Aloisiuskolleg

The Aloisiuskolleg is a co-educational, private and Catholic University-preparatory school in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany with an affiliated boarding school directed by the Jesuits. The school is named for Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. It has an excellent reputation and is considered one of the most prestigious boarding schools in Germany. Since early 2010 the school has been at the centre of investigations into the sexual abuse of pupils.

Organization
Since 1921 the Jesuits have operated a boys boarding school in Bonn Bad-Godesberg. Ninety-four percent of the budget for the school is provided by the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia even though the college is non-governmental independent school. The remaining 6%is provided by subsidies paid by the archdiocese of Cologne. The school itself is open to everyone. The State conducts the school-leaving examination (called the Abitur, the equivalent of the A-levels in the UK) and proposes the subjects of instruction. In turn, the school is recognized by the State, and a successfully completed Abitur by any graduate allows admission to a German university. Lodging, food and boarding costs are about 14,000€ per year. Boarding costs of students from impoverished families are sponsored by the Jesuits or out of the tuition fees of other boarding school pupils.

School competitions
The Aloisiuskolleg (AKO) ranks highly each year at regional, national and even international school competitions in sports, as well as in natural sciences like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, music, art or computer sciences and has won several awards. As a result of the PISA study the school was ranked 4th in Germany and among the top in Europe. Also in other OECD studies the school is usually ranked highly.

International co-operation
The College attaches importance to international contacts, and has promoted cultural exchange with other countries since it was founded. Exchanges have taken part since 1997 as part of the European Union's COMENIUS program, which promotes the co-operation of European schools. Partnerships exist with Clongowes Wood College (Ireland), prestigious Eton College and Maidenhead (both in England) and Georgetown College in Washington D.C., USA.

Establishment
As a consequence of the cultural struggle (Kulturkampf), the State of Prussia took over by law the supervision of all Jesuit schools in 1872. On 12 August 1900 the German arm of the society of Jesus took the Aloisiuskolleg to Sittard, the Netherlands as an all-boys school with boarding facilities. This started with German Patres, 43 internal and 38 external pupils on 29 September 1900 with one pre-class, a sexta and a quinta class. This was the actual start of the Aloisiuskollegs.

Removal to Bonn Bad-Godesberg and the Nazi
The law against Jesuits ("Jesuitengesetz") was repealed in 1917 and new schools opened again in Germany. The Aloisiuskolleg moved to Bonn in 1921. In 1927 the Jesuits also acquired a nearby villa owned by the banker August Karl Baron von der Heydt, son of August von der Heydt. They turned the vila called "Stella Rheni" into the boys' home.

During the Nazi period, the school and the Jesuits struggled against the regime and the school was closed in 1938. The active resistance by the Jesuits and the pupils plays an important role in the contemporary self-understanding of the College.

Well-known resistors to the Nazis are Georg Freiherr von Boeselager and his brother Philipp. The Jesuits reopened the Aloisiuskolleg in 1946, after the end of World War II.

Sexual Abuse
Since early 2010 the school has been at the centre of investigations into the sexual abuse of pupils. resulting in the resignation of Chairman Theo Schneider. Schneider has been accused of complicity. The progress report by the independent commission investigating the cases of abuse counts 45 victims and 18 perpetrators, 15 of which members of the Jesuit order, since the 1950s. The interim report highlihted the "latent psychological violence," the compulsive exhibitionism and paedo-erotic acts of the late chairman, P. Ludger Stüper SJ.

Co-education
In the 1980s, the Aloisiuskolleg began co-education with the neighboring Clara Fey High School for Girls within the upper stage. The girls of the upper stage could attend the Aloisiuskolleg and vice-versa. Since the intake of the year 2000, the Aloisiuskolleg has also accepted girls in the lower classes, beginning with the sexta. Since 2005, girls have been accepted as boarders and accommodated in a separate new building.

Alumni
Former pupils of the school can remain connected through the alumni network. Former pupils of the Aloisiuskolleg, Kolleg St. Blasien and the Canisius-Kolleg Berlin College can contact each other and see in the data base current addresses at Stellaner webpage. Especially for the alumni of the Aloisiuskolleg there is a special association at Aloisiuskolleg Alumni.

Notable alumni of the Aloisiuskolleg

 * Hans Riegel - entrepreneur, founder of Haribo
 * Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager - resistance fighter from 20 July 1944
 * Georg Freiherr von Boeselager - resistance fighter from 20 July 1944
 * Thomas de Maizière - Federal Minister of the Interior and former Head of the German Chancellery, cousin of Lothar de Maizière
 * Norman Rentrop, publisher and investor
 * Philipp Brenninkmeyer - actor, member of Brenninkmeijer family
 * Johannes B. Kerner, host of talk show on ZDF
 * Stefan Raab - German late night talker (TV Total)
 * Alexander Graf Lambsdorff - executive committee of the FDP and member of the European parliament
 * Till Brönner - musician
 * Moritz Krings - stand-up comedian / self made millionaire

Other Jesuit schools in Germany

 * Kolleg St. Blasien
 * Canisius-Kolleg Berlin