Admont Abbey Grammar School presents new school branch
In addition to the language, arts and science specialisms, there will also be a sports branch from the coming school year. With a specific curriculum and a focus on alpine sports, the Stiftsgymnasium Admont is creating a unique selling point in Eastern Austria.
The Stiftsgymnasium Admont is attracting attention with a new programme: From the 2025/26 school year, there will also be a sports specialisation in addition to the three already established branches of education in languages, arts and science. A new specialisation option that can be chosen by pupils in the first and fifth grades in the 2025/26 school year. "The Gesäuse region has a comprehensive and varied infrastructure in the sports sector. That's why we will focus the new training programme on the outdoor sector," says headmaster Father Thomas Stellwag-Carion, emphasising the special nature of the new sports branch. The close cooperation with clubs and sports professionals from the region would also offer another major advantage, says Stellwag-Carion: "Pupils will be prepared in class for certificates and training in a wide variety of areas, especially in the outdoor sector."
Entire region becomes a sports ground
In recent years, the Stiftsgymnasium has been able to draw attention to itself through the sporting achievements of its pupils. Trophies in athletics and various competitions, such as the most recent anniversary run, in which the distance from Admont to Rome was covered on a circuit, emphasise the great potential of the young people. "Our training facilities were already extensive in the past," emphasises Director Stellwag-Carion. In addition to modern gymnasiums, the Stiftsgymnasium Admont also has an extensive outdoor area with a swimming pool, a running track, a sports field and an additional football pitch. These wide-ranging opportunities offered by the school grounds are to be supplemented in future with special themed weeks: "We are transforming the entire region into a huge sports ground. This will allow pupils to familiarise themselves with a wide variety of sports that are practised in the Gesäuse."
Create physical balance
For Stellwag-Carion, the added value of the new training programme is obvious: "Sport offers young people a physical counterbalance to hours of screen time. It also increases their ability to concentrate, their stamina and trains their team spirit." In addition to strengthening social and personal skills, Stift Admont's economic director Franz Pichler sees further added value: "The new sports programme will produce well-trained professionals. This not only opens up new opportunities for young people, but also harbours great potential for the development of tourism in the Gesäuse region."
Tradition meets innovation
In recent years, the Benedictine monastery has invested several million euros in the school building. According to Abbot Gerhard Hafner, the educational concept is just as modern as the equipment and building. As chairman of the school maintenance association, the head of the monastery is delighted with the expansion of the programme, as he says, because this shows once again that "tradition meets innovation in our school." The new educational programme at Admont Abbey Grammar School will be presented to the public for the first time at this year's Open Day on Thursday, 24 October 2024.
