Year 1 students as Heads for a day

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Lily Mac, Beatrice Doubová, Alice Vavrušková, Ekaterina Tishchenko

On 13th of June, we became the Heads for the day. Do we wish we hadn’t won the Yin Yang Island project? Maybe. But it definitely was a very interesting experience. We started off by greeting late comers in front of the school. There were not as many as we thought. But we still got to yell at them, as well as question some teachers. After that, we got to relax for about five minutes, before everything began. There were tons of emails to answer, a list of people to meet and interview. Even when we thought everything was done, unexpected visits and emails kept on coming. However, we handled them with a smile, as real headteachers would have.

We received emails about our tasks the night before, but some things just had to be managed without preparation. There was a logistics meeting, where we practically had no idea what to do. It was our first logistics meeting after all. We realised how thoroughly the school year must be planned, because just now, all teachers already know exactly what will happen in two weeks.

Then we had to interview an applicant for a new job as a Psychology Teacher and a potential new student. For these, we had to prepare some questions in advance. It was not easy, because we had very little time and a lot of other things to do, but we managed everything in time. The teacher interview was very interesting. She gave us detailed answers and we liked her relaxed approach to teaching. In the end, we had a nice talk with her. We were surprised to hear of a staff complaint (that later turned out to be a joke!) about some staff taking more than their fair share of bananas – still we think we found a good solution that we shared with the teacher!

Suddenly, it was time to give out the cookies. We rushed out of our office with the boxes in our arms. We almost managed to give them out to every single class, but there wasn’t enough time. In the end, we gave them out to random people in the corridors and to teachers. The day ended with a few final emails that were left to sort out. By this time we were completely exhausted.

Being in the headteacher’s chair as students is so tiring, even though there were four of us. This job is very hectic and we had enough after just half a day. And to think that Dr. Brown manages this every day only by himself is pretty impressive. It was also a lot of fun, though, and we had a good laugh most of the time. Becoming the boss of a school is a once in a lifetime experience. Literally, because neither of us plan to work as one in the future.

Thank you for the day, Dr. Brown (and pretty much the whole school) :))


Creating Cultures of Thinking

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Creating Cultures of Thinking – two quite distinct projects being worked on by our Year 1 and Year 5 students.

Yin Yang Island Development Project

Our Year 1 students have been working on a project to develop ‘’Yin Yang Island’’, acting as a metaphor for the Earth and the challenges it faces. Yin Yang Island is a fictitious island in the South Pacific. The Sultan, or supreme ruler of the island chain which includes Yin Yang Island, has commissioned a development study with a proposed investment of up to $500 million. The Year 1 teams formed development companies and created proposals to attract inward investment in the island. Each team will be ready to explain their concept, show you a model of their project and also a brochure. You will be asked to vote on the best concept and the winning team will be given an unusual and exciting prize. The winning team will run the school for a day, taking over the Headmaster’s role, his office and face some expected challenges in running a school.

Knowledge News Network Television News Show

Knowledge News Network or (KNN) is a student-driven media initiative. The students, alongside their teachers and a professional videographer, created a news programme with a twist. In the style of Panorama (UK) or Události (CZ), KNN doesn’t only report the news as it is but reports on how we know what we know or how we gather and assess the facts. In part a response to the rise of “clickbait” media and fake news and in part to enrich our IB Theory of Knowledge Programme, KNN asks students to demand more rigour of themselves in exactly how they know the things they know rather than simply accepting knowledge at face value.  With the use of a green screen to create our news studio and weather report, and various locations in and around the College, KNN tackles the hot topics of the year – technology, equality and the environment – and immerses students in the experience of being a journalist and news producer. If you are interested in your child developing skills in investigative journalism, media and film production, or simply improving critical thinking skills, please encourage them to get involved in this project and, of course, come along.

Entrance Exam Results (for Year 1, Round II)

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entrance exam results

Accepted / Přijatí po 2. kole přijímacích zkoušek ze dne 2.5.2019:

Year 1 / do 1. ročníku:

144
108
143
136
106
158
128
149
103
110
101
137
187
150
119
182
109
127
183

Congratulations to successful candidates./Blahopřejeme úspěšným kandidátům!

