Welcome!

We are delighted to note your interest in the Waldorf School (also Rudolph Steiner School)  in Heidelberg, Germany and hope the information below proves helpful. Who knows-the following pages may even spark your interest in coming to pay us a visit!

The Independent Waldorf School in Heidelberg, is a fully integrated private school  catering for children from  Nursery  through to Lower (Grades 1-8) and Upper School levels (Grades 9-13) which are recognized in full by the German board of education.

The Steiner pedagogy underpins the school curriculum. This pedagogy originated from Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) in 1919 and is internationally renowned as a holistic,  innovative approach to education. It is based on the tenets of anthroposophy, a spiritual outlook borne out of Steiner’s philosophy of freedom. Throughout the 13 years of formal school study particular emphasis is placed upon fostering the child’s creativity and imagination alongside the more traditional hard “academic” skills.

Our school is self-managed and self-organised. This sees each member of the school community taking on part of the responsibility for the smooth running the whole institution by contributing with individual talent and skill to the common good and thus shaping the learning and teaching environment collectively.

Facts and figures (2011):

470 students
62 teachers
Grades 1-13, average class size ca. 30 students

At our school secondary school exit awards are aligned  to the mainstream German school system as follows:

Hauptschulabschluss in Grade 9
Realschulabschluss  in Grade 11
Fachhochschulreife in Grade 12
Abitur in Grade 13

Progress reports

At our school a student’s achievement and progress are not marked with alphanumerical grades or points in the conventional sense until the 12th grade. Report cards and formative feedback are written in the format of testimonials in which the skills and personal development of the student are described for each subject in detail.

The school day

Classes commence at 8 am and typically end between 12.30 to 5 pm depending on the level of the class. The curriculum at our school is based on Steiner’s  understanding of the development of human nature and of how children learn at different stages in their lives. Each class at a Waldorf school begins with the so-called "main lesson" from 8 am to 9.40 am. In each case nearly 2 hours are devoted every morning to a main subject for blocks of 3 to 4 weeks. This format of teaching allows for in-depth study and nurtures deeper understanding. These main lessons include subjects such as history, trigonometry,  botany, physics and poetry. Throughout the lower school the main lesson is taught by the class teacher. Thereafter specialist teaching begins in subjects such as foreign languages, the arts and movement disciplines. In these subjects the class is usually split into smaller teaching units to ensure more individual support.

Special features at the Waldorf School

A special feature of our school is the "Archehof". This is a small farm which is home to chickens, geese, ducks, pigs and sheep. We contribute to the care and maintenance of old livestock breeds with the goal of preserving these breeds from extinction. The care and maintenance  of the animals and the adjoining school garden by its students are an important feature of Steiner’s educational concept that values “hands-on” practical activity and soft-skills as much as formal academic study.

Further to this approach the 8th and 12th graders devote a significant part of the school year to the inception, practice and performance of a class play whilst each working on an individual,  themed “Year project” of their own choice and level of difficulty.

Eurythmy (the art of movement) classes help children discover solace and comfort in  their movement and  are an important component of the curriculum

Our school has a school orchestra that performs regularly.

Class trips normally take place from the 5th grade.  9th graders spend 2 weeks on an ecology internship while 10th and 11th graders  participate in a work-based and social internship, respectively, either at home or abroad.

Description of the school and its location

Our school

Our school is located beautifully on the outskirts of the city of Heidelberg, surrounded by lush meadows and a majestic view of the hills of the "Bergstraße". The Neckar River meanders close by.

The individual school buildings are located on extensive, landscaped grounds, which include a gym with ample outdoor sports facilities.  The main building of our school houses a well-stocked library, which also offers English-language literature.

At our school the languages English and Russian are core subjects from the first grade in the lower school. French is offered from the 10th grade. As an extra-curricular activity, however, French is already offered after formal school hours from the 5th grade onwards. In addition to French a wide range of sport, drama, and art activities are on schedule in the afternoons of a normal school week (please see the school’s home page for details).

