Category: News

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.

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.

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

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.

The English College in Prague has just published a new issue of The ECP Newsletter.

You can read it via this link.

Summary:

• HM’s message
• Trips
• News
• Student Council
• Literary Festival
• Activities
• DofE trips
• Arts
• ECPN

You can look at the archive of ECP newsletters here.

Headmaster Nigel Brown and Senior Deputy Head Tony Emmerson have recently returned from the UK. They met over 120 trainee teachers interested in our ‘Teaching Together in Europe’ placements. There was great enthusiasm for the project, and we expect applications from a wide array of talented young (and not-so-young) people entering the teaching profession.

Innovation

A small group of trainee teachers from the UK will spend a term at the College. By helping to develop and mentor new teachers, we will further enhance our status as a beacon of innovation and professional learning. It will encourage us to engage with our own teaching skills, while helping to develop the next generation of young teachers.

Internationalism

Tony Emmerson says, ‘The Teaching Together in Europe programme will open up a new world of student and teacher exchanges and learning experiences. It will keep ECP firmly connected to our British roots, while also promoting the spirit of collaboration and internationalism in UK schools.’

TTE will provide teaching placements for trainee teachers. The three prestigious schools taking part are the ECP, St George’s British International School in Rome and the British School of Brussels. They are all members of HMC, and COBIS Training Schools. They all have the same academic aspirations for their students and are public benefit schools.

This is an innovative programme, led by the ECP, which educators have welcomed as providing an international dimension to teacher training.

Partners in Europe

You can read more about the TTE project and learn about our UK and international partners – here.

You are very welcome to visit one of the 3 Open Days that are taking place throughout the year.

• Tuesday 23rd November 2021
• Thursday 13th January 2022
• Wednesday 9th February 2022

The Open Day at the English College in Prague is a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the atmosphere at the school. Prospective students can participate in demonstration lessons while their parents have an opportunity to meet the Headmaster, Dr Nigel Brown, teachers and the Admissions Registrar, Ms Barbora Němečková, who coordinates the admissions procedure and can offer detailed information about the entrance exams.

Open Day Programme for 23rd November 2021:

Need more information?  Please contact:

Barbora Němečková, Admissions Registrar

+ 420 283 101 206

[email protected]

www.englishcollege.cz

NOTE: Parking is available at the Galerie Fénix shopping mall car park.

As our Open Days are an important part of our school year, we like to take photographs during the afternoon and may use some of them in our displays or in marketing and other publications. If you do not wish you or your child to appear in our photographs, please tell our photographer and we shall, of course, respect your wishes.

Calendar Event ( .ICS )

Both parents and students are welcome!

Refreshments will be provided at the Open Day.

Of our students who left school in the summer of 2021, 66 were awarded places at their first choice university. These include Cambridge, University College London, Durham, Warwick, Exeter, Bath, Bristol, King’s College London, New York University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Amsterdam, Leiden, TU Munich, Trinity College Dublin, ČVUT and Charles University amongst others.

In terms of university results, we have had one of the best years in the College’s history. 98% of the students who applied to university succeeded at their first choice university on results day. This figure is usually between 77-82%. Our top university destination country is now the Netherlands with 27.7% of students making it their first choice. Importantly, the UK is still holding strong with 26.3% of students opting to study there. Around 19% of students opted to continue their studies in the Czech Republic, with Charles University being the most popular choice (most students opting for medicine or law).

Additionally, the rest of the students opted for a diverse range of destinations. These include Canada (4 students), the USA (2 students), Italy (2 students), Germany (1 student) or Ireland (1 student). The universities they will attend include the University of British Columbia, NYU, Boston University, TU Munich and Trinity College Dublin.

Congratulations to our 2021 graduates, we wish them all the best in the next chapter of their life.

If you ask any ECP graduate to name one inanimate object that reminds them of their school days, the chances are that they will say ‘the Blue Doors’. 

To our students, the sight of those blue doors, as they walk up from Sokolovská or Vysočanská metro station, provides the reassurance that a warm welcome is waiting for them. So it’s not surprising that nearly every graduate who comes back to visit us wants to have their photograph taken in front of the Blue Doors.

Over 1,500 IB Graduates

The ECP opened its doors for the first time on 4 September 1994 and since then, over 1,500 students have graduated with the IB Diploma. But the building was originally a primary school, built in 1890. The Blue Doors must therefore have welcomed literally thousands of young people over the years.

Face-Lift

So when we bought the freehold of the building from Prague 9 Council earlier this year, it was obvious to everyone that one of the first things that should get a face-lift were the Blue Doors. 

130 Years of History

We commissioned a specialist firm to carefully remove the doors and transport them to their workshop. There, a team of experts took off the many layers of paint, built up over more than 130 years. They also removed the brass door furniture, which was also treated to a painstaking restoration process. Then the hard work began. Sanding the wood smooth, filling in the gaps and holes, sanding again. Wiping them down to make sure that every square centimetre was clean and dry. Now the doors were ready for several layers of primer, undercoat and glossy blue top coat. Finally, when the paint was dry, these very special doors were re-hung to welcome everyone back for the start of the new academic year.

Revitalised

We asked Ann Lewis, one of the Founders of the English College and former Chairman of Governors, what she thought of the newly-restored Blue Doors. She told us, ‘When we first found the building, a couple of years before the school opened in 1994, the blue doors were faded and peeling. Now, as we enter our 27th year, it’s great to see the iconic doors not so much restored as revitalised!’

The English College in Prague has just published a new issue of The ECP Newsletter.

You can read it via this link.

Summary:

• HM’s message
• Graduation Ceremony
• Back in school
• News
• Events
• Physics
• Library news
• Super Curriculum
• Arts
• ECPN

You can look at the archive of ECP newsletters here.

We are excited to announce that from the next academic year ECP will be hosting trainee teachers from the UK. They will come to the College to develop their skills in an international environment.

This initiative, Teaching Together in Europe, has been created in partnership with the British School of Brussels, and St George’s British International School, Rome. We will work together to create the best possible training experience.

The student teachers will come from the Nottinghamshire Torch SCITT and the Pennine Lancashire SCITT. ECP will also be hosting trainees from the One Cumbria Teaching School Hub.

By mentoring new teachers we are passing on the knowledge and experience we have, just as our own mentors once did for us. We are hoping to create the next generation of internationally-minded teachers. 

Working with our European and UK counterparts will open opportunities for student experiences and professional learning. 

“The TTE partnership was born out of a desire to deepen connections between UK teacher training and British International schools in Europe. Our schools benefit so much from UK-trained teachers, and it is good for us to offer something in return. Educating children transcends national borders, and sharing ideas internationally will benefit us all.”

Tony Emmerson – Senior Deputy Head, English College in Prague

See a full press release here.