Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, who visited Gebhardshagen on September 1 before the start of school to see for himself: "I am very grateful to all those involved who have worked so hard on this, that the temporary schooling of first graders at the secondary school in Gebhardshagen has gone so well, but it is clear to me and I am sticking to my promise that this cannot be a permanent solution."

Klingebiel is recommending the construction of a new temporary elementary school in Lebenstedt to the city council on September 29. The four-form entry elementary school is to be built on the site of the former Pestalozzi special school in a modular design and will be completed at the start of the 2022/23 school year.

The plan is for an independent two-storey primary school building with all the necessary classrooms and specialist rooms as well as a library, administration area, sanitary facilities and dining room.

And something is also happening in the outdoor area: the new elementary school has a break area of 2,000 square meters, which can be considerably extended once the existing school building has been demolished.

"Temporary and modular - this description may be confusing at first, but the plan is for a contemporary, functional but also visually appealing school, a place of learning that offers schoolchildren the best conditions for a successful primary school career and should bring them joy," says Klingebiel.

Even though 51 first-graders did not start school in "their" district of Lebenstedt this year, the start of school in Gebhardshagen was a success, added Dr. Dirk Härdrich, Head of Schools, who was on site himself on Monday: "We found a good solution in a short space of time and would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment in this matter." Everything went smoothly and if there was anything to be adjusted, this would of course be done.

But the primary goal is to realize the new building in Lebenstedt as quickly as possible, according to Klingebiel and Härdrich, who hope for a positive resolution at the council meeting on 29 September.