The location

The city of Heidelberg lies nestled in between thells rising above the Neckar River valley in the province of northern Baden-Wuerttemberg. Heidelberg has a population of approximately 150 000.

Heidelberg is widely regarded as a modern and cosmopolitan city with a distinct international flair and presents itself as a lively center in the bustling metropolitan region, Rhine-Neckar. At the same time Heidelberg looks back proudly on its 800-year heritage and boasts a 625 year old highly esteemed university (founded in 1386) as the oldest university in Germany.

The name Heidelberg stands not only for the world famous castle and historic old town, cobblestone streets, but also for modern science, cutting-edge research and lively business as a location of innovative, international repute.

The city’s vibrant and diverse culture is recognized by locals and vistors alike. In the many cafes, bars and clubs people from all over the world meet and create the rich cultural  exchange that makes this University town a hotspot for new ideas and trends.

In Heidelberg different denominations and religious communities live side by side, including an English-speaking community and a Jewish community.

Thanks to the beautiful location of the city and the expansive surrounding areas a great variety of sports are offered including sailing, tennis, rugby, hockey, kajaking, archery, rock climbing riding, mountain biking and much, much more!

Arts and entertainment on offer in and around Heidelberg are very diverse and offer something for every taste and purse!

Heidelberg Castle Festival

- Concerts and festivals
- Theater, cabaret,
- Exhibitions
- Museums
- Book readings

Worthwhile excursion destinations in the vicinity

Heidelberg

The Heidelberg Castle with its historic old town and the Old Bridge, pittoresque Philosophenweg and Thingstätte
Palatinate Museum with the "Homo heidelbergensis", Neckar River, antique mountain railway to the “Königsstuhl”, falconry, nature trail, Fairytale Forest theme park, Neckar boat trip, abbey Stift Neuburg, high ropes course, swimming pool, zoo.

Seasonal sports events throughout the year such as the marathon, triathlon, wheelchair marathon, fun boat races.

Neckargemünd

Kajaking, Camping, outdoor pool.

Neckarhausen

Castle and castle grounds, indoor pool with outdoor pool and sunbathing area.

Ladenburg (travel from Neckarhausen to Ladenburg by ferry)

Outdoor swimming pool, river promenade, mini golf course, Carl-Benz-Museum, historic old city, Archeological Museum.

Mannheim

Castle, Museum of Technology, Luisen Park, Art Gallery and other museums, a planetarium, TV Tower, SAP Arena, Museum Ship, indoor ice rink, high ropes course, climbing gym.

Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen Castle with large garden, indoor and outdoor water park "Bellamar".

Schriesheim

Strahlenburg castle, old town, visitor mine, geo trail, Mathaisemarkt, climbing on the quarry.

Weinheim

Indoor and outdoor water park "Miramar" with a lake Waidsee, botanical garden and historic Old Town, climbing in the quarry.

Viernheim

Forest climbing, ice rink.

Hasloch in the Pfalz

Leisure and amusement.

Rust

Europa Park

Swimming

Indoor pools: Neckarhausen, Heidelberg, Dossenheim, Ziegelhausen

Outdoor pools: Heidelberg (2), Neckargemünd, Schriesheim (forest pool)

Lakes: Mannheim, Wörth, Heddesheim, Hemsbach Wiesensee, Weinheim Waidsee, St-Leon-Rot, Bensheim

Excursions

From Heidelberg, one can also reach many other German cities by train, for example:
Mannheim (45 min), Frankfurt (60 min.) Stuttgart (50 min.) Karlsruhe (40 min), Munich (180), Cologne (180 min), Berlin (4 h)

Even in neighboring countries, a trip by high speed train is no problem!

Travel to:
Basel, Switzerland
Paris, France
Brussels, Belgium
Amsterdam, Holland
Salzburg, Austria
Prag, Czech Republic
….and many more destinations.

If your choice is to visit Germany, then why not choose Heidelberg and experience what  the  school staff and students at the Waldorfschule enjoy most about their hometown.

Interested in being a visiting student at our school? We would love to welcome you! Please get in touch with our school office.