Established in 1955, Kät-Kollwitz-Schule began its journey. It emerged from the division of the Elisabeth-Granier-Schule. This split gave rise to two institutions. One was Ricarda-Huch-Schule and the other one was Kät-Kollwitz-Schule.
The Kät-Kollwitz-Schule shares its name with the famous artist Käthe Kollwitz. Many schools bear her name. The Kät-Kollwitz-Schule first shared space with Ricarda-Huch-Schule. Both schools were at Bonifatiusplatz. In 1959, Kät-Kollwitz-Schule moved to a new building. This building was on Podbielskistraße in GroB-Buchholz.
Architects Gerd Lichtenhahn and Rolf Herzog designed the building. Their design shaped the school’s early identity. Initially, Kät-Kollwitz-Schule was a girls’ school. This changed in 1980. Boys were admitted into the seventh grade for the first time. By 1986, the last all-girls class had graduated.
An external branch existed on Gottfried-Keller-Straße. It operated as an independent Orientierungsstufe. It was known as Gottfried-Keller-Schule. This branch lasted until the 1990s.
In 2000, Kät-Kollwitz-Schule was an “Expo-Schule”. It represented Lower Saxony at the Expo 2000. The Expo 2000 was a world exhibition held in Hanover.
Since 2005, the school has emphasized music. It offers programs in wind instruments. It also provides general music classes. Kät-Kollwitz-Schule offers the AbiBac program. This allows students to earn a German-French double degree. The school is also active in environmental protection. It has a partnership for rainforest conservation in Ecuador.
Since 2017, Kät-Kollwitz-Schule has integrated iPads into lessons. This initiative is called “Mobile Learning”.
The school has seen several principals throughout its history. Ilse Arndt led from 1955 to 1978. Edgar Ahlborn followed from 1978 to 1984. Heinz Tienarend served temporarily from 1984 to 1986. Martin Kronenberg was principal from 1986 to 2007. Gerd Köhncke took over from 2007 to 2010. Eckhard Franklin led from 2010 to 2020. Katja Schader has been the principal since 2020.
Many notable people attended Kät-Kollwitz-Schule. Kim Birke was a German national handball player. Benjamin-Helge Bruns is an opera singer. Thea Dückert is a politician. Sven-Christian Kindler is a member of the Bundestag. Lena Meyer-Landrut won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010. Ortrun Schulz is a philosopher and author. Heino Wiese is a politician. Christian Klinckwort and Philipp Polley are members of Adaptiv.
Heiko Postma, a publicist, taught at Kät-Kollwitz-Schule.
Today, Kät-Kollwitz-Schule continues to evolve. It adapts to meet the needs of its students and the community.