St.-Pius-Gymnasium

St.-Pius-Gymnasium is a private Gymnasium (high school) in Coesfeld near Münster, Germany. As of 2005 it has approximately 690 pupils.It is named after Pope Pius X. The school is associated with the Lycée Notre-Dame in Guingamp, Brittany, France and a high school in Poole, Yorkshire, England.The school has its own chapel and an auditorium. The whole school is a non-smoking area.HistoryIt was founded in 1953 by Bishop Michael Keller as an Internat, in order to educate about 100 students for the priesthood. It had a fee of 100 Marks.In April 1964 it was changed to a high school. In 1965 the school building at Gerlever Weg was built. Girls were admitted starting in 1969, and in the same year a building was erected for up to 300 students. In 1976 it became a Gymnasium. In 1979, the last of the boarding students left, and the following year a major expansion to the buildings was made.