The Vocational School Waldkirch –
das Berufliche Schulzentrum Waldkirch

Principal: H.Kleinböck (OstD)
Vice-principal: H.Blank (StD)

In the current school year about 650 full-time and 150 part-time students of the districts Emmendingen, Hochschwarzwald and Ortenau and the city Freiburg attend the BSZ Waldkirch (Vocational School Waldkirch). The 800 teenagers and young adults in 39 classes in 13 different school types are taught by 65 teachers. Our pedagogical motto is “learning for life”. It is warranted by the wide range of our school forms, which have an either economical, technical or social-pedagogical concentration. Our school has modern and substantial equipment in classrooms where theoretical and practical courses are taught. These modern and spacious facilities plus our motivated teachers provides a learning environment which is target-oriented and pleasant.

Berufsfachschule
At the technical schools students have for example the possibility to get the General Certificate of Secondary Education (“Mittlere Reife”) at the Wirtschaftsschule. With this qualification you can either do an apprenticeship or continue going to school to get a higher degree. In this school form students acquire practical skills and knowledge. Students who attend the technical school with a focus on metal processing (Berufsfachschule Metall) are in high demand at companies which offer apprenticeships. Often these students can start directly in the second year of their apprenticeship.

BEJ
The so-called occupational entrance year (Berufseinstiegsjahr) offers secondary students from the Hauptschule (general-education secondary school level I, years 5-9) the chance to make a career choice in theory and practice. Three days a week, these students are taught in school and on the other two days they are practically taught in companies. This enhances their chances to get an apprenticeship and step-by-step they are lead to change to a dual vocational training.

BVJ
We conduct the so-called vocational training year (Berufsvorbereitungsjahr) in cooperation with the Elztalschule in Bleibach. The tenth school year deepens their general education, gives an insight to different occupational areas and it gives the opportunity to attain a certificate of secondary education.

[Berufseinstiegsjahr][Berufsvorbereitungsjahr

]Occupational Part-Time School
The occupational part-time school is attended by people who are doing an apprenticeship. The following types of apprentices attend our school:

• shop assistants
• retail shop assistants
• clerks
• industrial clerk 

State-of-the-art equipment

After intensive renovations and extensions over the last three years we now have pleasant and modern classrooms and specially equipped rooms such as our metal workshop. In October 2003 and November 2006 three business training firms were able to start off with special funding from the program “Zukunftsoffensive III – Förderung der beruflichen Bildung”. By the end of their schooling students will have worked in all of the different departments of their business training company. The business training companies simulate practically all of the commercial activities of a real firm for training and employability purposes. Three companies from the region support us in selling their products virtually. They help us in the simulation of commercial processes. The motto is “learning by doing”.

New Media:
We offer the students a network of about 220 computers with state-of-the-art and high-quality software in the areas of technology, communication and business. There are ten differently designed data processing rooms. Here you can find modern learning stations where students can develop team work skills. Also students learn to work by themselves in preparation for the demands of office work. During free periods or breaks students also have the possibility to work on computers in the school lounge area.

In our metal workshop practically talented young people have the opportunity to professionalize their craft skills with metal processing modern machinery.
Students create their first metal projects on lathes, drilling and milling machines (including CNC-controlled ones), which qualifies them for their professional future. They also have the possibility to practice for their professional career in the area of food preparation. In addition to that, students have the opportunity to prepare themselves for careers in food preparation in our school kitchen.