Constantly new hygiene regulations, page by page regulations from the Ministry of Education. The organization of the Abitur exams is a mammoth task for everyone involved this year. The schools still feel ready for the start of the exam.
Fürstenfeldbruck - Large distances between the test objects, a maximum of one person allowed to use the toilet, cell phones must be handed in before the tests. There have always been strict rules for the Abitur. Because of the corona pandemic, there will be a few more this year. And other things are different when you start high school tomorrow.
Mask requirement
For many people, mouth and nose protection is a nuisance when shopping for a short time. But write a multi-hour high school exam with a protective mask? That would be unreasonable, says Lars Loock, senior level coordinator of the Puchheim high school. The same rules apply for the Abitur exams as for the lessons. A mask is only required in the school building and on the way to the seat. Once there, the pupils can remove the protective masks for the duration of the exam.
distances
Even without a corona, the Abitur exams always mean keeping your distance. Nobody should be able to spit at the neighbor. The exams are therefore often held in gyms or spread over several classrooms. This would already meet the hygiene regulations. But the secondary schools in the district even exceed the requirements.
A very small year (51 graduates) enables a generous distribution of the students over several classrooms in Puchheim. A maximum of 15 students sit in one room. At the Graf-Rasso-Gymnasium in Fürstenfeldbruck (82 graduates), six to eight students share a room.
In Olching, the Abitur is usually written in the gym. This year there will also be two classrooms in the north wing, which is specially closed for this purpose. The Gymnasium Gröbenzell handles the exam situation for its 124 high school graduates in the same way. The tables and workplaces are disinfected after each test.
Tools
There are special rules for shared aids such as duden or atlases. The students may only touch them with disposable gloves. The gloves are thrown away after use, the aids are disinfected after each use. The schools have received the instructions from the Ministry of Culture - but not the associated gloves. "We still had to get it somehow," says senior level coordinator Loock from Puchheim.
souvenirs
Small lucky charms and mascots at the tables are also allowed in Corona times. "As long as it's not a huge teddy bear, it shouldn't be a problem," says Lars Loock. On the other hand, what must be handed in are cell phones and watches. In Puchheim, these are packed in zip-lock plastic bags, provided with a name tag and stowed in the office for the time of the examination.
Certificate awards
Motto week, ceremonial award ceremony, Abistreich, Abiball and graduation trip: The end of school is generally celebrated extensively by high school graduates. Much of it has to be dropped this year. All schools want to endeavor to create a worthy framework, at least for the awarding of certificates. “The awards are always a highlight. If it fell into the water, I would be very sorry, ”says Viscardi director Walter Zellmeier. However, it is currently not possible to say exactly what such a celebration should look like. The rules of corona restrictions are changing too much. "In the current situation, there is no point in planning something firmly," explains Doris Hübler, director at the Graf-Rasso-Gymnasium.
The directors and senior level managers already have ideas. In Gröbenzell, a formal farewell is planned “in small groups with a limited number of guests and in compliance with the safety rules,” as school director Boris Hackl explains. At Germeringer Max-Born-Gymnasium you work on concepts that include a live stream. The Viscardi-Gymnasium also wants to deal with this technique, for example by streaming the certificates to the pupils for the parents. According to Vice Headmistress Sabine Ratberger, one wants to organize a service in Olching. "We struggle for solutions."
The subjects
German and mathematics are compulsory subjects. Otherwise, the students have a certain freedom of choice as to which exams they would like to take. The choice was very different at the individual high schools. While English is one of the most chosen examination subjects in almost all schools, a total of 27 high school graduates opted for biology at the Brucker Graf-Rasso-Gymnasium. In Olching, they are pleased that the selection of exams covers almost the entire range of subjects. There are hardly any real outliers there. There are also test subjects in supposedly feared subjects such as Latin and French. It looks a little different in Puchheim. The students tend to avoid the Physics Abitur there. History and social studies were the least popular at the Fürstenfeldbrucker Graf-Rasso-Gymnasium. According to headmistress Doris Hübler, this is mainly due to the mandatory combination of both subjects. At Germeringer Max-Born-Gymnasium, a large number of students took an oral exam in art.
