Ready for the start of the school year

Next Monday, 7 August, school starts again for Saxony's pupils. Currently, 18,062 girls and boys attend Chemnitz primary, secondary and special schools as well as grammar schools and vocational training centres. This figure also includes those who are aiming for a school-leaving qualification via the second educational pathway - e.g. at evening grammar schools - as well as first-year pupils: 2,000 ABC pupils have their first day at one of Chemnitz's 39 primary schools on Monday.

Costs for teaching and learning materials

The city is paying around 1.5 million euros for new textbooks and learning materials this year - a good 54,000 euros more than last year. The reason for this is not only the increase in pupil numbers but also the fact that workbooks and photocopies for all Chemnitz pupils as well as calculators for pupils from year 8 onwards are now financed by the city. Textbooks and materials for vocational schools alone cost 377,658 euros. Those for primary schools cost 373,448 euros. This year, the cost of learning materials for secondary schools amounts to 254,045 euros and those for grammar schools to 371,232 euros.

School transport

The rising number of pupils also has an impact on the costs of school transport borne by the city. Applications for the 2017/18 school year are still being submitted, so the costs have not yet been finalised. In the past school year, 7,274 applications - excluding those for special transport services - were processed. 6,336 applications were approved. The city budget is also used to pay for the transport of pupils with disabilities to special schools in the Chemnitz city area. Contracted transport companies transport 568 pupils with disabilities to their schools every day on behalf of the city. In total, the city spent around 5.38 million euros on school transport services in 2017.

School refurbishments

Since 2000, the city of Chemnitz has invested around 339 million euros, including 144 million euros in subsidies, in the modernisation of its school buildings. For example, a complex 8.5 million euro reconstruction of a part of the former school for the physically disabled as a new home for the Borna primary school will run until June 2018. Around 7.1 million euros have been invested in the boarding school at the sports high school to create better living and learning conditions for the next generation of sporting elite. The boarding school is due to be handed over to its residents in December.

The 4.3 million euro refurbishment of the Josephinen Secondary School will be completed in October. Four million euros were invested in the roof and façade renovation of the building at the Richard Hartmann School Vocational Training Centre III, which will be completed in a few weeks. The city also has numerous smaller construction projects planned for other schools.

Glösa primary school

The new extension to Glösa primary school, which cost around 3.3 million euros, is just one example of the millions of euros invested by the city in its school buildings. The school children, who learn in the old building and currently still in additional teaching containers, were able to observe during their breaks how a new school building is being constructed behind the old one. Classrooms, specialist cabinets and a new dining room are being built in the new building at Glösa primary school. As part of the complex construction project, the town is also taking measures to make the school accessible. In future, a lift and appropriately equipped sanitary facilities will provide free access for disabled pupils. Barrier-free access to the sports hall will also be created as part of the basement conversion in the old building. In future, the pupils will also have

new outdoor sports facilities and an additional open space. The city is also using the renovation and new construction project to replace the school's outdated heating system and adapt it to the increased space created by the new building. The building will also be equipped with a wood pellet heating system. The new building should be ready for occupancy at the start of the 2018/19 school year. This will be followed by work in the old building. The project will be completely finished - including the newly designed outdoor facilities - in April 2019.

Emanuel Gottlieb Flemming primary school

Emanuel Gottlieb Flemming Primary School is also currently undergoing refurbishment, as is its gymnasium and the associated connecting wing. Work began in mid-2016 and is scheduled to last until mid-2018. The city is extending parts of the basement in order to increase the capacity of the primary school. In order to achieve a clear room height of at least 2.50 metres, the construction companies are lowering the basement floor. The building must also be structurally braced and the foundations secured. The workroom being created in the remodelled basement, as well as the dining room and the serving kitchen, should receive sufficient natural light. For this reason, a slope is being created towards the basement. A second escape route will also be created. Both the Emanuel Gottlieb Flemming primary school and the Altendorf primary school used the school building until the renovation work began in October 2016. The school building was vacated from October 2016. Pupils from Flemming Primary School are taught at Rottluff Primary School until they move back in. The pupils of Altendorf primary school moved into mobile classrooms at Altendorf school in February of this year. Cost: 4.7 million euros, of which a good 2.8 million euros are own funds. End of construction: End of 2018.