Second chance
Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, 2023
At an unusual school in Frankfurt, young addicts can catch up on their studies. Many drop out, some disappear - a few make it.
Thanks so much for your patience and trust Vincent, Amina, Paula, Tom, Valerie & Susana. (Names changed)
Picture editor: Jakob Feigl
Writer: Julia Kopatzki
Assistant: Nathalie Zimmermann
After closing time the chairs are placed on the tables
In December, Tom was elected head boy
Vincent started his second attempt at BZH with the goal of achieving a zero percent absentee rate.
One of the school's many classrooms
Principal Jan Große on the school's roof terrace
Altered “You can do without smoke (intoxication)” sticker on a school door.
Valerie has undergone three detoxifications and four inpatient treatments. She likes to do yoga in physical education class
At 21 years old, Paula is the youngest in the graduating class
The staircase of the education center
Amina, Vinzent, Tom, Valerie, Susana & Paula on the roof top schoolyard
Amina dreams of becoming a psychologist
"And there's magic in every beginning" on a wall in the schoolyard.
The rooftop terrace
Valerie has undergone three detoxifications and four inpatient treatments. She likes to do yoga in physical education class
The “ancestral gallery” in the basement shows pictures of graduates since the foundation.