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Drama at the Kupfergasse elementary school: No sports hall after the holidays!
The Kupfergasse elementary school in Porz-Urbach does not have a sports hall due to serious damage. Students temporarily use other sports facilities.
Drama at the Kupfergasse elementary school: No sports hall after the holidays!
In Cologne-Urbach there is an urgent problem Kupfergasse primary school for excitement: The new sports hall, which has been waiting to be used for years, remains unusable due to mold and water damage. The situation is getting worse because on Thursday, July 24th, the old gymnasium will be demolished and the students will no longer have access to a gymnasium after the summer holidays.
Since the water damage that occurred at the beginning of 2019/2020, 477 primary school students have been waiting for regular physical education lessons. The city of Cologne remains largely opaque in this matter when it comes to the planning and progress of the renovation. Romy Spitzer, deputy chairwoman of the school board, expresses concern about the children's lack of opportunities for exercise and social interaction.
Sports opportunities during the renovation
In order to compensate for the lack of a sports hall, the school children have to use the gymnasium of the Porz city high school as well as the district sports facility and the Cologne sports park in Poll. Although this is a solution, the question of the quality and quantity of physical education lessons remains open. “A good hand for the health of our children would be the minimum,” criticizes Spitzer.
Some of the lessons are held in a small, old hall that can only be used for gymnastics - there is no space for ball sports and running. In addition, due to the emergency situation, the school was forced to temporarily rent a soccer hall, but the journey was simply too far for the parents and children.
Endless mold and construction defects
The damage to the gym is extensive: the floor has been torn out, the walls are covered in mold and sports equipment that cannot be washed must be thrown away. “It's not just bubbling in the mold, but possibly also in the original construction of the hall,” speculates a former caretaker about possible construction botches. The city of Cologne has promised to check the maintenance and cleaning of the devices and to draw up renovation plans, but implementation remains unclear.
The company hired to remove the mold in November 2022 did not show up. It remains to be seen when regular physical education classes will be possible again and what costs the city will incur. “This is anything but a good situation,” says Spitzer, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. Express adds: The city's information is currently more than meager and many parents feel left in the dark.