Ellenor: Students failed their A-levels due to "trouble" with teacher

2026-07-10

An 18-year-old student's emotional graduation speech has triggered a nationwide debate in Germany after an unusually high number of students failed their final Abitur (German university entrance exam) at a school in Hagenow.

The student, Ellenor, delivered the speech during the graduation ceremony at Robert-Stock-Gymnasium in Hagenow, questioning whether so many students had really failed because they were incapable or whether deeper problems existed within the school system. She claimed that 17 out of 52 students failed the Abitur, a failure rate of around 34%, far above the state average. Although Ellenor herself also failed the exam, she said many classmates had seen their university and career plans collapse overnight.

In her speech, Ellenor accused the school of frequent teacher changes, outdated teaching materials, disrupted mathematics lessons and inadequate preparation for the final examinations. She argued that students had been left at a disadvantage and questioned whether the education system should reflect on its own shortcomings instead of placing all the blame on students. The speech quickly spread across social media, where it attracted widespread attention and divided public opinion.

The controversy has since grown beyond the school itself. The State School Authority (Staatliches Schulamt) in Schwerin announced it will investigate why such a large proportion of students failed the exams. The State Parents' Council (Landeselternrat) and the Education and Science Union (GEW – Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft) have also called for a transparent investigation, arguing that the case may reflect broader problems such as teacher shortages, cancelled lessons and growing pressure on schools across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The incident has sparked fierce public debate across Germany. Some people praised Ellenor for speaking out about long-standing problems in the education system, while others argued that students must also accept personal responsibility for their academic performance. The viral speech has reignited wider discussions about teaching standards, school resources and whether Germany's education system is adequately preparing students for one of the country's most important examinations.