【Schöningen, 】First in Lower Saxony: This School Now Has a Unique Offering

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Editor’s Note

This article highlights the opening of a new school foundry at the Anna-Sophianeum Gymnasium in Schöningen—a regional first in Lower Saxony. The facility aims to provide students with hands-on, practical learning experiences to enrich their education.

Die Lehrer Sebastian Pach (re.) und Dr. Alexander Witt öffnen einen Teil des „Koffers“, der die neue Schulgießerei enthält.
A School Foundry for Enriched Lessons

The Anna-Sophianeum Gymnasium in Schöningen now has a school foundry, which is intended to enrich lessons in the future.

A Regional First

It is a premiere in the region and even in Lower Saxony: Since this week, the Anna-Sophianeum Gymnasium in Schöningen is among the schools that have a school foundry – as the only one in the entire federal state. The offering stems from a private donation by a foundry enthusiast.

Initiative from a Former Resident

The initiative was started by a former resident of Helmstedt. Heiko Lickfett explains:

“The Helmstedt region enabled my school education and thus the foundation of my professional development. Therefore, I want to give something back to the region.”

He reports having worked for 35 years in the Federal Association of the German Foundry Industry and developed the school foundry concept there,

“to inspire children and young people for technology, specifically for metal casting, during their school years.”
School Foundry Donated

Now, Lickfett, in retirement, decided to donate one of these school foundries. A family connection then led to the contact with Schöningen: Brother Uwe Lickfett lives not far from Sebastian Pach, a physics and chemistry teacher at the Schöningen Gymnasium.

“Uwe Lickfett and my family, we’ve known each other for a long time,”

explains Pach, who also brings plenty of enthusiasm for the school foundry.

“It’s really cool that we are now starting with this statewide. The enthusiasm is great,”

says the teacher in an interview with regionalHeute.de. The 5,000-euro package –

“more of a cabinet,”

as Pach describes it – from the Federal Association of the German Foundry Industry, which includes the furnace as well as other utensils and protective clothing, has now arrived and was officially handed over to the school.

Pouring Liquid Metal into Molds

In the furnace, students can melt metal and then pour it into molds, let it cool, and subsequently process it further. Now it’s about deciding exactly where – in which room – the foundry will be used.

“At the moment, it’s still half-packed. We already have ideas where it could go. The topic of safety is, of course, a priority,”

explains Pach, referring to the high heat generation and the then-liquid metal.

Bubbling with Ideas for Classroom Use

When it comes to how the foundry can be used in lessons – the teacher is almost overflowing with ideas.

“You can find metal casting almost everywhere in everyday life. From jewelry to heating, there are plenty of everyday objects that have something to do with it.”

In the sciences, the foundry could be helpful, but manual metalworking would also be a topic. From the Bronze Age in history lessons to phase transitions in chemistry – there are more than enough points of connection in school.
And Pach is also looking forward to long-term engagement with the new set.

“I lead the experimental club. There we can engage with the foundry for weeks.”
Advantages of a School Foundry

For initiator Heiko Lickfett, the advantages of a school foundry are obvious:

“Metal casting offers the chance to pursue a perfect interdisciplinary approach in schools, connecting physics, chemistry, mathematics. Furthermore, the foundry industry incorporates 3D printing developments as well as AI approaches.”
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⏰ Published on: February 06, 2026