hall.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined the foundations in honouring the school on Wednesday at a prize ceremony in Berlin. The prize includes €100,000 ($111,000).
At the school, teachers support the students individually.
“The Siebengebirgsschule takes in children who are overwhelmed by mainstream schools and enables them to find their way back into learning, discover their talents and achieve outstanding results,” said Thorsten Bohl, spokesman for the German School Award jury.
Scholz emphasized the importance of schools in society in his remarks at the ceremony: “Simply because everyone comes together at school, it’s the place where cooperation has to work.”
Scholz said the country should face problems in the education system, but stressed that German schools have real achievements in international comparison.
When asked whether he would have used artificial intelligence (AI) to do his homework for him if that had been possible at the time, Scholz replied with a grin: “Maybe.”
