Summer can come

Out of school and into the long-awaited vacations

Felix, Nikolas and Nicole, pupils at the Akademisches Gymnasium

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Last week of lessons in Salzburg: around 75,000 pupils are looking forward to the summer. The school year at the Academic Grammar School in the provincial capital has ended on a positive note.

End-of-school atmosphere at the Akademisches Gymnasium in Salzburg: the grading conference has already taken place. Many classes are no longer in the building. Nikolas, Nicole and Felix from year six have just been on a language study trip to Spain: "It totally boosts language skills. We went out on the street and had to speak to people. That becomes quite normal at some point," the trio says. The focus on languages in the school's European class is absolutely great. The high school students can't really think of any flops.

Large influx to the oldest grammar school
Around 600 pupils attend the oldest grammar school in Salzburg with a European branch. The influx is huge every year. "I had 138 interviews this year," says principal Klaus Schneider. 88 pupils are allowed to start in the fall. Around a third are accepted because their siblings already attend the school. Schneider: "For some, this goes back to their great-grandfathers."

The language training here in the academy is simply great. We have just been to Valencia and have benefited greatly.

Nicole Hausmaninger, Schülerin 6. Klasse

Satisfied final assessment
"It was a year without any major upsets," says the principal with satisfaction. There were plenty of outstanding achievements in the current school year: one student won the Greek Olympiad, another was among the winners of the "Sag's Multi" speech competition. There is currently a heated debate about making the pre-scientific work in the final year voluntary. Alternatively, high school graduates will be able to choose an additional Matura subject or a project work such as a video blog from the fall.

Discussions about pre-scientific work
The voluntary nature of the work is generally supported. However, the transition phase is challenging for teachers and graduates. 50 students announced their topics for next year at the academic event. Now everything has to be turned upside down. Schneider criticizes: "The implementation is sometimes very much up in the air." Nikolas, Nicole and Felix still have time to decide. For now, it's time to throw the school gates wide open and head off on vacation!