Thomasschule zu Leipzig
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St. Thomas School of Leipzig
Thomasschule zu Leipzig
Schola Thomana Lipsiensis
Location
Hillerstraße 7
04109 Leipzig
Saxony, DEU Flag of Germany
Coordinates 51°20′13″N 12°21′36″E / 51.33694, 12.36
Information
Religion Roman Catholic (1212–1539) and since then influenced by Protestantism
Superintendent Burgomaster Prof. Dr. phil. Thomas Fabian (University of Applied Sciences), Alderman for Youth, Social, Health and School
Founder Augustinians
Principal Kathleen C. Kormann
Vice principal Dr. math. Ute Hofmann
Chaplain Pastor Christian Wolff (St. Thomas Church)
Staff 67
Students 485
Gender Coed, Boys' choir
Age 10 to 18
Type Public Boarding School
Grades 5 to 12
Language German
Classrooms 40
Campus Forum Thomanum
Campus Urban
Rival School of the Cross, Dresden
Patron saint(s) Thomas the Apostle
School Colour(s) Green and white          
Newspaper Thom Times
Established 1212
Alumni Old Thomaner
Alumni Thomanerbund e.V.
Chair Prof. Dr. theol. Christoph M. Haufe
Choir St. Thomas Choir
Cantor Prof. Georg C. Biller
Homepage www.thomasschule.de

The St. Thomas School of Leipzig (German: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; Latin: Schoola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a coed and public boarding school in Leipzig, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world.

St. Thomas School is well known for its art, language and music education in the Free State of Saxony. The Humanistic Gymasnium has a very long list of distinguished former students, including Richard Wagner (1813–1883) and many members of the Bach family, e.g. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788).

From the 800 Year Anniversary Celebration in 2012 the trias St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche), St. Thomas Choir (Thomanerchor) and St. Thomas School) are going to be part of an international oriented educational center, called Forum Thomanum.

Contents

History

It was found as schola pauperum, adjoint to the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, in 1212 by Margrave Dietrich von Meißen (1162–1221). Both St. Thomas School and Church were founded then together. The first years the school served as a monastery. The St. Thomas School is first mentioned in documents dating to 1254 making it among the oldest schools in Europe.

Since 1539 the school is owned by the city of Leipzig. All members (Thomaner) of the boy choir (Thomanerchor) attend to the school together with the other children who don't sing in the choir. The Thomaner live in the St. Thomas school's own boarding school named Thomasalumnat.

The school's first building was in the present courtyard of the St. Thomas Church. On 1553 an outbuilding was built there. Johan Sebastian Bach extended it on his time as rector and finally in 1829 was it reconstructed. 1877 was a new building in the Schreberstraße constructed because of the shortage of space and not until 1881 the new building for the boarding school was finished.

During the Nazi era the school practically continued it's normal curricula. The school endured the bombings of the night of Dezember 3th 1943 and only the gym and the buildings across from the boarding school were destroyed. The then-rector Günther Ramin decided to move the choir boys to the Königlich Sächsische Fürsten- und Landesschule Sankt Augustin school in Grimma. The University of Leipzig was then allowed to use the school's building at it's disposal, also because most of the older students were enlisted. The rector proved right, on the bombings of February 20th 1944 the school's buildings were finally destroyed. The rest of the children attended then the 41. Volksschule on the Hillerstraße.

In 1973 the school moved into a new building in the Pestalozzistraße (now Telemannstraße), but the boarding school remained in the Hillerstraße. The school and the boarding school were now definitively apart. The new communist regime on East Germany tried to make an exemplar atheist school out of the St. Thomas school, but the church's influence was immense.

After the German reunification in 1990 the pupil's numbers have increased and the St. Thomas school now offers to it's students only a maths-natural science, musical and linguistical profile.

On September 2000 the school moved into the historical, now restored, building on the Hillerstraße. 485 students currently attend and there are 67 teachers on the staff. Although until the XX century all the Thomascantors where also teachers at the school and the president of the Thomaschoir was also the school's rector, since 1973 those charges have been separated.

Foreign languages

Cultivating classical languages is an old tradition at St. Thomas School. All students study Latin as their first or second foreign language, including the Qualification in Latin (Latinum). Combined with the modern language English the pupils learn fundermatel foreign language skills. Although there are offered advanced courses (Leistungskurse) in those subjects. Interested students are welcome to take the First Certificate in English (FCE). The tradition of the school and its roots in European culture are the motive for providng Ancient Greek classes from 8th grade as well as a Qualification in Greek (Graecum). Also St. Thomas School offers Romance languages, like French and Italian.

Student exchange programs and stays in Europe and in Anglo-America are possible.

Notable alumni

Notable former teachers

See also

References

External links

Coordinates: 51°20′13″N 12°21′36″E / 51.33694, 12.36
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