Cologne is revolutionizing school education: over 32 million for new facilities!

Cologne is revolutionizing school education: over 32 million for new facilities!

On July 3, 2025, the city of Cologne decided on important steps to improve school development. At a meeting of the city council, several financial measures were decided that will cost a total of around 32.54 million euros. The focus is on expanding and modernizing the school infrastructure as well as the digitalization of schools.

One of the central decisions concerns the Catholic secondary school at Großer Griechenmarkt: Two wooden modular buildings will be built here to replace the outdated container systems. With an investment of around 6.9 million euros, the school can finally move into contemporary premises. These wooden modular buildings are exemplary of the city's efforts to implement sustainable and modern solutions in school construction, as tixio.de explains.

New buildings and renovations at schools

Another large project is the new extension with a sports hall for the Horststrasse Catholic primary school. This will be realized in modular construction and the estimated costs for the new building are around 25.64 million euros. The cafeteria and kitchen areas will also be remodeled to create more space for classrooms. In addition, energy-saving renovations are planned at seven other locations in Cologne, as the city of Cologne announced in a statement stadt-koeln.de.

Another notable project is the general renovation of the Erich Kästner High School. The planning of a new elementary school on Friedensstrasse in Porz-Elsdorf has now been approved. Space is being created here for a two-class primary school including a double sports hall in order to meet the increasing need for school places.

Digitalization of schools

The rapid increase in digital resources is also a key feature of current school building initiatives. Around 4,520 digital touchscreens are to be purchased in order to significantly improve the schools' digital infrastructure. The total value of this measure is up to 24,092,835.20 euros gross. The improvement of Apple hardware equipment for schools is also supported with up to 13,168,801.80 euros, which means a net amount of 11,066,220 euros. Since 2017, the number of mobile devices in Cologne schools has increased to around 77,500, which the city clearly recognizes and reinforces,” says WDR.

Those responsible in Cologne are increasingly commissioning external investors and general contractors to implement construction projects more quickly and efficiently. Mayor Henriette Reker has repeatedly emphasized that school construction has the highest priority. There are currently 12 school construction projects underway with external investors, while general contractors are responsible for the construction work on another 25 projects.

The city of Cologne is undergoing an exciting transformation process that is intended to significantly modernize the school sector and help to overcome the challenges of a growing need for school places in a heavily built-up city. With the measures adopted, Cologne has shown a good knack for doing justice to the education of tomorrow.