The vocational school, which is sponsored by the Ludwigsburg district, once again presented itself as a modern educational institution with "personality and perspective". The Erich-Bracher-Schule in Kornwestheim-Pattonville has turned a quarter of a century old - and has always remained young. For the 200 or so guests at last Friday's ceremony, this was a reason to celebrate, but also an opportunity to look back over the past 25 years and look ahead to the future.
Following the acquisition, conversion and renovation of the former "high school" building by the district in the former American army settlement of Pattonville, the first pupils moved into the new school in September 1996. "This was the district council's first step towards solving the pressing space problem of the vocational schools - others were to follow, making the vocational school system in the Ludwigsburg district fit for the future," stated District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier. The topping-out ceremony for the extension and conversion of the existing Erich-Bracher-Schule building in June this year was a milestone in the school's development.
Accompanied by musical contributions from the cooperation school Theodor-Heuss-Realschule Kornwestheim, principal Oliver Schmider welcomed around 200 guests, including Christiane and Tilman Bracher, who had traveled a long way to be present at the ceremony. "Their father was certainly proud to be our namesake," said Schmider. "While in the early years a newly founded school is largely unknown, today we are well known and established. This is the result of the good work of all of us here at the Erich Bracher School."
Around 18,000 pupils have graduated here over the past quarter of a century. On behalf of all of them, student representative Anamarija Ilic greeted the celebrating community. During a tour, the visitors were able to see the far-reaching changes for themselves. While computers were still the coveted exception in 1996, today the 700 or so digital devices are used as a matter of course in everyday school life.
The Erich-Bracher-Schule, which is run by the district of Ludwigsburg, has been a success story for 25 years. The commercial vocational colleges Foreign Languages, Training Company 1+2 and Business Informatics lead to a technical college entrance qualification in two years. The vocational school provides young people with vocational knowledge and skills, but also accompanies them through their cultural and social studies education together with the training company to a vocational qualification and at the same time to a broader and deeper general education. Since 2012, the Erich-Bracher-Schule has been offering the "Wirtschaftsgymnasium" to prepare students for their studies and careers. The "Pre-qualification year for work / career with a focus on acquiring German language skills" teaches pupils between the ages of 15 and 18 the basics of the German language and deepens their general education. The dual training preparation (AVdual) is a full-time school for young people with and without a secondary school leaving certificate.
The school, with its mission statement "Competent, Innovative and Cooperative", has always geared its educational offer to demand, which is impressively confirmed by the high number of students. Around 1,800 pupils, 90 teachers and a further seven members of staff from the district learn and work here in a performance-oriented atmosphere characterized by good cooperation.
Educational partnerships with various renowned companies, international encounters and two external evaluations of the school by the State Institute for School Development complete the portfolio. "With us, school not only makes sense, it's also fun", is quite rightly stated in the current school brochure, which is available online at www.erich-bracher-schule.de.
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Dr. Erich Bracher, who rendered outstanding services as an entrepreneur and promoter of vocational training, gave his name to the school 25 years ago. He worked at the Mann und Hummel filter plant in Ludwigsburg for a total of 35 years until his retirement in 1989 and passed away at the end of 2017 at the age of 92. He promoted and supported the school in many different ways.
