Come join us at the Popakademie
What is Pop macht Schule?
The Popakademie Baden-Württemberg's "Pop macht Schule" support program has set itself the task of introducing pupils to the topic of pop music. The senses are sharpened at an early stage for the creative use of popular music - because making music together promotes creativity and one's own aesthetic judgment and teaches social skills such as teamwork, self-confidence, patience, respect and reliability.
The project takes place at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg in Mannheim. Every year in February, four schools have the opportunity to take part. They each come to the Popakademie for one morning (8.30 am to 12.30 pm) with up to 60 pupils and are coached by Popakademie students in various workshops. At the end of the morning, the students present their own small concert.
The Popakademie Baden-Württemberg's "Pop macht Schule" support program has set itself the task of introducing pupils to the topic of pop music. The senses are sharpened at an early stage for the creative use of popular music - because making music together promotes creativity and one's own aesthetic judgment and teaches social skills such as teamwork, self-confidence, patience, respect and reliability.
The project takes place at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg in Mannheim. Every year in February, four schools have the opportunity to take part. They each come to the Popakademie for one morning (8.30 am to 12.30 pm) with up to 60 pupils and are coached by Popakademie students in various workshops. At the end of the morning, the students present their own small concert.
Pop macht Schule 2027 will take place
from February 22th to 25th and March, 2nd.
Application deadline: September 30, 2026Joint public final concert featuring all participating schools: Monday, March 15th, 2027, 6 p.m. at the Capitol in Mannheim.© Bülent Ceylan für Kinder Stiftung
Which workshops are offered?
During the band workshops, students get to know the typical pop music instruments drums, electric guitar, electric bass and keyboard. They can also try out instruments from global music: Bağlama, oud, kanun and darbuka. Of course, they can also sing, write lyrics, make their own beats and produce songs. The coaching teams consist of students from the Pop Music Design and Global Music bachelor's degree programs.Want to join?
All types of schools in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region are eligible to participate, including elementary schools starting in 3rd grade, Realschulen, Werkrealschulen, Realschulen Plus, Gesamtschulen, Gemeinschaftsschulen, Gymnasien, as well as special education institutions and schools for students with special needs starting in 5th grade. Participation in “Pop macht Schule” is free of charge.
Ideally, several classes and/or school bands from each school—with a total of about 50–60 students—will participate. The groups selected for the final concert should continue rehearsing their pieces independently between the coaching sessions and the concert.
It is important to us that participating students have a genuine interest in making music together and engaging in creative work, so that “Pop macht Schule” can be valued as a special experience.
In addition, we would like to select schools that can carry forward the project’s momentum in the long term. Therefore, we are particularly pleased to receive applications from schools that already offer and are further developing musical, creative, or technical programs—such as school bands, choirs, or music, technology, and computer clubs—or that would like to use “Pop macht Schule” as a catalyst for establishing new musical activities.
Interested schools should apply informally by email to Stefanie Bub (stefanie.bub@popakademie.de) by September 30th.
In addition, we would like to select schools that can carry forward the project’s momentum over the long term. We are therefore particularly interested in applications from schools that already offer musical, creative, or technical programs—such as school bands, choirs, or music, technology, and computer clubs—and wish to further develop them, or that would like to use “Pop macht Schule” as a catalyst for launching new musical activities. Interested schools should submit an informal application by email to Stefanie Bub (stefanie.bub@popakademie.de) by September 30. Please let us know
why you’d like to participate in “Pop macht Schule,” whether your school has one or more school bands (and if so, how large they are and what their approximate lineup is), what musical, creative, or technical programs are already available at your school, how you plan to sustain and build upon the results of “Pop macht Schule” after the program concludes, and anything else you’d like to share with us about your school.
In the fall, we’ll let you know whether your school has been selected for the next round of “Pop macht Schule.”Information on data protection:
For the application, we need the name and address of your school as well as the contact details of a contact person. The contact details of the contact person are used exclusively for correspondence with the Popakademie and are treated as personal protected data under the German DSGVO.
During the band workshops, students get to know the typical pop music instruments drums, electric guitar, electric bass and keyboard. They can also try out instruments from global music: Bağlama, oud, kanun and darbuka. Of course, they can also sing, write lyrics, make their own beats and produce songs. The coaching teams consist of students from the Pop Music Design and Global Music bachelor's degree programs.Want to join?
All types of schools in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region are eligible to participate, including elementary schools starting in 3rd grade, Realschulen, Werkrealschulen, Realschulen Plus, Gesamtschulen, Gemeinschaftsschulen, Gymnasien, as well as special education institutions and schools for students with special needs starting in 5th grade. Participation in “Pop macht Schule” is free of charge.
Ideally, several classes and/or school bands from each school—with a total of about 50–60 students—will participate. The groups selected for the final concert should continue rehearsing their pieces independently between the coaching sessions and the concert.
It is important to us that participating students have a genuine interest in making music together and engaging in creative work, so that “Pop macht Schule” can be valued as a special experience.
In addition, we would like to select schools that can carry forward the project’s momentum in the long term. Therefore, we are particularly pleased to receive applications from schools that already offer and are further developing musical, creative, or technical programs—such as school bands, choirs, or music, technology, and computer clubs—or that would like to use “Pop macht Schule” as a catalyst for establishing new musical activities.
Interested schools should apply informally by email to Stefanie Bub (stefanie.bub@popakademie.de) by September 30th.
In addition, we would like to select schools that can carry forward the project’s momentum over the long term. We are therefore particularly interested in applications from schools that already offer musical, creative, or technical programs—such as school bands, choirs, or music, technology, and computer clubs—and wish to further develop them, or that would like to use “Pop macht Schule” as a catalyst for launching new musical activities. Interested schools should submit an informal application by email to Stefanie Bub (stefanie.bub@popakademie.de) by September 30. Please let us know
why you’d like to participate in “Pop macht Schule,” whether your school has one or more school bands (and if so, how large they are and what their approximate lineup is), what musical, creative, or technical programs are already available at your school, how you plan to sustain and build upon the results of “Pop macht Schule” after the program concludes, and anything else you’d like to share with us about your school.
In the fall, we’ll let you know whether your school has been selected for the next round of “Pop macht Schule.”Information on data protection:
For the application, we need the name and address of your school as well as the contact details of a contact person. The contact details of the contact person are used exclusively for correspondence with the Popakademie and are treated as personal protected data under the German DSGVO.
History & achievements
Since 2005, "Pop macht Schule" has been implemented as a very successful concept of cultural education in schools in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. In 2009, the project received the State Teaching Award in the Art and Music Colleges category from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts. In 2010, it was honored as a "Selected Landmark" as part of the "Land of Ideas" campaign. "Pop macht Schule" was supported by BASF SE from 2005 to 2023.
Publications
The music education concept for "Pop macht Schule" is now the basis of various training courses for prospective teachers and can be found in
- Schwarz, Axel, and David-Emil Wickström. 2017. Artists to teachers – teachers to artists: providing a space for aesthetic experience at secondary schools through popular music. In The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education, edited by Gareth Dylan Smith, Zack Moir, Matt Brennan, Shara Rambarran, and Phil Kirkman, 217-30. London, New York: Routledge.
- Schwarz, Axel. 2015. Pop macht Schule - Neue Wege zur Vermittlung von Popmusik. Mainz: Schott.
