In the following article, we provide an in-depth look at a typical day at our boarding school in Kirchberg, Baden-Württemberg. To illustrate this, we follow a fictional 5th-grade student through a typical school week—from Monday through Sunday. This clearly shows how classes, supervised study periods, recreational activities, and weekends at the boarding school complement one another.
If you’d like to learn more about our boarding school approach in general, you’ll find a concise overview on our website’s page dedicated to the boarding school concept at Schloss-Schule Kirchberg.
Why is daily life at boarding school so special?
Unlike life at a regular day school, at a boarding school like ours, virtually all aspects of daily life take place in a single location—and almost always together with others: classes, living quarters, meals, study periods, free time, and socializing within the school community.
This means:
- The day is and must be clearly structured, with set times for classes, study periods, meals, and rest periods.
- There is no travel time: Students can get from their rooms to the classroom or to recreational activities in just a few minutes.
- This makes it somewhat easier to organize learning, leisure, and community life in such a way that there is enough time for everything—including the often underestimated but very important rest.
This is what a typical school day looks like for our 5th graders!
The student featured in this profile is Lina. She is a 5th-grade student at our boarding school in Baden-Württemberg and lives here in the “Wiesenhaus” dormitory.
Let’s take a look at what her typical day is like on a normal school day.
Morning: Starting the Day
The day at boarding school begins with a reliable morning routine. Lina is woken up on time (6:30 a.m.), giving her time to get ready at her own pace, air out her room, and make her bed. These small routines provide structure. This is especially important during the transition from elementary school to middle school.
Lina goes to the dining hall for breakfast with the others. Attendance is mandatory for all younger boarding students. There’s a simple reason for this: the day should start on a positive note—with a set schedule, a nutritious meal, and familiar faces.
If you’d like to know exactly how the individual times are structured, you’ll find a table on our page about the daily schedule at the boarding school that lists the most important times, mandatory activities, and rest periods.
Morning: Classes according to the schedule – Example: 5th grade
After breakfast, Lina sets off with her friends on the short walk to school and their classrooms. Classes begin just as they do at other high schools. For 5th grade, the required curriculum (G9) looks like this for Lina, for example:
- German and mathematics, 5 class periods each per week
- English as a first foreign language, 4 class periods per week
- Music, Biology, Visual Arts, Ethics/Religion, and Home Economics, each with 2 class periods per week
- The subject “Learning to Learn” (with 1 class period per week), which helps students develop study methods and learning strategies
- Computer Science and Geography, each with 1 class period per week
- Physical Education with 3 class periods per week
In addition, there is a wide variety of optional activities such as regular homework help, choir, chess, SKIL, LRT, and one class teacher period per week.
Of course, the specific schedule varies depending on the school year. However, the basic principle remains the same: In accordance with the curriculum, children receive a broad and solid educational foundation combined with specialized units that specifically support their learning.
To keep blood sugar levels sufficiently high throughout the morning (and the children and teens alert), an additional second breakfast is always offered during the long morning break.
If you'd like a detailed look at our weekly schedules, you'll find examples for different grade levels on our website's sample schedule page.
Lunch break and study periods: Time for homework and review
Morning classes end around noon. For all boarding students, lunch together is mandatory and an important part of the daily routine. This is when everyone eats together, chats, and takes a brief break.
Afterward—depending on the grade level—classes, courses, or so-called study periods follow. These study periods serve a special purpose in the daily life of the boarding school:
- They are mandatory and take place in the afternoon on school days.
- Specialists accompany the children, are available to answer questions, and provide support with learning and, above all, with “learning how to learn.”
- Completing homework, preparing for tests, and reviewing material are all integral parts of this time.
This is particularly valuable for fifth graders like Lina: they do not yet have to organize everything on their own, but are gradually introduced to independent work. Those interested can read more about how we foster potential and structure learning processes at Schloss-Schule on our website page dedicated to “Potential Development and Support.”
Afternoons and early evenings: Clubs, sports, and leisure activities
After study hall, the part of the day that many children particularly enjoy begins: the time set aside for extracurricular activities and clubs.
At our Schloss-Schule Kirchberg, we offer a very diverse extracurricular program with approximately 25 clubs. Each student typically participates in at least two clubs per week, one of which should be a sports club. Options include, for example:
- Sports programs such as basketball (for which we offer special support; details can be found on the dedicated basketball page), soccer, volleyball, swimming, badminton, and tennis
- the particularly popular equestrian club, which ranges from beginner-level activities to competitive riding (and for which we also offer a specialized support program, details of which are available on a dedicated equestrian webpage)
- creative activities such as the theater club, pottery, the lower-grade choir, the student band, or the orchestra
- special programs such as Cisco Academy, chess, or meditation & mindfulness
Lina has chosen one of the sports clubs and one creative club. One afternoon, for example, badminton is on the schedule; another afternoon, it’s the theater club. In between, there’s time to hang out with friends on campus—for instance, in the learning and culture workshop, the gym, or the outdoor facilities.
