International understanding begins in the bedroom: light on or off? window closed or open? Can you listen to music late into the night? Or make loud phone calls to distant time zones when the others want to sleep? Important questions for four teenagers who share a room. And the basis for intercultural cooperation on a small scale.
Promoting this is the goal of the Robert Bosch College (RBC) in Freiburg: 200 young people between the ages of 16 and 19 live and learn together here for two years. They come from over 90 nations, speak almost 70 different mother tongues, have different skin colors and grew up in various political systems and cultures. Many of them have personally experienced religious conflicts, political unrest, occupation or war.
Under normal circumstances, they would hardly ever meet. But now they have to organize their coexistence on the idyllic Breisgau campus: six rooms per apartment building, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a common room – and 24 teenagers.
No easy task, but the crash course in tolerance and diplomacy has method. RBC is part of the United World Colleges group, an international education movement committed to peace and a sustainable future. There are 18 UWC schools worldwide, the Freiburg boarding school is the only one in Germany. “We are all human beings and want to be seen as individuals and not just as a representative of some nation,” says Headmaster Laurence Nodder.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Declared learning objective: Aspects such as skin color, nationality or religion are secondary to harmonious coexistence. But not whether someone is a night owl or an early riser, needs order or creative chaos, loves folklore or heavy metal – preferences and characteristics that are found all over the world.
No guarantee for a place in Germany
Of the 100 places per school year, 25 are reserved for local applicants, while the rest are given to young people from all over the world. Even the admissions process is special: Pupils from Germany can apply online via the UWC Germany Foundation for all 18 UWC schools worldwide. Country requests will be considered as far as possible, but there is no guarantee for a place in Germany or another country.
So if you apply for the UWC-USA, you could end up in Costa Rica or Mostar. The RBC also has no influence whatsoever on the selection of international students in their home countries. The deadline for the coming year is November 27th.
The language of instruction is English – which not all students understand on arrival. Some have never worked on a PC. What unites everyone, however, is commitment, motivation and the joy of learning, according to Nodder, who has headed the RBC since it was founded in 2014. In order to make integration easier for young people from abroad, if possible one student from Germany should live in every room. In addition, many are accompanied by host families who occasionally spend a weekend with them or take part in school events. The teachers are also involved in extracurricular activities, some live on campus.
The boarding school is recognized as a non-profit organization and is financed by both public funds and donations. The sponsors include the state of Baden-Württemberg and the city of Freiburg, the Robert Bosch Foundation and the medical technology manufacturer B. Braun.
The curriculum is comparable to that of a high school, the level and teaching style are more similar to the first semesters at the university. The RBC does not award a high school diploma, but rather the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) school leaving certificate, which, according to studies, prepares young people well for university studies or demanding vocational training.
IB instead of Abi: What makes the international degree special
One of the special features of the IB is the obligatory subject “Theory of Knowledge”, in which the young people should learn to reflect on their own knowledge and learning and to critically question supposed truths. In the other subjects, too, independent learning, discourse and critical examination of the material are encouraged and required. “We learn here with and from each other,” says schoolgirl Nele from Worms. “I missed that at my previous school.”
The 17-year-old became aware of the RBC through a TV documentary, a portrait of the graduate Jeremias Thiel, who comes from difficult family backgrounds, grew up in the SOS Children’s Village, graduated in Freiburg in 2019 and is now studying in the USA. “I got my parents the book, and then they agreed,” says Nele.
Full scholarship for 70 percent of the students
Such careers are made possible by generous support for school fees. UWC schools do not see themselves as cadre schools for children of rich parents, but as educational institutions for committed, socially competent young people. School attendance should be open to all interested parties, regardless of their parents’ income. Almost all students at Robert Bosch College are currently supported with scholarships, 70 percent receive full scholarships, including several young people with refugee status.
Nele has designed her timetable in such a way that her IB diploma is recognized by German universities as a high school diploma. Those who are willing to take an additional exam for university admission have more freedom in the combination of subjects and choice of courses.
For the headmaster, everyday life together is more important than the learning content. There, the young people experienced that, despite their different backgrounds, they have more in common than they divide, says Nodder, who comes from South Africa and knows apartheid from his own experience. And that you find friends faster and get along better when you learn to look at the world from different perspectives. The success seems to prove him right: “Since the school was founded, only three students have dropped out,” says Nodder.
More: Private schools rely on playful coding lessons