Schmidt's Girls College
Schmidt's Girls College | |
---|---|
High school | |
Age range | 5–17 |
Enrollment | approx. 500 |
Website | schmidtschule |
Schmidt's Girls College
History
Ottoman period: "Old Hospice" building
In 1886 a school for Arab girls was established in the
During
At the start of the
British period
After the capture of Jerusalem by the British forces in late 1917 the college closed down for three years. When it reopened, under the British Mandate of Palestine, English replaced German as the main teaching language. However, German was later used again. By adopting Palestinian learning plans, the pupils could receive Palestinian certificates of secondary education alongside their German ones, as well as take a teaching exam. Initially, the college taught 27 pupils split between two classes and a kindergarten group. Because of the small number of female pupils, boys were also accepted until 1930. By 1936 the student body had increased to 370.
German became an obligatory foreign language from the sixth grade onwards in the 1930s. A German division was composed of two classes of German students taught according to German syllabuses.
From 1925 on the German church and state increased its support for the college, however the college remained largely unaffected by the Nazi ideology after 1933.
At the start of the
Jordanian period: "Paulus-Haus"
The old hospice in Hillel Street, used as a school building, lay in the western, Israeli part of Jerusalem after the ceasefire agreement of 1949. However, the students mainly lived in East Jerusalem, then under Jordanian administration and had to cross the ceasefire line on their way to the college. As a result, the school was temporarily moved into the Paulus-Haus on 1 October 1950. The headmaster, Father Sonnen, was able to achieve the move quickly through the support of the Israeli authorities, enlisting the help over 60 vans for the transportation purposes. Three years later the school had approximately 400 students. (The Old Hospice buildings have since been housing the Jerusalem Italian Jews Association, with the Italian Synagogue and, since 1952, the Museum of Italian Jewish Art.)
The Paulus-Haus was not conceived as a boarding school and had to continue to serve as a hospice. In the 1950s several new buildings were constructed and in 1962 a new school site began to be built on land adjacent to the Paulus-Haus. Although it was completed on 14 May 1967, the Six-Day War began only a few days later, during which the new building suffered heavy external damage.
Israeli period: new building
In June 1967 Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where part of the students are coming from.
Academic overview
The twelve-year school period finishes with the Palestinian Tawjihi certificate and the Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung (DIAP, "German International Abitur Program"). The abitur is recognized by the Palestinian education authorities and enables applying for higher education in Germany, Palestine and worldwide. Almost 100% of Schmidt's College students continue onto university. The Schmidt's Girls College is considered a prestigious institution and graduates are in demand by employers. The college is under the care of the convent of the sisters of the Congregation of Jesus (CJ), also known as the Mary Ward Sisters, amongst other organisations.
The college is a Catholic school following the
Famous graduates
- Karimeh Abbud (1893-1940), photographer
- Yusra Al Barbari (1923–2009), Palestinian teacher and activist
- Salma Khadra Jayyusi (1925-2023), Palestinian historian and literary scholar
- Shahd Seethaler-Wari (*1983) German-Palestinian urban planner and architect
See also
References
- ^ "Home." Schmidt's Girls College. Retrieved on 23 January 2015. "Student at Schmidt's Girls College today, leader tomorrow!"
- ^ "Schule." Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem. Retrieved on 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Kontakt." Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem. Retrieved on 23 January 2015. "Nablus Road 2 P.O. Box 19070 East-Jerusalem via Israel"
- ^ "Herzlich Willkommen auf der Grundschulseite der Schmidt Schule in Ost-Jerusalem." Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem. Retrieved on 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Information on the German International Abitur (DIAP)." Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem. Retrieved on 23 January 2015.
Further reading
- Margret Greiner: "Miss, wie buchstabiert man Zukunft?" : als deutsche Lehrerin in Jerusalem. ["Miss, how do you spell 'future'?": about being a German teacher in Jerusalem], in German. München: Malik, 2003 ISBN 3-89029-256-9
External links
- Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem, official homepage in English and German
- "Lernen zwischen Mauern – Die "Schmidt-Girls"" (Archive). Federal Office of Administration. 3 November 2014.
- Schmidt's Girls College on the German Association of the Holy Land website
- Statement of the German Association of the Holy Land regarding the Father Schmitz Collection, the history of Schmitz's taxidermic collection. Accessed Feb 2021.