Evenings: Unwind and enjoy fellowship
Another group meal takes place in the evening. Dinner is mandatory, especially for the younger boarding students. Afterward, things quiet down:
- There is time for conversation within the house community.
- Many also use the common rooms to play games or relax.
- Depending on age, different bedtimes apply to ensure that everyone gets enough sleep.
These clear evening routines are an important source of stability: they help children like Lina wrap up a fulfilling school day and start the next morning with renewed focus. The “Life at Boarding School” page offers a glimpse into what life is like at our boarding school, with additional information and insights.
Weekends at boarding school: Between trips home and boarding school weekends
Like many boarding schools in Germany, ours follows a 14-day cycle consisting of longer home-visit weekends and shorter boarding school weekends (though other arrangements are certainly possible!).
- Home-visit weekends:
- Many students go home, spend time with their families, and return at the start of the week.
- Boarding school weekends:
- The students stay at the boarding school, where a special program is organized.
- This is particularly important for international students, as they cannot travel home regularly during the school year; therefore, a recreational program is offered for them every weekend.
Activities on boarding school weekends: group evenings, field trips, and plenty of variety
On boarding school weekends, we place great importance on offering a variety of activities and ensuring that the children and teens can contribute their own ideas.
A recurring highlight is the group evening on Friday: The resident mentors work with their groups to plan weekend activities, which can vary widely depending on the children’s interests. Examples include:
- a visit to the trampoline park
- go-karting or bowling
- a campfire evening with bread on a stick
- a torchlight hike
- a group trip to the movies or a restaurant
For the rest of the weekend, a wide range of activities is available to the children—both on the school and boarding school grounds (Teqball court, foosball, billiards, air hockey, sauna and weight room, gym, sports fields, climbing forest, group rooms) and in the beautiful surrounding area.
Further information can be found on our website page about the weekend and vacation program.
Holidays at boarding school: Especially important for international students
Many families are also interested in what happens during school breaks. Our boarding school in Baden-Württemberg is open to international students during the fall, Carnival, Easter, and Pentecost breaks. The boarding school is closed only during the Christmas and summer breaks.
During the open vacation periods:
- daily care and supervision continue as usual,
- and staff organize a special vacation program, such as excursions to Munich, Heidelberg, or Frankfurt.
This ensures that daily life remains well-structured even during the vacations, while at the same time allowing the students to experience much of Germany and the region.
Why such structured environments are so important, especially for fifth graders
The transition from elementary school to a boarding school like ours is a big step for many children. New subjects, more class hours, different teachers, and, on top of that, often a much greater need for independent work. Not every child copes well with this change right from the start.
A boarding school has additional demands, but with clear daily and weekly structures, it also provides a great deal of guidance and support:
- Fixed wake-up, meal, and study times provide a sense of security.
- Reliable caregivers guide students through their daily routines.
- Study periods are supervised by teachers, so that children learn early on how to effectively organize their homework and exam preparation.
At Schloss-Schule Kirchberg, this individualized support toward greater self-confidence and independent work begins intentionally as early as 5th grade. The goal is to ensure that children like Lina are not “thrown in at the deep end,” but rather find their way into the new learning environment step by step. Our mission statement describes the educational philosophy that underpins this work.
Bottom line: What parents should take away from this example of a “week at boarding school”
From the perspective of many parents, a look at a typical week at a boarding school in Baden-Württemberg (like ours) shows one thing above all else: structure and freedom are not mutually exclusive.
- Classes, study periods, and free time are coordinated in such a way that children can learn effectively, relax, and pursue their interests.
- Short distances and clear routines ensure that energy isn’t wasted on long commutes or downtime.
- The boarding school community makes it particularly easy to form friendships, find support, and become part of a stable environment.
- Weekends and holidays are designed to be varied, with time for family as well as for group activities at the boarding school.
For many children, it is precisely this mix of clear structures, intensive support, and diverse opportunities that is the key to strong academic and personal development.
Anyone wishing to determine whether our boarding school in Kirchberg an der Jagst is a good fit for their child has several options. They can:
- request detailed information (information packet) from our website about our boarding school,
- get an overview online of the school and boarding school admission process and upcoming open house events,
- take virtual tours,
- or schedule a personal consultation, an in-depth visit, or even a trial stay.
Tip: Take this opportunity to ask us specific questions and work with us to determine whether our boarding school profile and daily life at our Schloss-Schule Kirchberg are a good fit for your child and your family situation.
