Gymnasium Bernrode

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Gymnasium Bernrode is a gymnasium (high school) in Heeswijk, the Netherlands. It was established in 1886 by Gerlacus van den Elsen, abbot of the Abbey of Berne.

The school started out as a boys-only boarding school run by catholic monks. The first secular teacher was admitted in 1956 and the last monks left in 1965, followed by the first women students in 1966. Bernrode ceased operating as a boarding school in 1972.

Well-known alumni include Jan Marijnissen (b. 1952), politician.

Bernrode grammar school

Secondary education In the Netherlands there are two main branches of secondary education. The first consists of Higher General Secondary Education and pre-university education; the second of lower vocational and vocational education. At the pre-university level there are two types of schools: the ‘athenaeum‘ (in which students do not study the classics) and the grammar school or ’gymnasium’ (in which classics are compulsory). In recent years the differences between these types of schooling have become less pronounced, and the courses are often described as ’integral’, with classics included as optional subjects. Bernrode is exclusively a grammar school, one of the 38 independent grammar schools in the Netherlands presently.

Seminary

This exclusive character has its origin in the past. It began at Berne Abbey, a Norbertine monastery which is situated opposite the school. In 1886, Gerlacus van den Elsen, one of the Norbertine monks, founded a seminary and called it Gymnasium St. Norbertus. Around 1950 this school had 125 students, most of them boarders. One disadvantage was that the seminary could not issue any officially recognized diplomas. In order to receive such a certificate the students had to pass a state examination. In the fifties people wanted to have this changed. The problem was, however, the limited size of the school. For this reason cooperation with another seminary, which was also in the same situation, was decided upon. This combination of schools took the name ‘Gymnasium Bernrode’ and in 1961 received permission to issue official diplomas. Day students were also admitted so that the young people in the area could also profit from an education at a grammar school: only boys at first and later on girls. In the sixties the number of boarders diminished while the number of day students from the surrounding areas increased. This resulted in the closing down of both boarding schools at the beginning of the seventies. Due to this, Bernrode Grammar school has become a regional school.

Size

The size of the school is also noteworthy. For Dutch standards Bernrode Grammar school is a small school. The number of students is about 600, with an even balance between the number of boys and girls.

Catholic identity

Bernrode Grammar School is a Catholic school. Religious instruction is an important part of the normal school curriculum and the school year starts and ends with Mass in the Abbey. The catholic identity does not mean that only young people from catholic homes are welcome. The school is open to students of all denominations.

The curriculum

In the first three school years all students have the same lessons. Beside the topics such as Dutch, English, French, German, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Biology, Art, Music, Physical Education and Technology, all students get instruction in Latin and Greek. All together this means 32 classroom teaching hours per week. In the fourth form students can choose between four ‘streams’. The first stream places the emphasis on social and cultural subjects, the second on social and economic subjects. The third and fourth streams emphasize science. The third stream is a preparation for studies in health care and the fourth stream is a preparation for studies at a university of technology. Besides these streams there is a general stream focussed on Dutch and foreign languages. As Gymnasium Bernrode is a grammar school, students have to take at least one classical language. The sixth year is the final examination year. Two elements determine the final mark for each subject a) the internal school examination (prepared and marked by the teachers themselves) and b) a national examination. The latter is the same for all students of a certain type of school throughout the Netherlands, and all candidates take the examination simultaneously at a designated time. The final grade is the average of the marks for the internal and the central examination.

A schoolday

Lessons are given at Bernrode from Monday to Friday. The first lesson begins at 8:35 a.m. and the second lesson follows 45 minutes later. After the third and fifth lesson there is a break. Most students may go home at 2:40 p.m., but a number of them sometimes have an eighth or ninth lesson.

Holidays

During the school year there are a number of holidays: one week in autumn, two weeks at Christmas, one week in spring and the first week of May. The summer vacation of seven weeks is during the months of July and August.

Surroundings and activities

Green fields

There are a few aspects that distinguish Bernrode from most other grammar schools in the Netherlands. First of all, the school is not situated in a town but in a village. There is no big shopping centre near the school, only a few shops, and there are some flats but mostly small housing estates. The surrounding area has a green appearance with modern farms lying in the middle of meadows. Countless are the number of trees which border the roads.

Extracurricular activities

Besides teaching there are many other activities at Bernrode and many students participate in these pursuits. Music is very important at Bernrode. Students who are gifted with a talent for music have the opportunity to play together in a music workshop. Drama is also part of life outside the classroom. There are even two groups and each gives a performance once a year. Furthermore, the school has a proud tradition of an annual cabaret production. ’Operation Injection’ is made up of a group of people who devote themselves to a project in a Third World country. They do this by organising all kinds of activities to collect money that can be ’injected’ into the project. In addition to the physical education programme every student is encouraged to participate in extra curricular sporting activities like athletics and karate. The most popular sport however is football. An educational school tour to Rome is organised for the fifth form annually, and for the lower forms there are excursions within Holland or Belgium and also exchanges with Germany, Slovakia and Italy.

European dimension

As a grammar school Bernrode wants to strengthen its European dimension. Doesn’t modern Europe have its roots in Roman and Greek culture and could this common origin not be a basis for mutual understanding and international exchanges?

Bernrode has contacts with schools in Belgium, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Wales and Slovakia. They vary from correspondence activities to class exchanges.

Bernrode wants to give young people a sense of European identity and to improve their knowledge of European economy, culture and history. No wonder that on a sign next to the front door of the school is written : ’Bernrode, school for Europe’