The 25th Abitur class is his last: Otmar Würl leaves St. Irmengard after many eventful years

Created: 06/18/2022, 18:00

The final exams have been corrected – Otmar Würl, headmaster of the St.-Irmengard-Gymnasium, feels a bit nostalgic.

© Margot Schäfer

Otmar Würm spent 24 years at the St. Irmengard high school in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

A long and eventful time that lies behind the Upper Palatinate.

Now the director is retiring.

He will be succeeded by his previous deputy.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

– Otmar Würl, headmaster of the Archbishop's St. Irmengard High School in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, accompanied 25 school-leavers.

Many will miss his literary, philosophical and whimsical graduation speeches in the future, because the 66-year-old is handing over his office to younger hands at the end of the school year.

“My previous deputy, Stefanie Maier, will become my successor.

She was selected from among the applicants,” reports the educator with satisfaction.

The native of the Upper Palatinate has had an exciting 24 years in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Würl grew up in Munich, where he graduated from the Technical University with a degree in mathematics and physics.

After completing his legal clerkship, he got his first job at a high school in Puchheim (district of Fürstenfeldbruck), where he taught for six years.

In 1992 he accepted an offer for a job in the Bavarian Ministry of Education, in the school supervisory department for mathematical and scientific high schools and for religion.

Deliberately opted for the position in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

The devout Catholic deliberately applied from here to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the vacant position of high school headmaster at the St. Irmengard schools.

“I was now convinced that the educational mandate to develop personalities and to see more of the individual can be fulfilled particularly well at a church school.” A decision that he does not regret for a minute when he sees the many socially committed girls who annually from his educational institution.

The father of two boys, at home with his family in Grainau, put all his energy into St. Irmengard.

His wife, herself a teacher, had his back for him.

“I started my term of office here in September 1998 – then came the Whitsun flood in May 1999,” he says, looking back on his first test.

"And now there was the terrible train accident, where it was important to act in a considered organizational and pastoral manner." Nevertheless, the positive things that he was able to experience and help shape are at the top of the list, the strong cohesion in the school family, a wonderful willingness to help even from strangers.

Flood, container time, Corona - the challenges were great

The flooding was followed by the renovation of the buildings, which finally led to core renovation and new construction years later.

Würl and his team managed to bridge the container time from 2018 to 2021 to school years without any particular impairments, right at the forefront of the headmaster colleagues from the Realschule and Fachoberschule, the teachers, caretakers and secretaries.

Moving out and moving back were mastered with foresight, as was homeschooling in Corona times.

Würl particularly likes to remember highlights such as the 75th anniversary in 2005, the establishment of a day care center, the foundation of the technical college or the expansion of the pedagogical concept to include a music branch in the grammar school from the school year 2006. “Our concept, a partnership with The music schools in the district are now being taken on by other high schools,” sums up the director of studies in church service, whose heart always rises when he sees all the talent and successes at St. Irmengard.

This applies not only to the artistic but also to the scientific and sporting areas.

"At our private church schools, it's always about more than the implementation of the curriculum."

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At the end of Würl's term of office, St. Irmengard is well prepared for the future

Today, the St. Irmengard High School has 445 high school students and 61 teachers.

It is an educational institution that is well positioned for the future at the end of Würl's term of office.

The last graduation speech by the committed headmaster and teacher will certainly be an emotional one, and his farewell from St. Irmengard will be accompanied by many thanks.