It was a real precision landing for Emil.

Shortly before graduating from high school, the Frankfurt student was infected with Corona.

Just a week ago, his test was finally negative again.

Just in time, because this Wednesday the student at Lessing-Gymnasium is writing his first high school exam.

In Hesse, around 20,000 students will begin their state-level exams with the exams in German.

Every day there are new subjects until this year's examination phase ends with the exams in chemistry on May 11th.

Even then, Emil will be there again, because his advanced courses in German and chemistry mark the beginning and end of the examination phase.

Rainer Schulz

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The students who are graduating this year have not had face-to-face classes to the extent intended since spring 2020.

The students spent part of the upper school in lockdown, but unlike the last year of high school, the distance learning did not fall into the decisive phase this time.

Only the achievements in the so-called qualification phase, i.e. in the second and third year of the upper school, count for the Abitur.

However, most of the face-to-face teaching was previously omitted in the first year of upper school, which is called the introductory phase.

"No easy conditions"

Emil therefore feels well prepared: "I don't have the feeling that I missed out on too much." In grade 11 he had to study from home for six months, but after initial difficulties, the online lessons worked well.

In German, however, he found it easier to learn independently than in chemistry.

The 17-year-old Ruben, who will start the Abitur phase with an English exam on Friday at the Goethe-Gymnasium, had a similar experience.

“Our school did it comparatively well,” he says.

But he also experienced the lockdown at level 11 as a “difficult phase”.

Minister of Education Alexander Lorz (CDU) points out that this year's exam year passed almost the entire upper school under corona conditions.

"These are certainly not easy requirements, because even in normal times, final exams are associated with a good deal of stress." Those who have survived this time have achieved great things.

"Now it's time for the final sprint and, like last year, we have done everything to ensure that the tests can once again be held fairly, uniformly and with high quality for everyone."

As in the previous year, special corona conditions apply again this time for the Abitur.

On the recommendation of the Conference of Ministers of Education, the schools receive an additional suggested task for each examination subject.

The teachers can make a pre-selection from this.

This is to prevent a topic from coming up that was neglected in class due to the pandemic.

In addition, the students have a little more time to solve their tasks: there is an additional 25 minutes for the basic course and half an hour for the advanced course.

Beyond that, the students don't have to pay much attention.

Self-tests and masks are voluntary.

If you become infected with Corona and miss an exam, you can make up for it on the regular make-up date.

"Go, Waltraud, go!"

The schools are prepared.

Claudia Wolff, who heads the Schiller School in Sachsenhausen, describes the situation at her high school as "calm and relaxed", if that's what you can be in the Abitur.

“We are crisis-tested,” she says.

The students who are taking their Abitur this year were only taught at a distance for a short time during the qualification phase.

They had mastered it with flying colours, learned with concentration and with commitment.

"It won't be a vintage about which you have to say: That was a Corona vintage.

It will be a completely normal Abitur.” There is no lack of external motivation.

Lovingly designed banners are again hanging in front of the grammar schools, on which parents and friends encourage the high school graduates: "Good luck, Louise!" and "Go, Waltraud, go!".