Kreuzstraße 13
OT Heckenbeck
D-37581 Bad Gandersheim
Deutschland
Office: buero@freie-schule-heckenbeck.de
Tel. +49 5563 705659
Fax +49 5563 705774
www.freie-schule-heckenbeck.de
Founding date: 31 May 2001
No. of students: 81
Age range of students: 6 bis 16 (17)
School Info Chart – Heckenbeck
Freie Schule Heckenbeck – Exchange
What is our school like?
We have a wonderful little school here in Heckenbeck, where the kids can develop themselves free from the usual restraints. Our Kids learn the things they want to learn by doing what they are actually interested in. Nobody is ever forced to sit and do a worksheet or a test.
The kids learn:
• at their own pace
• taking classes they are interested in
• working by themselves in a prepared environment
• by helping each other and giving each other feedback
• by getting personal coaching from their school counsellor
At the moment we have 81kids from age 6 to 16 divided into three groups (Primaria, Sekundaria, Tertia) and 8 staff-members. About 7 adults work in school each day to be available, support if necessary, give classes and run the everyday-day-organisation. We also usually have one or two young social service workers, aged between 19 and 24, each year supporting our staff.
We base our work on the experiences of Rebecca and Mauricio Wild and Maria Montessori. We are also connected to the democratic school movement (IDEC/EUDEC).
What is the surrounding of the school like?
Heckenbeck is a charming small village with 480 inhabitants situated between Hannover and Goettingen next to a small town called Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, (pretty much in the middle of) Germany. There is a train station 3 kilometres from Heckenbeck in Kreiensen and it takes about half an hour to get from there to either Goettingen or Hannover.
The village community in Heckenbeck is generally friendly and open-minded. It is one of the few places in the countryside in Germany where people actually move to (in many cases our school is one of the reasons). Other projects like organic farming, a cultural association with a theatre or a meditation centre for example, have developed over the last 25 years.