Unique high school graduation celebration in Vaterstetten: The year that stays!

Unique high school graduation celebration in Vaterstetten: The year that stays!

On June 30, 2025 the time had come: the Humboldt-Gymnasium Vaterstetten said goodbye to its first graduating class under the new headmaster Sabine Schwaiger. This year is not only important for the school itself, but also a rarity in the entire Ebersberg district, as it is the only Abitur certificate ceremony this year. The reason for this is the return to the nine-year high school (G9), which means that only a few schools in Bavaria can have a high school graduate class this year. How Mercury reported that due to the low number of students, not all subjects and seminars could be offered. Of the over 50 graduates, who mainly come from the city and district of Munich as well as the district of Ebersberg, a total of 53 students managed to successfully pass the exam. A quarter of them achieved the dream grade of 1.0.

Among the outstanding graduates were Tanja Koschinsky and Luisa Klapp, who both achieved the top grade of 1.0. She and Helene Finauer, who were recognized by the Elite Promotion Foundation for their excellent achievements in German, were particularly honored. However, the traditional motorcade, a popular tradition, was a little more modest this year, with only six cars involved, showing how unique and distinctive this year is. School principal Sabine Schwaiger used the ceremony to compare the graduates' path to a river in her speech and to discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of them. B304 adds that the Humboldt-Gymnasium is one of around 100 high schools in Bavaria that serve as a “safety net” for Abitur exams after the switch from G8 to G9.

The importance of vintage

The change has massive effects: There will only be 5,500 high school graduates in Bavaria in 2025, compared to the usual 34,000. This situation not only causes nervousness among students and teachers, but also affects the training market and universities. A similar picture can be seen in the Humboldt-Gymnasium, where the Abitur could take place this year not only for regular students, but also for a number of repeaters and students from introductory classes. This uniqueness gives the celebrations a very special significance, which was also expressed in the greetings by District Administrator Robert Niedergesäß, Mayor Leonhard Spitzauer and Parents' Council Chairwoman Kristina Häfner.

Although the universities are calm, as one third of the first-year students at the universities are Bavarian high school students, business representatives are nevertheless warning about the possible consequences of the low number of graduates. TZ emphasizes that the training market and social institutions could be significantly affected. However, normalization is expected again from 2026, when 32,000 to 38,000 high school graduates are expected again each year.

After the official ceremony, the evening celebrations ended with a festive graduation ball, where the anniversary was celebrated with pride and a pinch of melancholy. The mood among the graduates was consistently positive – a nice conclusion for a class that could go down in history as “the class that doesn’t exist.”