We are an accredited Erasmus+ institution and enable our students and teachers to take part in advanced professional training in Europe. We used to have a mobility program with a college for further education in England, but due to Corona and Brexit we are currently looking for new partners. If you are interested, feel free to get in touch with our Erasmus+ coordinator Daniela Sailer
daniela.sailer (at) bs-hoechstaedt.de
Our school consists of several colleges or departments:
The biggest is the gardening and landscaping department with around 700 gardening and landscaping students and 50 tree nursery students. The students undergo a combined vocational college training with practical in-company training. The students are in the companies for several weeks and can practically carry out all the work there. Gardening and landscaping students learn how to build paths, sow lawns, plant trees, etc. The pupils of the tree nursery learn in the companies how trees and shrubs are propagated and cultivated. During their school weeks in Höchstädt, they receive theoretical instructions in the subjects of plant knowledge, horticultural work, business administration, etc. They graduate after three years.
Related to the gardening and landscaping department is our department for agriculture where students learn all about farming. The first year is full-time with one training day (work placement) on a farm or other agricultural holding. The second and third years alternate between theory at school and practice in work placements.
We have three vocational colleges – hospitality, social care, nursery - which the ca. 130 students attend full time, combined with regular work placements. The hospitality students work in canteens or commercial kitchens, but they also learn about housekeeping, so they could also work at hospitals or hotels. The social carers work in nursing or care homes and the nursery students work with children at nursery schools. After two years, all students in the vocational schools take the final exams and graduate in their respective profession.
We have a hair and beauty department with about 50 students which prepares them to work as hairdressers in hair salons. They also have basic knowledge about make-up, manicure and eyebrow shaping. They train at hair salons and attend school once a week. After three years, they graduate as hairdressers.
The students in our technical college can choose between IT, environmental engineering and from September 2023 on, also landscape ecology. They are full-time students and graduate after two years. All of them completed a vocational training in another (usually a related profession) beforehand, so they are usually older than twenty and have a lot of work experience. After their graduation, they can attend a university of applied science in their professional sector. The IT students often start work as system administrators on a manager level, while the environmental engineers are often interested in jobs in companies for renewable energy.
