I went to a school in the same system, Werner-von-Siemens Gymnasium in Magdeburg. They are relicts from former East Germany.

It's a bit more complicated. But the teachers were generally much better than at other schools, and interested in competitions. More kids were interested in math and sciences, but not everyone.

We regularly have math and science competitions between these kinds of schools. (And of course, my school is better than theirs. ;)