Germany is witnessing a constant rise in the number of private schools – there are roughly 3000 at present. The reason: Many parents have lost faith in state-run education, not least after the damning verdict and the abysmal ratings of the so-called 2006 PISA report. They prefer to send their children to privately funded schools. The percentage of private students has reached eight percent nationwide and has doubled since the mid-1990s, regardless of monthly tuition fees of an average 150 Euros per child. Private schools may follow a variety of different educational approaches. Nevertheless they are united in their ultimate objective of providing a better and individually-tailored education to their pupils. Hamburg’s Bugenhagen College is one of the schools that are going down this route. It is particularly worth mentioning that the college does not differentiate between non-handicapped and disabled youngsters.
