Surrounded by festive floral decorations, the 128 graduating pupils of the Johannes-Brenz-Gemeinschaftsschule received their certificates on Friday. What made this occasion special was that both the graduates of the Realschulabschluss (intermediate school leaving certificate) examination and the graduates of the Hauptschulabschluss (basic school leaving certificate) examination celebrated their graduation together. Teachers, parents and friends gathered in the Hagenbach-Halle for a varied programme, followed by refreshments.
After a moving musical opening by the school band with Year 12 pupils Selina Stier, Katrin Pluta and Lara Kopp, the deputy headteacher Christian Strauch gave the opening speech, in which he encouraged the graduates to follow their own path and to pay attention to what they really want.
The programme that followed was hosted by the head pupil (Schülersprecher) Raul Altmann, who addressed his speech mainly to his fellow pupils. Alongside songs from the music specialist course, there was a dance performance by the Hip-Hop club as well as a lighthearted film clip about the school trip of the Year 10 pupils. The high point of the ceremony was the presentation of certificates, for which the young people walked onto the stage to a song of their own choice. The official part of the ceremony ended with a closing address by the second deputy headteacher (Konrektorin) Nadja Grau and a fitting musical contribution from the music specialist course.
