Community Spirit – the adventure of growing up

Because the two most important parts of a young person’s life - school and personal interests and hobbies, are so closely connected within the Louisenlund community, many lifelong friendships are formed. Students live and learn together in a safe and secure environment which gives them stability and inspires them to achieve. The friendships formed and time spent together are of great value and often make easier this all-important phase of their lives where the course for their future is set.

Many staff members also choose to live on the campus. These are often house parents, who live alongside the students in the boarding houses, which enables a relationship of trust, respect and understanding to develop between adults and young people. Living together in the community strengthens students for the future and is the beginning of a lifelong network.

Taking on responsibility for yourself and for the world around you, is at the centre of the Louisenlund philosophy. Service projects have a long tradition and it is a tradition from which many students in the future will benefit.

In 1993 the Duchess, Marie Alix of Schleswig-Holstein organised the first humanitarian supply transport from Louisenlund to the Russian exclave, the former region of Koenigsberg. Today the project, run by Wolfgang Tirs, still transports food, clothing, toys and medical equipment to needy institutions, for example old peoples’ homes, children’s homes, hospitals and schools. In 2015, 15 students and 2 members of staff took part in the project, travelling for many hours by bus to transport the goods to the Russian town of Gusev. They also worked in the community, helping where they could, painting and building fences, repairing benches, laying tiles and gardening. Helping the needy is an opportunity for students to develop their personalities, whilst becoming aware of where help is needed and appreciating the benefits of working in a team. At the same time, they get to know another country, its culture and people.

The Rwanda Guild in Louisenlund meets weekly for workshops in which they analyse the problems faced by Africa in the 21^st century and consider the question of global equality. They also travel annually to the East African state of Rwanda and participate in development aid projects. Under the leadership of Hauke Nagel, the students carry out sustainable help at 2 pre-school centres attended by a total of 175 children from the poorest families in Kicukiro and Ntarama. In 2016, 8 Louisenlund students spent 10 days there working hard and becoming familiar with the situation in which the children are living. Within a short time, relationships and friendships, based on trust, developed and a school party was organised for the parents and children in Ntarama. Thus, enabling our students to experience first-hand what humanitarian help means.

In 2017 a second group of Louisenlund students visited Rwanda to continue the work started.

The organisation Friends of Louisenlund, founded in 1969 by Eric Warburg, supports the school, through its membership fees, in many ways and therefore plays a role in the education of our young people. Louisenlund also receives support for worthy projects and fundraising help from this organisation.

New members are always welcome.

The Scholarship Foundation is responsible, in accordance with the founders’ charter, for enabling young people, independent of parents’ income to benefit from an education at Louisenlund. The foundation is responsible for recognising achievement and supporting worthy students. The Duke Peter Prize, the highest honour in Louisenlund, is awarded annually by the Scholarship Foundation.