Aloisiuskolleg

Aloisiuskolleg
Address
Elisabethstraße 18, D-53177 Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany
Information
Type	Jesuit (Catholic)
Established	1900 (1900)
Founder	Jesuits
Status	State & Archdiocese supported
Chairman	P. Johannes Siebner SJ
Headmaster	Dr. Manfred Sieburg
Gender	coeducational
Enrollment	800
Yearbook	AKO-Heft
Website	www.aloisiuskolleg-bonn.de

The Aloisiuskolleg is a co-educational, Jesuit (Catholic), University-preparatory school in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany, which includes boarders. It is named for Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. It has an excellent reputation and is considered one of the most prestigious boarding schools in Germany. Since early 2010 the school has been at the centre of investigations into the sexual abuse of pupils.

Organization

Since 1921 the Jesuits have operated a boarding school for boys in Bonn Bad-Godesberg. Ninety-four percent of its budget is provided by German North Rhine-Westphalia, even though the college is non-governmental, run by the Jesuits. The remaining 6% is covered by the Archdiocese of Cologne. The school is open to everyone. The State conducts the school-leaving examination (called the Abitur, the equivalent of A-levels in the UK) and proposes the subjects of instruction. In turn, the school is recognized by the State, and a successfully completed Abitur by any graduate allows admission to a German university. Lodging, food, and boarding run about €14,000 per year, while students from impoverished families are sponsored by the Jesuits or by the charge for other boarders.

School competitions

The Aloisiuskolleg (AKO) ranks high each year at regional, national, and even international school competitions in sports, as well as in subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, music, art, and computer sciences, and has won several awards. A PISA study ranked the school 4th in Germany and among the best in Europe. Also in other OECD studies the school is usually ranked highly.

International co-operation

The College attaches importance to international contacts, and has promoted cultural exchange with other countries since its founding. Since 1997 this has included the European Union's COMENIUS program which promotes co-operation among European schools. Partnerships exist with Clongowes Wood College (Ireland), Eton College and Maidenhead (both in England), and Georgetown Prep in Washington, D.C., United States.

History

Establishment

As a consequence of the Kulturkampf, the State of Prussia took over by law the supervision of all Jesuit schools in 1872. On 12 August 1900 the German province of the Society of Jesus opened the Aloisiuskolleg in Sittard, Netherlands, as an all-boys school with boarding facilities. This started with German nationals, 43 internal and 38 external pupils on 29 September 1900 with a pre-class and 5th and 6th grades. This was the beginning of the Aloisiuskollegs.

Move to Bonn Bad-Godesberg; Nazi period

The law against Jesuits ("Jesuitengesetz") was repealed in 1917 and new schools opened again in Germany. The Aloisiuskolleg moved to Bonn in 1921. In 1927 the Jesuits also acquired a nearby villa owned by the banker August Karl Baron von der Heydt, son of August von der Heydt, and turned it into "Stella Rheni", a boys' home.

During the Nazi period, the school and the Jesuits opposed the regime and the school was closed in 1938. The active resistance by the Jesuits and the pupils plays an important role in the contemporary self-understanding of the College. Well-known resistors to the Nazis were Georg Freiherr von Boeselager and his brother Philipp. The Jesuits reopened the Aloisiuskolleg in 1946, after the end of World War II.

Sexual abuse

From early 2010 the school was at the centre of investigations into the sexual abuse of pupils, resulting in the resignation of Chairman Theo Schneider who was accused of complicity. The progress report by the commission investigating cases of abuse counted 45 victims and 18 perpetrators, 15 of whom were members of the Jesuit order, since the 1950s. The interim report highlighted the "latent psychological violence," the compulsive exhibitionism, and paedo-erotic acts of the late chairman, P. Ludger Stüper, S.J.

Co-education

In the 1980s, the Aloisiuskolleg along with nearby Clara Fey High School became co-educational in the upper classes: all students had their choice of either school. After 2002 the Aloisiuskolleg accepted girls in the lower classes, then in 2005 a separate boarding facility was built for girls.

Alumni

Former pupils of the school can remain connected through the alumni network. Former pupils of the Aloisiuskolleg, Kolleg St. Blasien, and the Canisius-Kolleg Berlin College can find addresses at Stellaner webpage. For alumni of the Aloisiuskolleg there is a special association, found at Aloisiuskolleg Alumni.

Notable alumni of the Aloisiuskolleg

• Dr. med. Stefan Kuetter - physician, general practitioner
• Hans Riegel - entrepreneur, founder of Haribo
• Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager - resistance fighter from 20 July 1944
• Georg Freiherr von Boeselager - resistance fighter from 20 July 1944
• Thomas de Maizière - Federal Minister of the Interior and former Head of the German Chancellery, cousin of Lothar de Maizière
• Norman Rentrop – publisher and investor
• Philipp Brenninkmeyer - actor, member of Brenninkmeijer family
• Johannes B. Kerner – host of talk show on ZDF
• Stefan Raab - German late night talkshow (TV Total)
• Alexander Graf Lambsdorff - executive committee of the FDP and member of the European parliament
• Till Brönner - musician

Other Jesuit schools in Germany

• Kolleg St. Blasien
• Canisius-Kolleg Berlin

External links

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