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On 29 September 2026, the Bertha-von-Suttner-Schule received the main prize of the German School Award (Deutscher Schulpreis), endowed with 100,000 euros. The comprehensive school in Mörfelden-Walldorf in southern Hesse has more than 2,000 students and around 250 teachers. Headteacher Ute Zeller and her staff show what the Law of Addition means in a large organisation: leadership is measured by how much it helps others move forward.
The mission in one sentence
Situation
Zeller describes the school’s task like this: “to give every child what it needs”. The jury notes: “No one leaves ‘die Bertha’ – as everyone calls it – without prospects.”
Link to the law
Adding value starts with the question of what the other person needs, not with the question of what the organisation offers. A clear mission in one sentence aligns 250 teachers with the same goal.
A difficult starting point, high standards
Situation
According to the jury, a majority of the students grow up in precarious circumstances. The school, it says, helps them “to make the best possible use of their potential”.
Link to the law
Anyone who wants to add value accepts people where they are. The school does not treat the differences among its students as a disruption but as the starting point of its work.
Structures that serve the individual
Situation
Three times a week, the young people work on individual tasks for 90 minutes, supported by teachers. A digital “learning network” (Lernnetz) shows gaps and suggests next steps; the school’s own AI provides support in mathematics, for example. Learning coaches accompany the students over years.
Link to the law
Good intentions are not enough. Adding value needs processes that produce it every day. Here, data serves to find the next learning goal, not to pass judgement.
Flat hierarchies
Situation
Zeller relies on flat hierarchies. House teachers work together with the class teachers to recognise early who needs support.
Link to the law
This is where the Law of Empowerment applies. In a school of this size, the leadership cannot know every child. But it can make sure that the people close to the child are allowed to decide.
The impact is felt
Situation
One student told the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk that “the teachers here support you much more, care more”. The jury praises how a large school community consistently pursues shared educational goals.
Link to the law
The yardstick for added value is the judgement of those it is meant for. When students name the difference themselves, intention has become impact.
Key takeaways
Key lessons
- Formulate your mission from the perspective of the people you serve.
- Accept the starting point instead of complaining about it.
- Build added value into your processes so that it does not depend on chance.
- Move decisions to where closeness to people is greatest.
- Ask those affected whether your added value reaches them.
Summary
“Die Bertha” shows that size and personal attention are not a contradiction. A clear mission, reliable structures and trust in the staff turn a comprehensive school with 2,000 young people into a place that no one leaves without prospects. That is servant leadership in everyday school life.