Month: November 2021

Information for visitors about the organisation of our Open Day on 23rd November

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ECP Open Day

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our school on 23rd November. For the programme and general information about the event, see our previous post here.

Please, pay attention to the following information that will apply to all visitors:

Stay at home if unwell

Please stay at home if you show symptoms of an infectious disease. We will cordially welcome you at one of the two remaining Open Days on 13th January 2022 or on 9th February 2022. It is very likely that one of our Open Days in 2022 will be virtual so that you will be able to join even without physically being in Prague or while being temporarily unable to leave your home.

Is registration required?

No, it is not necessary to register in advance. You can simply choose which parts of the programme you wish to see and then allow yourself 10-15 minutes for the quick certificate check at the entrance.

Prepare your (digital) certificate

In line with the most recent regulations, all adult visitors (older than 18) need to show us at the entrance a certificate of completed vaccination or a certificate about recovery from COVID-19 within the past 180 days. Please be advised that a certificate of negative COVID-19 test result is no longer sufficient for adult visitors (unless these adults have a confirmation that they cannot get vaccinated for health reasons).

Children younger than 12 do not need to provide any certificates or test results at the entrance.

If you have had your 1st vaccination dose applied recently, you can use a combination of certificate of the 1st dose application and a negative PCR test result (no older than 72 days). 

Don’t forget the respirator

Please wear your respirators for the whole duration of your visit. Except for when you enjoy our cookies or a sip of coffee at the designated space :-).

Jiří Rusnok’s visit to ECP

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Jiří Rusnok

The English College had a special visit from Mr Jiří Rusnok, former Prime Minister and the current Governor of the Czech National Bank. Mr Rusnok gave a speech to the Upper School students. 

The title of Mr Rusnok’s presentation was: “What is and what is not the Czech National Bank.” The main focus was on understanding the objectives of the National Bank. In addition, he mentioned the tools the bank possesses to fulfil them. 

Students had the opportunity to ask Mr Rusnok several questions about his perspective on the current macroeconomic circumstances. Issues discussed included the unexpected rise of interest rates and the uncertain future of economic growth in the Czech Republic.

Jiří Rusnok served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic between July 2013 and January 2014. Since 1 July 2016 he has been serving as Governor of the Czech National Bank.

Previously, Rusnok served in the government of the Czech Republic as Minister of Finance from 2001 to 2002 and as Minister of Industry and Trade from 2002 to 2003.

Remembrance Week at ECP

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It is sometimes good to stop and think. Remembrance Week is one of those times. 

Remembrance Day has its roots in the aftermath of the First World War. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we observe a two-minute silence. That is when, in 1918, the guns fell silent. The poppy was chosen as the symbol of remembrance because it was the first flower to grow again on the former battlefields of Flanders.

There is now no-one left who was alive at the time of WWI. Very soon, there will be no-one left who fought against the Nazis in WWII.

Remembrance Week Assemblies

So here at the English College, during Remembrance Week, we hold assemblies to remember those who died in the service of their country. We also raise money for the British charity, the Royal British Legion. The RBL helps those who continue to serve their country, by selling red poppies made by ex-servicemen and women.

COVID Support Force

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the RBL. It is also the sixth year that Year 6 student Alexandra Brízová has been taking part in our Remembrance Week assemblies. This week, she has been telling students about how British servicemen and women have been helping to fight a very different war, against today’s enemy – COVID 19. The COVID Support Force has provided service personnel to deliver vaccines and to work in hospitals to help relieve the pressure on the National Health Service.

Medically trained personnel have supported the vaccine rollout across the UK. MOD Crown Copyright.
UK service personnel delivering Covid vaccines

Czech-British Connections

Remembrance Week is also a good time to look at the things that connect our two countries. The culmination of Remembrance Week is our participation at a ceremony on Remembrance Sunday. This simple ceremony unites our two countries because it is one of thousands of similar ceremonies that take place in every village, town and city in the UK on Remembrance Sunday. 

ECP students play an important part in the ceremony at the Olšany cemetery. They help young Scouts and Cubs from the 1st Prague Scout troop to place crosses on the graves of soldiers and airmen who are buried there.

