If we look back over the past three years since our school was saved, we can see that we cannot complain about a lack of unusual events.
In our first year, the 2017/18 school year, we had to hand over one of our buildings to the city of Cologne. We had to move closer together and set up again. At the same time, we managed to find a plot of land for our new campus.
In our second year, the 2018/19 school year, we had to deal with extreme water damage and a storm that blew away our makeshift tent. We had to move closer together and were happy to receive help from our neighbors, who at times helped us with the premises. At the same time, we managed to convince Dr Dietrich Gottwald and Christoph Kahl, two Cologne entrepreneurs, to take over the financing of the planning and construction of our new campus.
In our third year, this past school year, we had quite a bit of space from mid-March – because the corona pandemic forced us to close the campus and teach our students from afar. At the same time, we were able to submit our building permit on time and push ahead with the planning for our new campus.
Despite the Corona crisis – and we are proud of this – our students have done an extraordinary job. While the graduates of the IB Diploma program are still waiting for their results, which will be published on 6 July this year, all of our Gymnasium graduates have passed their Abitur exam. We warmly congratulate all of our graduates and wish them the best of luck in the next stage of their lives.
We would like to thank you for your perseverance, your encouragement, your constructive suggestions and your patience in this new situation. And we would also like to thank our school administrators, our teachers, the supervisors in the boarding house and all of our administrative staff for going above and beyond to ensure that our students can continue with their learning through these difficult conditions.
We are again facing uncertain times for next year, especially since we do not know how the corona pandemic will develop over the summer. We will take it as it comes and we will deal with it so that this school remains what we think it is: The best place to prepare our children for the world of tomorrow.
We wish you a relaxing summer in the best possible way for you, your family and your friends. We look forward to continuing our journey with you starting 12 August.
Stay cheerful and safe!
Dr. Petra Stratmann & Jan Hülsmann
