Balingen grammar school

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Balingen grammar school
Logo of the Balingen grammar school
type of school high school
place Balingen
country Baden-Württemberg
Country Germany
Coordinates 48 ° 16 '20 "  N , 8 ° 52' 1"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 16 '20 "  N , 8 ° 52' 1"  E
student 971 (November 6, 2018)
Teachers 97 (November 6, 2018)
management Thomas Jerg
Website www.gymnasium-balingen.de

The Balingen grammar school is a grammar school in Balingen . At the end of 2018, 971 students were being taught by around 100 teachers.

history

The beginnings

The Balingen grammar school is 50 years old today and forms the latest chapter in a much older story - the history of the Balingen school system, which began around the time the city was founded, i.e. over 700 years ago. In these 700 years the "rector scolarum" became the headmaster, the Latin school the grammar school.

Effects of the Reformation

In 1534 Duke Ulrich introduced the Reformation in Württemberg. Only a little later, in 1539, the school system was completely reorganized by his successor, Duke Christoph. The curriculum, the employment of teachers and the school supervision were precisely defined and the schools were subordinated to the state. The lessons were particularly geared towards learning “old” languages ​​such as Latin or Greek - science subjects continued to be excluded. In addition, new schools were founded all over the country in which the common people should learn to read and write, the "German Schools".

Teacher shortage

In 1559, 50 students were taught in Balingen. In 1601 there were 144, including 26 Latin students. The entire class was still designed by a single teacher - a shortage of teachers was a problem even then. In order to remedy this situation, the Balingen schoolmaster was assigned three more teachers between 1653 and 1676 to teach the now 200 students.

Job or university?

Around 1700, the "Balingen Latin School" and the "German School" were almost completely separated from each other, which significantly increased the performance of the Latin School. The latter tried to give her students the knowledge they needed to complete the state examination and then transfer to one of the evangelical seminars. Nevertheless, most of Balingen's Latin students turned to a practical profession after completing their compulsory schooling, much to the regret of their teachers. In 1745 two Latin students were working at the school.

"The Century of Enlightenment"

The development of technology and industrialization in the 18th century led to the fact that around 1793 the Württemberg school regulations introduced mathematics and the "realities" (geography, history, biology etc.) in addition to Latin in order to meet the requirements of the economy. For this purpose, Realschulen were founded, which from then on were to teach with a focus on the “modern” subjects, while the Latin schools continued to orientate themselves towards the ancient world. The Balinger Realschule was founded around 1841 to prepare the Balingen students, who later almost all found work in commercial enterprises, for this task from the outset. In it, the scientific-technical subjects were now in the foreground. But the new school had to struggle with teething problems - the conservative Balingians preferred to send their children to the Latin school - so that the city administration was already considering closing it again and sending the students to Ebingen. Eventually, however, the problems were overcome and by the turn of the century, the Realschule with 71 students had far surpassed the Latin School (29 students) in terms of student numbers.

The summary of Latin and Realschule

Around 1906, the two Balingen schools were merged, their students now had lessons together and were only separated in the foreign languages, but even this separation was over time in favor of a common first foreign language (French) and an optional second (English or Latin) . Since 1927, it has also been possible to take the secondary school leaving certificate in Balingen. In the meantime, the composition of the student body had slowly changed: more and more foreigners from the surrounding villages attended the Balingen school, and girls had been admitted to the secondary school since 1895.

The construction of the sickle school

With the steady increase in the number of students, the classroom became increasingly scarce, despite repeated renovations and extensions of the existing buildings. The construction of a new school building had been considered since 1907, in 1914 after an architectural competition the plans were available, but then the construction was prevented by the outbreak of the First World War . After its end, construction began in 1921, despite ongoing inflation . The fact that of two completely identical construction phases the first cost around 9 million marks , the second over 1.9 trillion marks, shows the extent of the devaluation of money at the time. Finally, the new sickle school was inaugurated on July 28, 1923. It should meet the requirements for decades.

Space problems

Around 1954, there was a desire to establish an upper level in the Balingen school. A tough struggle began for the necessary expansion, but finally the missing grades could be opened in 1955, and in 1957 the first Abitur examination was taken in Balingen. In 1958 the Balingen school was named "Gymnasium" after it was completed. The expansion of the school, however, almost inevitably resulted in another lack of space. In addition, the number of pupils grew sharply, as the catchment area of ​​the grammar school now expanded to include those places whose children had previously attended schools where the Abitur examination was possible. In 1961, the middle school and current secondary school were introduced, which initially decreased the flow of students, but later increased again. The inauguration of the Längenfeld School did not improve the situation significantly either, although this meant that a large number of elementary school classes moved out of the sickle school. In addition, the number of students continued to grow rapidly. This forced the community to consider building the grammar school.

The new high school

On March 31, 1964, the building resolution was passed in the local council. In the period that followed, suggestions were obtained and reports and plans were commissioned. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 31, 1967, and the inauguration took place two years later, on September 13, 1969. When the grammar school moved into the new building, it comprised 25 classes with 836 students. This fell short of the capacity of the new rooms by far - an entire wing was not needed and could be used by the secondary school. But then the problems that were thought to have caught up with the grammar school after the new building began: The number of students rose rapidly. In the end, even the entire new building was no longer sufficient, some classes had to be outsourced to the Realschule and the Frommern elementary and secondary school, and a sophisticated hiking class system, which in parts still exists today, through which the entire available space should be optimally used .

The addition

Although the number of pupils had decreased somewhat since the high point in the school year 1981/82 (1453 pupils), the city of Balingen planned to expand the school building with an extension for which a previously vacant area between the upper sports field and the gym should be used. The excavation began in the 1997 summer vacation. After around a year of construction, the extension was put into operation at the beginning of the 1999/2000 school year. The new component mainly houses specialist rooms: two music halls, two geography rooms and two IT rooms. The "transformable" music halls, which can be opened through sliding doors, together with the break hall, result in an event space for approx. 300 people, which the high school has been missing for a long time.

Cafeteria and media library

With the conversion to the eight-year grammar school from the 2004/05 school year, there was an increase in the teaching time for the pupils, especially the middle school. In addition, social changes were perceived more and more, which suggested a trend towards all-day school. Politicians reacted to this with the “Investment Program Future Education and Care” (IZBB). The city of Balingen took up this idea of ​​the federal government and planned a cafeteria and media library for the Längenfeld school center in order to take account of the developments mentioned. In addition to these two main uses, another computer room and some music practice rooms were accommodated in the new building. This “jewel for stomach and brain”, as the press headlined, was inaugurated in July 2008. Shortly afterwards, long-time headmaster Werner Jessen, who can be described as the driving force behind this project, retired with a successful school party.

Partner school of sport

Since 1998, the Balingen grammar school has been a partner school for sport appointed by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Culture . In addition, there is a cooperation with the handball association Württemberg (HVW), within the framework of which some competitive athletes and team athletes receive special care.

Profiles at the Balingen grammar school

Since the 2018/19 school year, the Balingen Gymnasium has been able to choose between five different profiles. One of the following subjects is then taught for four hours * from grade 8:

  • Computer Science-Physics-Mathematics (IMP)
  • Latin
  • Natural Science and Technology (NWT)
  • Spanish
  • Sports (* six hours)

Known students

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brief portrait - Balingen grammar school. Retrieved March 4, 2019 .
  2. ↑ "Partner School of Sports" on the website of the Balingen grammar school
  3. ^ Profiles from grade 8 - Balingen grammar school. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .