About 830 pupils in grades 1 to 10 from the entire Dresden city area and neighboring communities will be studying at the University School Dresden in the current 2024/25 school year. The school project of TUD Dresden University of Technology and the City of Dresden is now moving its developmental focus away from organizing lessons in the lower grades and towards developing structures in the final grades. For the second time in the school’s short history, final exams will be held at the beginning of the new school year. For the first time, the young people at qualification level will also be preparing for the Realschule exam. The integration of Ukrainian pupils and teachers into the school community is also progressing further.

Great interest in the school of the future

On August 19, 2019, the University School Dresden opened its doors for the first time to 200 students in grades 1, 2, 3 and 5. For the 2024/25 school year, a second container construction was added to the old GDR building. Also, 830 children and adolescents in grades 1 to 10 will now be learning here on a cross-grade and interdisciplinary basis. In doing so, they will have the opportunity to follow their own individual learning paths. An innovative digital infrastructure for school and learning management and a flexible distribution of resources make this possible for such a large group of learners. The Gemeinschaftsschule – a school form allowing for the joint learning of all pupils – is expected to grow to grade 12 by the 2026/27 school year, accommodating about 1,000 pupils.

Interest in obtaining a place at the University School Dresden remains high. There were over 260 applications for the school’s 130 available places in all grades. This school project of the City of Dresden and TUD aims to demonstrate that a “school for everybody” can enable successful learning and personal development, regardless of social background and other individual factors. For this reason, the composition of the student body should be representative of the population of the city of Dresden in terms of gender, special needs, multilingualism, and educational and vocational qualifications of parents. The high enrollment numbers make it possible to choose the children and adolescents that are admitted according to these criteria.

The expansion up to grade 10 means the staff now comprises 51 learning facilitators, 20 of whom are educators. This is in line with the staffing ratio for a public school. They are supported by teaching assistants, volunteers and teacher training students from TUD who are on their internships during the semester.

Strong performance of the school project despite limited resources

As a public school project, the University School Dresden will test and research over a period of 15 years – under the academic supervision of TUD – how a school of the future that is employing contemporary teaching and learning methods can function. At the start of the second third of the project’s term, Academic Director Prof. Anke Langner is optimistic: “The school is growing and developing. The results of the first graduates show that the concept of a “school for everybody” can actually achieve more than a mainstream school – while using the same available resources. The project was launched in the knowledge that we would have to prove ourselves, even under adverse conditions, if we want to build and shape the school of the future. We feel that we have done that and are nevertheless surprised we still have to keep doing it, even after five years of solid work. After all, it costs the school community a lot of energy to have to fight specifically for the basic equipment of rooms and the provision of a school building that is appropriate and necessary for the number of pupils. We would much rather dedicate this time to working with our pupils and with other schools that are eager to join us on our journey to create a school fit for our pupils.”

Principal Maxi Heß sees the school community starting a new school year that is based on good groundwork and promises to be just as exciting as previous years: “Particularly because we will once again be testing new structures. We are very pleased that every year we manage to succeed in making the necessary changes quickly and resolutely, so that – and this is always our focus – we can support the individual learning of our pupils in the best possible manner. Our motivation to work for change and further development remains as strong as ever. The school project is now entering its second third. We have not only grown, but perhaps also grown up a little. On top of developing our school further, we can now focus on constant adaptation.” In concrete terms, this will mean the school responding to the need for a solid feedback culture and successful process support with a changed daily structure and an adapted time structure in the new school year.

Next milestones: Realschule leaving certificate and establishing grammar school level

After issuing the first Hauptschule leaving certificates in the last school year , the next milestone will now be the first Realschule examinations for the new 10th grade. “Significantly more exam participants will take the next step during this school year: the exams for the Mittlere Reife school leaving certificate. We are looking forward to these first exams with the proper respect due to them because, after six years of our school project, they will show us how the university school concept has been able to help pupils grow as individuals. In the short history of the school, the first very successful leaving qualifications of the past school year have given us an incredible boost and are confirmation of what we are doing. This experience is also a particular motivation for us to keep designing the exam procedure and preparations in the spirit of the school project. To this end, we will work with the Saxon State Ministry for Higher Education (German abbreviation: SMK) in developing new exam scenarios that are in keeping with the school project.”

At the same time, the school community is already working on establishing the grammar school level. Pupils at the junior level will continue to learn in cross-level groups.

Integration of Ukrainian pupils and colleagues

From August, some of our 40 Ukrainian pupils will now be taking the next step. For the whole school day, around a third of them will be joining the regular learning groups at the junior and qualification levels. For the remaining two thirds, there will continue to be an integration class with the focus on learning German as a second language. From 2022, the first children and young people initially attended the learning and playing workshop, which later turned into German as a second language classes. The Ukrainian teachers, with their growing knowledge of German, will also be more closely integrated into regular lessons and will work as normal in their subjects of art and music.

About the University School Dresden

The University School Dresden is a joint project of the City of Dresden and TUD Dresden University of Technology. It is a free, public primary and secondary school funded by the city, where innovative teaching and learning approaches are tested under academic supervision. Furthermore, it serves as a training school for current and future teachers at TU Dresden. The ForUS Research Unit at TU Dresden supervises the school project.

• Read more about TU Dresden’s research project: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
• Read more about the University School Dresden: http://universitaetsschule.org

You can take a glimpse into daily school life and the research project on various social media channels at @unischuleTUD. Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Contact

Maria Neuland Agüero
Tel.: +49 351 463-39917