GERMAN
• Designated "Europaschule"
• BBilingual instruction in
some subject areas
• Excellent Music Program
Nordseegymnasium St. Peter
(including the regional school)
The newest PISA results have confirmed the Schleswig-Holstein Gymnasium schools' place at the top. Especially in the Math discipline stellar results were achieved giving us fourth place (behind Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, and Sachsen). Trailing far behind in all categories, filling the bottom three spots, are the other North states Hamburg, Niedersachsen, and Bremen.
Another triumph: Students in grades 7-13 still prefer the 9-year Gymnasium format, meaning graduation after 13th grade. Ever more students come to Nordseegymnasium from other states to escape the stress brought about by the G8 format (8-year Gymnasium format).
Nordseegymnasium (NSG) is attended by just about 500 students. There are 37 faculty members to teach the 18 classes that comprise grades 5-11, as well as the 12th and 13th grade courses. This is a quite manageable size and makes for an almost familial atmosphere, where very knows (almost) everybody else.
There is an especially lovely atmosphere at North Sea Gymnasium at St. Peter, in large part thanks to its woodland setting, close to the dunes and dams and bordering the Wattenmeer National Park.
The school has modern classrooms and laboratories, with state-of-the-art scientific equipment. The indoor sports facilities have all been modernized; the outdoors include a competition-ready track and field area complete with a race track, a discus cage and pole vault.
The foreign language program at NSG includes English, French, Latin and Spanish. Students start to learn English in the 5th grade. In the sixth grade, they must choose between Latin or French lessons in addition to English. If they wish, they may add Latin or French as a third foreign language to their studies once they reach the 8th grade.
The school is a designated 'Europaschule' ('europe school' or School of Europe) and therefore the school's academic programme follows the principles of a Europe-oriented core curriculum. The NSG has a "bilingual branch" in which the students may choose to have geography lessons in English all the way through their final year.
Some students who have successfully graduated from Realschule (after the 10th grade) may want to continue and complete their 'abitur' (graduation from Gymnasium, which would qualify them to enter University). North Sea Gymnasium has its own programme to accommodate students who have not learned a second foreign language, which is a requirement for entry into the 'Oberstufe' (grades 11-13, also called 'Sekundarstufe II' ); Spanish or Latin may now be chosen as a second foreign language.
In the 11th grade students must choose a study profile, that is, designate an area of study in which they will concentrate; they may choose a study profile with emphasis on natural science, language, or sociology.
