The Brandenburg Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has approved the construction of a three-form-group secondary school at the Gruscheweg site in Neuenhagen, near Berlin, to open at the start of the 2027/2028 school year. This approval lays another important foundation stone for the needs-based expansion of the school system in the Märkisch-Oderland district.
The new secondary school forms part of the school development plan for the municipality of Neuenhagen near Berlin for the planning period 2025 to 2030, which was adopted by the municipal council and approved by the Ministry. This plan takes current and future school requirements into account and ensures the long-term development of the educational infrastructure.
District Administrator Gernot Schmidt welcomes the state’s decision: “This approval is excellent news for Märkisch-Oderland as an educational hub and, in particular, for families in Neuenhagen and the surrounding communities. It demonstrates that forward-looking planning and close cooperation between all parties involved can lead to swift and sustainable decisions. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mayor Ansgar Schranke, the local council, the municipal council, as well as the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the State Education Authority. The approval process proceeded swiftly because the project was very well prepared by the local council and underpinned by sound technical expertise.”
Neuenhagen’s Mayor Ansgar Scharnke: “Immediately following the municipal council’s decision to establish a secondary school, we submitted the relevant application to the responsible Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the State of Brandenburg. Shortly after submitting the application, we received approval from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. For us, this is an important sign that all those responsible for school planning recognise the urgent need for this school and that everyone involved is pulling in the same direction. We owe a great deal of thanks to the State Education Authority and the Brandenburg Ministry of Education for their excellent cooperation and swift processing of the application. The local council will now press ahead with the new building project without delay.”
The Märkisch-Oderland district had given a positive assessment of the Neuenhagen local authority’s school development plan during the public consultation process. With the approval now granted, there is planning certainty for the implementation of the project. The construction of the new secondary school will help to meet the demand for secondary school places in the western part of the district in the long term and ensure that pupils continue to have access to high-quality educational provision close to home.
With this approval, the State of Brandenburg, together with the municipality of Neuenhagen and the Märkisch-Oderland district, is sending a clear signal regarding the ongoing development of the educational landscape and the creation of modern school sites in the Berlin catchment area.