This is our Eponym:

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born in 1646. He became a famous mathematician and philosopher, and what’s more, he has been called the last of the universal scholars – which means that he knew about everything that was important in science in his days. He died in 1716.

There is also a type of cookies called Leibniz, so we use that as a pic.

The School

The Leibniz-Gymnasium is the biggest Grammar School in Gelsenkirchen (the other big thing being the football club, FC Schalke 04). The school boasts more than 1,000 pupils and students. The original building is rather old, but still beautiful. There are also, of course, a couple of new and really state-of-the-art facilities.

The new canteen!

Bilingual School

The pupils can decide for being educated in the bilingual branch. This means that there are subjects like geography or history which are also taught in English, and there is one more English lesson per week. At the moment this is an option for the younger pupils only, not for the so-called Oberstufe (classes 11-13). Other languages in the curriculum are Latin and French, and there are clubs for Italian and Dutch.

The Time Table

Usually school starts at 8.20. Unlike in Great Britain, most pupils leave at around 13.40. But from this term on we also have a new canteen which allows for a lunch break, and then there are two or three more lessons in the afternoon. One lesson lasts 45 minutes.

This picture, taken by Maren and Büsra, shows one of the hallways. Isn't it a piece of art?

The Surroundings

The Leibniz-Gymnasium is located in the centre of Gelsenkirchen’s largest borough called Buer. Gelsenkirchen had been a coal-mining city until a few years ago, but the town offers a lot of green space for its 270,000 citizens. Some of the old coal-mines are still standing, serving as museums or cultural heritage. The Ruhr River Area that Gelsenkirchen belongs to ends 5 kilometers up north from the Leibniz, and there it’s all green with farms, villages and small towns. At lot of families who live there send their kids to our school.