Thomaeum high school

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Municipal European School Gymnasium Thomaeum
Kempen, Gymnasium Thomaeum.JPG
type of school high school
School number 165803
founding 1659
address

At the Gymnasium 4
47906 Kempen

place Kempen
country North Rhine-Westphalia
Country Germany
Coordinates 51 ° 21 '56 "  N , 6 ° 24' 54"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 21 '56 "  N , 6 ° 24' 54"  E
carrier City of Kempen
student 676
Teachers 56 (+ 4 trainees)
management Agnes Regh
Website www.thomaeum.de

The Gymnasium Thomaeum (Städtische Europaschule Gymnasium Thomaeum) in the Lower Rhine city of Kempen is one of the oldest German high schools .

History of the high school

The Thomaeum was founded in 1659. It was named after the mystic Thomas von Kempen , born in Kempen around 1380 , whose book The Imitation of Christ was the most widespread script of the late Middle Ages after the Bible . At first it was run by the church; the first secular high school director was Joseph Bister in 1802. In the course of history, the school changed name several times, but also the school building, so teaching was carried out in the old Burse , in the Franciscan monastery , in the Kempen castle and finally from 1925 in the former teachers' college. The school has received financial support since 1778 from the "Eternal Foundation " of Kempen citizen Gerhard Arnold Mühlen. In 1976 the school bell from 1690 with the inscription Gymnasium Thomae de Kempis was found in a private attic ; it is on display in the school today. The school catchment area was always very large; Students came from Kaldenkirchen, Lobberich, Straelen, Wachtendonk , Wankum , Grefrath, Hüls, St. Tönis and smaller neighboring communities.

The school has long been one of the pioneers in the field of environmental friendliness, which is noticeable, among other things, by the fact that some students in various competitions ( including JugendForscht ) keep coming up with new ideas for sustainable technologies and environmentally friendly electricity (already in early times, on the The roof of the Thomaeum is a solar system from 1993).

Musically too, the Thomaeum is a place of origin. The band Castle of Aargh, for example, also has its origins in the student body of the Thomaeum. Some members of the band have found their place in professional music today, including Arnt Cobbers.

The school today

School logo

In 2009 the grammar school celebrated its 350th anniversary and was certified as a “European school” by the state government. Today the municipal high school Thomaeum is a school with many offers. For example, it is certified as a MINT-friendly school and runs a variety of exchange programs with countries such as China, Belgium, England, Spain, Poland and France. She is involved in the social field, for example with the HOKISA donation bike tour for action medeor or through the annual social internship. There is also an annual donation campaign for Sankt Martin. She takes part in nationwide competitions ( Kangaroo Mathematics Competition , German Mathematics Olympiad , Schoolchildren Competition for Political Education), has a school orchestra and creates award-winning theater performances ( Spectacolo Prize 2006 for the crime comedy "One wedding and four deaths" and 2007 for the musical “Meal”, as well as the European premiere of the musical Hairspray). The Altthomaeer Association awards the Thomaeer Prize for particularly outstanding achievements; Students achieve the Diplôme d'études en langue française . Since September 2005 there has been a school café CaTho (Café Thomaeum) and a support association ("Friends and Patrons"). Today there are also a large number of working groups in which you can get involved with a wide variety of activities outside of the classroom. Beginning with an art work group through a NaWi work group (NAturWIssenschaft) to a computer science work group, the spectrum takes on considerable sizes.

Former students

(in chronological order)

literature

  • Gerhard Terwelp: History of the Gymnasium Thomaeum in Kempen . 1st - 3rd Part. Kempen 1900
  • Joseph Brungs : History of the Gymnasium Thomaeum in Kempen . 4th part. Kempen 1907
  • Joseph Droege: The History of the Gymnasium Thomaeum in the 19th Century . In: Festschrift 300 Jahre Gymnasium Thomaeum 1659–1959 . Kempen 1959
  • Gustav A. Koenig: The recovery of the school bell of the "Gymnasium Thomae de Kempis" from 1690 . In: Home book of the district of Viersen . Viersen 1982, pp. 205-210.
  • 325 years of the Thomaeum Kempen 1659–1984 . Municipal high school Thomaeum. Kempen 1984
  • Friedhelm Weinforth: Campunni - Kempen. History of a city on the Lower Rhine . 2 vols. Series of publications of the district of Viersen, Viersen 1993, ISBN 3-928441-16-7 .
  • Joseph van Mierlo: The "Penne" in the thirties - On the history of the Thomaeum grammar school in Kempen . In: Home book of the district of Viersen . Viersen 2000, pp. 97-105.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gymnasium Thomaeum Kempen: History - Gymnasium Thomaeum Kempen. Retrieved January 30, 2017 .