School Concept

Introduction

The Theresianum is an educational institution that was founded by Maria Theresia in 1746. The school aims to educate its pupils in a spirit of tolerance and humanity to become self-confident Austrians and open-minded Europeans. The combination of morning lessons and afternoon supervision is a long-standing tradition at the Theresianum, enabling the pupils to identify strongly with the founding principles of the school. As set out at the school’s foundation, life in the school community is designed to prepare the Theresianum’s pupils for taking on positions of social responsibility at a later date.

Teaching and learning

Quality

We expect high standards from our pupils, both in terms of their motivation and their capabilities. These should enable them to gain the skills necessary to develop their full potential and succeed in an international environment.

We aim to enable our pupils to deal independently and appropriately with people, things and information, to keep pace with scientific and technical advances, to act selflessly and to take on responsibility in various walks of life.

Ensuring high levels of motivation in teachers and pupils, combined with initiative and intellectual curiosity, is one of the school’s important goals.

Skills and abilities

Spending time together in school during lessons and afternoon activities, or in the boarding school, is particularly conducive for developing pupils’ social skills and ability to work in a team, thus making a significant contribution to the development of their personality.

On top of a well-grounded general education, the Theresianum offers its pupils a varied and high-quality programme of language teaching, making entry into scientific and economic careers much easier for them. This includes the use of foreign languages as working languages in various subjects such as history, geography and biology.

The pupils have numerous opportunities to take part in exchanges and trips abroad, either with the whole class or individually. The range of European events and programmes already in place is constantly being expanded. In addition to this linguistic focus, we encourage awareness of health and environment issues.

In the upper forms, we offer detailed and wide-ranging careers advice, while the pupils’ understanding of business issues and economic context is promoted with the help of projects, excursions and classroom activities.

The Theresianum is fortunate enough to be able to offer excellent facilities for musical, creative and sporting activities, as well as the natural sciences.

Teaching methods

We use modern teaching methods and, when choosing subjects and methods for learning, ensure that pupils gain an open-minded, yet critical approach to new ideas. Through cross-subject lessons, we encourage breadth of thinking in our pupils.

By giving pupils recognition, praise and encouragement, we aim to increase their motivation and joy of learning and inspire them to learn from any mistakes they may make. 

The school as a place to live and study

Afternoon supervision and full boarding school

Active and sensible use of the afternoon supervision periods is a significant factor in the success of our teaching. The comprehensive programme of supervision by teachers and supervisors, encompassing both academic and extra-curricular activities, is of great importance for our school concept. Our primary goal is to foster a harmonious atmosphere in the school.

We are also proud to offer pupils the chance to live and study in the full boarding school.

Rules and regulations

Our ideas about the basic rules of co-existence, as expressed in our disciplinary framework and rules and regulations, along with the implementation of these ideas, are important for us. We take the rules in place seriously and stick to what we have agreed.

The school’s traditions and customs create and support an atmosphere of security and well-being. 

Facilities and equipment

Our school is designed as a place of learning and living where everybody can feel at home. We encourage pupils to take care of the school’s buildings and facilities and respect other people’s property.

We use the latest media and technology and do our best to keep up with the latest developments in this field. Our school is friendly and excellently equipped.

School partnership

We are all responsible for the school community.

The school climate is marked by mutual respect and appreciation.

We place a high value on transparency, sharing information and being open and free of prejudices.

The ability to judge and offer constructive criticism forms the basis for communication within the school.

We strive to achieve constructive collaboration between pupils, teachers and parents while respecting each party’s area of responsibility.

We place emphasis on open communication and foster an atmosphere of constructive dialogue, promoting mutual trust through transparency. At the same time, we are dedicated to resolving any conflicts that may arise by entering into dialogue in order to find the most effective solutions.