Not a word of German

Vienna’s new camp for exceptional pupils

The 2631 children on the literacy courses this year are aged between seven and 16.(Bild: Stadt Wien/Markus Wache)

Hundreds of children in Vienna are currently taking advantage of the city's new language learning opportunities to get rid of the stigma of being an "exceptional pupil". In many areas, demand for the voluntary program exceeds supply.

They play memory games, throw balls to each other or think up little tasks that everyone in the group has to complete. After all, the best way to learn is to have fun. Because learning is what it's all about here at the Sonnwendviertel educational campus, playful approach or not: learning German with the newly established and expanded literacy courses, with which Deputy Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr (Neos) wants to reduce the number of exceptional pupils.