After four intense and formative years, the students of the pioneering cohort will move on to secondary schools after the summer holidays. At the farewell ceremony on July 30, founder and board chairman Hans Schöpflin, together with the school team, bid farewell to the fourth grade. »The courage and trust of the parents have supported the school from the very beginning«, Hans Schöpflin said to those present. »All the more, it pleases me to see how deeply Schöpflin School has now taken root in the educational landscape of Lörrach.« Afterwards, the 15 students were given a ceremonial send-off: the school team drove each child in a wheelbarrow across the red carpet and out of the school building – accompanied by loud applause.

The Schöpflin School started at the beginning of the 2021/2022 school year as a private, state-approved elementary school in Lörrach-Brombach. Its educational concept was developed in collaboration with education pioneer Margret Rasfeld, whose initiative »Schule im Aufbruch« (Schools on the Move) supports schools in transforming toward a stronger culture of relationships. Starting next school year, nearly 100 children will attend Schöpflin School, supported by a school team of around 25 staff members.
 

Learning on Equal Terms

What sets Schöpflin School apart from many other elementary schools is its relationship-oriented approach: instead of traditional frontal teaching, the focus is on individual guidance for each child. The teachers – called »learning companions« at the school – take plenty of time, especially in the first year, to build trust and recognize each child’s abilities. Relationships on an equal footing play a major role not only in learning content but also in shaping school life. Children actively participate in school organization and daily routines – for example, in the children’s parliament. »Participatory formats particularly motivate children to express their opinions, coordinate processes, and consider the voices of the entire school community. They're seeing this right now with the renovation of the old chicken coop on the school grounds, which is being turned into a cool and cozy hangout spot for all the children«, says principal Andrea Avé. In addition to core subjects such as math, reading, and writing, Schöpflin School offers regularly changing learning activities based on the children’s interests and wishes, aligned with the curriculum of Baden-Württemberg. This allows children to emphasize areas of their schedule according to their strengths and interests. 

Schöpflin School also organizes so-called »theme weeks«. Four times a year, students engage intensively with one of the school’s focus areas: democracy education, mindful communication, education for sustainable development, and diversity. During the last theme week of the current school year, sustainability was the focus. At the end of July, the children visited the vegetable garden »Auhof« in Steinen, from which the school sources many ingredients for the school kitchen.