The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious schools in Germany with a rich and long history.
Image: Altbaupforte des Kollegs St. Blasien
Gymnasium, in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being Hauptschule (lowest) and Realschule (middle). Gymnasium strongly emphasizes academic learning, comparable to the British grammar school system or with prep schools in the United States. A student attending Gymnasium is called a Gymnasiast. In 2009/10 there were 3,094 gymnasia in Germany, with c. 2,475,000 students, resulting in an average student number of 800 students per school.
The Kolleg St. Blasien in a former Benedictine monastery
The Aloisiuskolleg
Gymnasiasts sailing a rowboat on the Unterelbe in 1959
Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster (1910)