Remembrance Day ceremony at Olšany cemetery

NeverForgotten

Libor Sečka, when Czech Ambassador to the UK, with his Deputy, ECP graduate Jan Brunner

The former Czech Ambassador to the UK, Libor Sečka, has made this often moving documentary about his NeverForgotten project, explaining why he wanted to visit the graves of all the Czechs and Slovaks who died in the UK in the service of their country. The project attracted the support of several British Members of Parliament including Greg Hands, a Government Minister and former Governor of the English College, and Sir David Amess, who was tragically killed in his Southend constituency last month. You can see a list of all the graves Mr Sečka visited here.

Also taking part in the documentary are Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček, who play for the Premier League club, West Ham Utd. Like Vladimír and Tomáš, ECP students also want to remember those in previous generations whose sacrifices ensured their freedom. By commemorating Remembrance Week in school each year, the English College helps to keep their memories alive.

#PoppyAppeal @LiborSecka #NeverForgotten @GregHands @tomassoucek28 @Coufi5@WestHam

ECP Founders’ Day and Schwarzenberg Scholarship

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Karel Schwarzenberg

On Thursday 4 November, the ECP celebrated its annual Founders’ Day. Pražská křižovatka was chosen for the ceremony because our Czech Founder Patron was Václav Havel, to whom the evening was dedicated. This year, we mainly celebrated Václav Havel, as his idea to re-establish an English-medium grammar school in Prague gave rise to the ECP. Our current Patrons are HRH The Prince of Wales and Karel Schwarzenberg.

The school is very fond and proud of its history. It gives us stability and also inspiration for the present life of the College. Every year we celebrate the Founders of the school, as we are grateful for their efforts and ideas. We acknowledge their mission as this is what creates our solid roots. 

At this event, students in Years 2-6 received Founders’ academic prizes, subject prizes and talent awards for the previous academic year. The entire evening concluded with a musical performance by our Year 1 students.

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Year 1 performance at Founders’ Day 2021

The Schwarzenberg Scholar

During the Founders’ Day evening, our Schwarzenberg Scholar, Eileen Griffin, delivered a present on behalf of the school to our Patron, Mr Karel Schwarzenberg, who made a speech about Václav Havel at the event. Eileen is a proud holder of the Schwarzenberg Scholarship and has been a fan of Karel Schwarzenberg since early childhood, as you can see on the photo and in her mother’s letter below.

Eileen with a poster of Mr Schwarzenberg

Dear Dr. Brown, 
I would like to thank you, once again, for having Eileen in ECP. It has been a year since she got the scholarship, but even today I have goosebumps just thinking of the moment we found out that she got it. 
Looking through my old photos, I found Eileen’s picture with the poster of  Mr. Schwarzenberg when he was running for president. That year he gave us hope that change could happen. Little did I know that a few years later I would be grateful to him for giving another hope to my daughter.  
Petra Griffin

Outstanding in Every Category!

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The school recently had a visit from the British Schools Overseas inspection team. This inspection takes place every three years, unlike Czech inspections which are every six years or so. The inspectors judge both the lessons and the school’s general operational health against the full gamut of British governmental standards that schools in the UK must comply with. 

Relationships

The lead inspector of Penta International, Dr. Mark Evans has personally inspected the school four times since 2012. He was delighted to see the progress we had made from the last inspection in 2018. For the first time he judged the school to be “Outstanding in Every Category”. The report goes on to say that, “The College offers an excellent British education that meets the needs of its students in a truly context-sensitive manner.” In particular, they said that “The relationships between students and staff are outstanding…based on mutual respect and providing the foundations for excellent learning and teaching.”

Curriculum

It added that the “The curriculum provision is excellent. The College blends the required Czech curriculum with the best of the British curriculum very effectively”. The inspectors really liked the pre-IB curriculum saying that it “provides students with the necessary skills to meet the IB learner profile attributes and ultimately achieve high IB grades”. We received praise for our respect for humanist traditions as well.

Czech context

In the context of Czech culture, they mentioned that “There is a strong and palpable focus on the promotion of the values of the founders, such as freedom, respect for diversity and equality. The College also deeply values the Czech heritage, history and traditions, including them in the curriculum, presentations, assemblies and projects.”

Dr. Brown, the Headmaster, commented on this success as follows: ”We got the highest possible outcome – Outstanding in Every Category. We got a badge, one with gold writing and laurels. As I said to the Governors, I don’t really like badges, but I’ll take this one!”

You can read the full inspection report here.