"BETTINA-VON-ARNIM-SCHOOL"

We are a large comprehensive school on the outskirts of Berlin. Our school is surrounded by playing grounds, tennis courts, high-rise buildings, suburban housing, woods, lakes and fields.

This residential area is part of the district of Reinickendorf , which is known for its extensive forest landscape and a great deal of water. Reinickendorf certainly deserves its nickname, the "Green North".

Nevertheless, Reinickendorf is the second largest district in Berlin, with over 250.000 inhabitants, and it is one of the most important industrial districts in the North of Berlin.

However, the old villages and housing estates, which were incorporated into Berlin's administration in 1920, have managed to maintain their individuality. Many of them have always been popular with the Berliners and their guests as a goal for outings - only thirty minutes away from two of Europe's most famous shopping-boulevards, the "Kurfürstendamm" and the “Friedrichstraße”.

In contrast to the other communities, our "new town" is relatively young. Most of the high-rise buildings of the "Märkisches Viertel" were built during the sixties. Today, a population of 50.000 lives in this part of Reinickendorf.

Our school focuses on a student-centred approach, education in tolerance and respect and furthering the students' abilities to the best possible result. We live and learn in a school "village" consisting of ten 2-storey-building. Classes have been held here since 1991, when our original school building was contaminated by asbestos. The ten buildings are grouped round a school yard, four buildings for the four different year groups of the middle school (12 to 16 year-olds) , a long building for art, music , counselling and the senior classes who study for their "Abitur" - exam. There are more buildings for science, vocational education, offices, a dining area, cafeteria and library. There are more than 1000 students and approximately 180 members of staff, including social workers, mechanics, secretaries, librarians, and craftsmen, who are in charge of the various workshops.

When the children enter our school at the age of about 12, they start in year seven. They are divided into two big groups (half year groups), which are then subdivided into eight smaller groups of 14-15 children - so called "Stammgruppen" (home-groups). These groups are the students' social homes for the next four years. Each of these small groups plans a project together with their teacher (tutor). Four hours per week are allowed for this project work and there are no marks given for work done there. Emphasis lies on team work and social learning. The first project is usually based on the interests of the teachers, but in the following years the students help choosing their fields, which can be anything from swimming, rowing, investigating the quality of the water in the surrounding lakes to working with their hands, like producing pottery or prints.

In the subjects the students are also divided into classes according to a special system known as "flexible choice differentiation" which is different from nearly all other comprehensive schools in Berlin and even Germany, most of which have a streaming or setting system. In our school the students can choose their courses and teachers -within certain limits. This means, whatever their abilities are, they are all free to attend every course available. Teachers at our school need to have a fairly high standard of methodology, as they have to teach the whole academic range within each group. They try to do this - rather successfully- by various methods of "internal differentiation" or mixed ability teaching. Periods last for 80 minutes. Students are assessed on a 20-points-scale (20 is the best mark you can get). At the end of class 10 the future career of the student is decided according to the total of her or his points.

Unlike most other German schools which finish in the early afternoon, our school is an all day school. Our students start at eight in the morning and leave at two-thirty or at four in the afternoon. Consequently we offer a hot meal every day, the services of the cafeteria (which is run by the parents) and a total of two hours break time.

For 40 minutes during lunchtime the students are required to participate in group activities (football, silk painting, tennis, etc) or religious education. Recreation is organized by our social workers. There are approximately two per year group. They stay with their yeargroup from year seven to year ten, and assist and advise the students, parents and teachers when they have problems.

We strongly believe that relationships with students and their families in other countries help our educational objectives. This is why we encourage our students and their families to take part in a number of exchange programmes, which have always been very successful.