8900 with a language deficit

Ten percent more children at summer school this year

Magdalena Altenhuber (right) runs the summer school at the Karlhof School in Linz, Sarah Steinmaurer (left) is a buddy.

(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

4400 boys and girls are already sitting in class during the vacations and attending summer school. However, more than twice as many pupils have language deficits. During the summer, the children are taught by a 16-year-old, among others.

The school year in Upper Austria doesn't start until next week, but 4423 children are already cramming: they are attending summer school this year. This represents a ten percent increase in registrations for the free offer in the last two weeks of the vacation compared to the previous year.

However, the summer school was introduced in 2020 primarily to support pupils with language deficits. In Upper Austria, 8900 children were recently counted as exceptional pupils who are unable to follow lessons adequately due to a lack of German language skills - more than twice as many as take advantage of the summer school.

4423 children

attend one of the 99 summer school locations in Upper Austria during the last two weeks of the vacation. Last year, there were 4022 pupils - around ten percent fewer.

16-year-old now certain: "Wants to become a teacher"
However, it is no longer just about German, but a general review of the learning material from previous years. The children are taught in small groups by teachers, student teachers and volunteer "buddies" - these are pupils themselves who are given an insight into the teaching profession. Like Sarah Steinmaurer (16), who stands at the blackboard at the Karlhof School in Linz: "I wanted to know whether the profession is something for me, whether I would like to study it. The summer school solidified my career aspirations. I like teaching."

We give the children a regular daily routine again, a rhythm. This prepares them for school.

Magdalena Altenhuber, Lehrerin

Learning through play
Magdalena Altenhuber (29) is the head of the Karlhof School site. She explains the special features of the school during the vacations: "There is much more time to respond individually to the pupils, to use different methods and to learn in a more playful way." And: "We give the children a regular daily routine again. That prepares them for school."

The fact that "German is spoken again" during the two weeks of the summer school also contributes to the preparation, says Altenhuber.

Kommentar

Sommerschule auch im Winter

The summer school must be a little paradise: Lessons in small groups of up to a maximum of 15 pupils, playful methods, learning together in the garden and more time to engage with the children individually.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Harald Dostal)

Why don't we adopt these methods in regular lessons, where stressed-out teachers hold the door handles to overcrowded classrooms? The answer is - unfortunately - obvious: too few staff, too little time. But a little more summer school would certainly also be possible in winter...