The aim of the cooperation agreement between the school association Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte Schwäbisch Gmünd and the state capital Stuttgart is to provide optimal support for gifted and high-achieving pupils. The Mayor for Youth and Education, Isabel Fezer, signed the agreement on Wednesday, October 29, together with Dr. Joachim Bläse, District Administrator of the Ostalbkreis, and Richard Arnold, Lord Mayor of the City of Schwäbisch Gmünd, at Stuttgart City Hall.
The Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte (LGH) with boarding school in Schwäbisch Gmünd has been a central component of the state's strategy to promote gifted children for more than 20 years. The LGH leads highly gifted pupils from year 7 onwards in a six-year course of education or from year 10 onwards in a three-year course of education in all-day operation to the general higher education entrance qualification.
Individual support and encouragement
The special educational concept at LGH combines individual support for intellectually gifted children with a clear commitment to motivation and the development of independence, tolerance and social skills. In the so-called "Fundamentum", the contents of the curriculum are taught in an abbreviated form, while learning content is deepened and expanded in mandatory "Addita" courses. Individual learning contracts, opportunities for early university study from year 10 onwards and close supervision by secondary school mentors enable individual support and encouragement.
The LGH consists of the grammar school, boarding school and competence center for gifted students. The grammar school and boarding school are run by the school association Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte as a special-purpose association of the Ostalbkreis district and the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The competence center is sponsored by the state.
Educational opportunities for the gifted
The partners in the cooperation are the Youth and Education Department of the City of Stuttgart and the School Administration Office. The school development planning department there is responsible for the conception and implementation of a sustainable, needs-oriented and high-quality educational offer that meets the individual needs of children and young people at Stuttgart's schools.
Isabel Fezer, Mayor for Youth and EducationThe aim of the cooperation is to establish the Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte even more strongly as a complementary educational offer of the state capital Stuttgart and to integrate it into educational policy strategy processes for the promotion of gifted students in the state capital.
Mayor Isabel Fezer further emphasizes on behalf of the signing cooperation partners: "In return, the Landesgymnasium opens up educational opportunities for highly gifted pupils of the state capital Stuttgart that specifically strengthen the individual school biography."
In particular, the two public grammar schools in Stuttgart with gifted classes, Karls-Gymnasium and Königin-Katharina-Stift, will cooperate closely with the LGH. High-achieving and gifted pupils from Stuttgart who would like to attend the Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte as internal or external pupils will be invited to the selection process as a matter of priority. Other cooperation modules include internships for LGH pupils in companies, universities and institutions in the state capital as part of study and career guidance. In the area of business, science and research, the state capital of Stuttgart supports the initiation of partnerships and collaborations with companies, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Chamber of Crafts, the university, business and research institutions.
