<Li> Leibniz Association, addressing research issues of particular interest to the society </Li> <P> Every year, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft awards ten outstanding scientists working at German research institutions with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, Germany's most important research prize . With a maximum of € 2.5 million per award it is one of the highest endowed research prizes in the world . Additionally, numerous foundations and non-profit organizations award further prizes, medals and scholarships . </P> <P> A generation ago the person least likely to attend a Gymnasium was a "catholic working class girl from the rural parts of Germany". Nowadays however the person least likely to attend a Gymnasium is a "minority youngster from the ghetto", who is "the son of immigrants" </P> <P> The influence of social class on educational achievement is much greater in western Germany than it is in eastern Germany (former GDR). An analysis of PISA data on Gymnasium pupils for the year 2000 showed that, while in western Germany the child of an academic was 7.26 times as likely as that of a skilled worker to attend, in eastern Germany a child from an academic family was only 2.78 times as likely as a working class child to attend . The reasons for this were unclear . Some people believed that immigrants were responsible, because more uneducated immigrant families lived in western than in eastern Germany . This assumption however could not be confirmed . The difference between east and west was even stronger when only ethnic German children were studied . </P>

What are the three types of german schools