JEDLIK ANYOS SECONDARY GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

 

THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL

 

There was no secondary education in the village of Csepel before World War II and because of this all the students had to commute to Budapest to study. However, due to the constant bombing of the capital the road and railway bridges were destroyed and a great demand arose for a secondary grammar school in Csepel.

A private school was first established and solved the problem of schooling for 4 months. During its short existence the foundation of a permanent secondary grammar school was decided.

An 18-member-parental committee was set up on 8 July 1945 with the aim of establishing the school. The committee asked the abbot of the Saint Benedict Holy Order of Pannonhalma to direct the school. The representatives of the Benedictine Holy Order and the leaders of the village decided to organize a school with no fees, so the first school free of charge was founded in Hungary. The school was named after Anyos Jedlik, a Benedictine monk. Ha was born in 1800 and died in1895. His outstanding scientific career started when he joined the Saint Benedict Holy Order at the age of 17. He was the doctor of Mathematics, Physics, Philosophy and History. He invented the method of soda water production, he studied the electromagnetic waves and he is the inventor of the dynamo.

The first school year was opened on 9 September 1945 and 242 students could start their secondary schooling in 5 classes. Hugo Valyi, a teacher and a Benedictine monk, became the first headmaster.

Soon after the foundation the Parliament voted for taking schools into public ownership and as a result the Benedictine teachers had to leave Csepel and go back to the Monastery in Pannonhalma.

The new school building was opened on 9 March 1952.

 

 

THE PRESENT

 

Nowadays, approximately 600 students attend our school and each year 75% of the school-leavers continue their studies at universities. Most of our students take part in a 4-year course between the age of 14 and 18. There are 3 classes of this type in each year. The classes are specialized in Mathematics, Computer Studies and English or follow the average syllabus.

The students with outstanding abilities can choose the 8-year course, which begins at the age of 10. All the students learn 2 foreign languages, they can choose from English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian. Our students achieve big success in national schools competitions.

We organize different events for our students.

·         Each class goes on a 2-day school trip in September.

·         There is a funny competition for the ‘storks’ who are the newcomers. The organizer of the event is the winner of the previous year’s competition.

·         Christmas Party is organized in December. Students put on plays, dramas, comedies, and musicals, recite poems, sing songs in English.

·         The youngest students perform a Nativity play on the last school day before Christmas.

·         A ball is organized for the school-leavers. They get a special ribbon to be worn on their coats to show that they are preparing for the Matura and they perform a class dance. They invite their close family to enjoy this solemn evening.

·         A camp is organized for the ski-lovers in Austria.

·         Parents and the old students can spend a pleasant evening at a ball organized especially for them.

·         The Nations’ Carnival is a similar event to the Christmas Party but the plays, dramas, comedies, musicals, poems and songs are performed in German, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian.

·         A 2-day event called Jedlik Days has been organized since 1979. People having successful careers give lectures to set a good example for the young generation.

·         The school-leavers’ parade takes place in May. This is the day when they say good-bye to their school, the teachers and their schoolmates. From that day on, they have to take their final exams.

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

 

·         There has been a student exchange program with a high school in Hattingen, near Köln since 1984. 20 students spend 10 days in the other country year by year; they stay with families so that they can get to know the teenagers, the culture of the other country.

·         A Swedish high school from Stockholm has already visited us a few times. The students take a course studying Hungary and the visit here is part of their studies.

·         A high school in Weston-Super-Mare, a beautiful seaside town near Bristol, is the partner school in another student exchange program. 10 students take part in the program from both countries and stay at each other’s families for a week.