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Faith Matters - A Dynamic School - "Bold - Protestant - Tolerant"

February 4, 2018

The Lutheran School in Berlin doesn’t simply follow a curriculum; it is committed to Christian values. In classes called "Responsibility" and "Challenge," the students at ESBZ learn to act on their own initiative and to take responsibility for their own lives and for society.

https://p.dw.com/p/2s6D7

The principal, Caroline Treier, wants her students to become mature citizens. She encourages them to "boldly tackle the shaping of our society and its challenges." That is the spirit of the ESBZ. The students choose their own projects, termed "challenges", and run them themselves. That way, they learn that they can achieve something if they try. The Lutheran school views itself as multinational; being a Christian is not an entrance requirement. "We want our student body to be heterogeneous," says Caroline Treier. "Our aim is to create community despite all the differences." The school’s academic results are also impressive, and it has achieved a number of awards. In this report, we focus on a day in the life of three students: Lenius, who is a high school senior; Fina, who has her very own ideas about God; and Sima, who arrived from Syria just a few months ago.