Französisches Gymnasium Berlin

The Französisches Gymnasium Berlin or Collège Français de Berlin is a long-existing francophone gymnasium in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1689 by Elector Frederick III for the children of the Huguenot families who settled in Brandenburg-Prussia by his invitation, being persecuted for their Protestant beliefs in Roman Catholic France.

History

Since its foundation, the school has had an almost continuous history, occupying several buildings in Berlin. During a brief period under the Nazi regime] , it had to close down due to the persecution of its Jewish pupils and teachers. Several of its pupils (though not all graduated) became prominent in later life, among them the engineer Wernher von Braun, the songwriters Reinhard Mey and Ulrich Roski, and political scientist Gesine Schwan, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 2009.

The school today

The school moved to its current building in Berlin-Tiergarten (on Derfflingerstraße not far from Nollendorfplatz) in 1972, having been located in Berlin-Reinickendorf before. It educates both German- and French-speaking pupils from Francophonic countries all over the world. Grades are from 5 to 12, bilingual classes and teaching starting in grade 7. Other taught languages are English, Latin, Ancient Greek and Spanish. The pupils can graduate with either of two diplomas (though many Germans pass both): the Abitur (German high school diploma) and the Baccalauréat (French high school diploma).

On June 15, 2002, a gang of ex-pupils burglarized the school, vandalizing many facilities and stealing electronic equipment to sell in the street. The damage was estimated at 100,000 euros. Their motivation was apparently vengeance for their problems at the school, since they also destroyed personal belongings of the teachers.

External links

* [http://www.fg-berlin.cidsnet.de Official website] (in German and French)
* [http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/2002/0611/lokales/0026/ A news report on the vandalism from "Berliner Zeitung"] (in German)