"Today is a good day for our city of Salzgitter and an even better day for Lichtenberg," said a delighted Mayor Frank Klingebiel, "with the successful completion of the new primary school building, a modern educational location has been created here. Our children can now move into a modern school building and fill it with life." Together with the new nursery building, a real educational campus has been created here, "where our children can learn, gain experience and develop from nursery to the end of primary school. Elementary school teach far more than just reading, arithmetic and writing. This is where children learn important values of our society, such as respect, tolerance and good social interaction," added Klingebiel.
"We have built three new nurseries and three new primary schools in just a few years. That was a major feat for our city." Klingebiel therefore thanked the state of Lower Saxony and the Braunschweig Regional Development Office: "Without your funding, we would not have been able to complete these and other new daycare center and primary school construction projects in Salzgitter alone."
The costs for the construction of the primary school building amount to almost 13.6 million euros. The state of Lower Saxony has covered around 7.1 million euros of this through the "Salzgitter Structural Aid Fund".
Tobias Böttcher, Office for Regional Development Braunschweig, emphasized: "I am very pleased that the state of Lower Saxony has supported the construction of the new Zingel elementary school with 7.1 million euros. Schools are not only educational institutions, but above all places where children can experience community and develop. The result is an open, friendly place of learning where integration begins and children receive important foundations for their future. The funding is well invested here."
New building gives the go-ahead for all-day operation
From August 13, the elementary school will start operating as an all-day school in the new building. For principal Petra Binder, this marks the start of a new phase in the school's development: "We are taking a big step and becoming an all-day school - every day of the week and for all four year groups. What was intensively discussed and ultimately rejected a few years ago can now be implemented under completely new conditions. The open and light-flooded building creates a friendly learning atmosphere. The new canteen provides a hot lunch for all children, and the open learning and meeting areas support a modern pedagogy that meets the needs of the pupils. The new building is therefore much more than just a new school building - it forms the basis for a future-oriented, lively and open school."
In addition to Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, the inauguration ceremony was attended by Salzgitter's First Mayor Stefan Klein, local mayor Angelika Müller, principal Petra Binder, Tobias Böttcher from the Braunschweig Regional Development Office, members of the Salzgitter City Council and representatives of the planning and construction companies.
Background
About the construction project
The elementary school was built as a two-storey, clearly structured, elongated structure in conventional construction as a two-form elementary school with an east-west orientation. The usage areas are accessed via a central foyer with high-quality lounge areas. The administration, all-day school and library are located to the east. To the west is the canteen with kitchen and break toilets, each with the necessary ancillary rooms.
The new building houses eight general classrooms, two specialist classrooms, all-day rooms, a school library, administration rooms and a canteen.
A decentralized ventilation system was installed in the classrooms. There is underfloor heating in all rooms. Heat is supplied by an electrically operated air/water heat pump on the roof. Photovoltaic modules have also been installed there to generate electricity for self-consumption.
The school
The elementary school will start as an all-day school in the new building on August 13. In the 2025/2026 school year, the school will have 153 pupils in currently seven class groups and will be taught by 18 teachers. The new Lichtenberg elementary school building on Zingel is a replacement building for the old site in Lichtenberg (Upn Kampe 14). As before, the school's catchment area remains limited to the Lichtenberg district. As part of the all-day program, pupils attending the Lesse branch will be brought to the main school in Lichtenberg in the afternoon.