History of The English College

In 1990 the suggestion was made at a meeting of British diplomats with President Vaclav Havel to set up a new school in Prague similar to the English Grammar School, which had flourished intermittently in Prague between 1927 and 1954. In 1992 a new charity, The English College Foundation, began raising funds. The intention was to found a secondary school which would provide an academic education on British lines, meet the intense demand for English and contribute to the development of Czechoslovakia's emerging democracy.

The project was endorsed by the three main political parties in the UK, and President Havel and the Prince of Wales agreed to be Joint Patrons of the English College. By 1994 a suitable building had been found, conveniently situated next to the metro station in Vysocany twelve minutes from the centre of Prague, and the school opened its doors in September that year.