Entrance Exam Results (for Years 2, 4 and 5)

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entrance exam results

Accepted / Přijatí po 1. kole přijímacích zkoušek ze dne 30.4.2019:

Year 2 / do 2. ročníku:

220
204
212
225
345
219
223
208
348
231
229
206
224
213
228
205

Year 4 / do 4. ročníku:

403
406
405

Year 5 / do 5. ročníku:

508
506
510
505
503
512

Congratulations to successful candidates./Blahopřejeme úspěšným kandidátům!

Czech Inspection Report issued

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Czech inspection

Czech Inspection Report issued

We are delighted to let you know the 2019 Czech Inspection Report is now on our website in both Czech and English. The English version has been approved by the Lead Inspector, although obviously the Czech version is definitive. Our School Council will be reviewing the report on 20th May. However, we thought it might be nice to share a couple of highlights here. You can take a look at the full report at your leisure.

The report focuses on school development, our strengths with examples of inspirational practice and then some areas for improvement. The Inspectors noticed that we have a high standard of teaching with high-quality staffing. Specifically, they spotlighted the sophisticated level of ongoing professional development of our teachers. The Inspectors commented also on other strengths. They pointed out a very high number of native-language teachers, systematic differentiation, good formative assessment, excellent IB results and a supportive and multicultural environment. In addition, the team emphasized two areas of inspirational practice. It is quite rare and it shows how impressed they were by what they saw at the English College. The team praised the depth and breadth of our co-curricular activities and our pedagogical programme for enhancing teaching and learning.

There is always room for improvement and the Inspectors suggested we could use peer assessment even more, pay systematic attention to formal language in Czech and improve the consistency of applying our classroom rules. We are excited to have done so well, but also enthusiastic about improving across all areas, especially those indicated to us in the inspection report.

The full report is available here.

Entrance Exam Results

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Entrance Exam Results

Výsledky přijímacího řízení

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ECP exam results

Entrance Exam Results

Výsledky přijímacího řízení

Accepted/Přijatí po 1. kole přijímacích zkoušek ze dne 18.4.2019:

Year 1 / do 1. ročníku:

112
148
168
162
146
134
118
157
147
179
154
142
132
131
165
114
155
102
111
161
166
151
152

Year 3 / do 3. ročníku:

308
311
307
312
303
344
333
336
330
313
304
332
343
322
331
339
316

Congratulations to successful candidates/Blahopřejeme úspěšným kandidátům!

ECP student wins “Young Person of the Year” Award

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ECP student with British Ambassador

David Jehlička wins British Ambassador’s Award

Following the success last year of ECP student, Natálie Nováková, we are thrilled to be able to congratulate another of our students, David Jehlička, on winning this year’s prestigious award. He received his trophy, designed by the Czech architect, Eva Jiřičná, from the British Ambassor, H.E. Nick Archer. The citation described his voluntary work including the Smile project to support a children’s home in Počernice, where he is a role model for the residents who admire his excellent English and his willingness to help others. David also volunteers at a library for visually impaired people and with the “Downíci” organisation who support people with Down’s syndrome.

David’s most significant achievement in school this year was as the leader of the Václav Havel Scholarship team that organised the annual concert at Anežský klášter to raise money to enable a Roma student to study at the English College.

Awards Ceremony

The British Ambassador established the Ambassador’s Awards last year to recognise those who make a significant contribution to Czech-British cultural exchanges. He announced this year’s two winners “Young Person of the Year” (under 30 years) and “Person of the Year” (30 years and above) from the six finalists – three in each category – at a special ceremony at the British Embassy on 25 April.

Shared Czech-British values

Anyone can nominate candidates for these awards. The expert selection committee pays special attention to individuals working with young and disabled people and with minorities. They also welcome candidates who have contributed to positive Czech-British cultural exchanges or to their local communities. This year, the focus was also on activities that promote shared Czech-British values such as equality and the environment.

You can see David being interviewed on ČT’s Události komentáře below

Little Shop of Horrors

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Terrifying musical by ECP students took place at Divadlo Na Prádle.

With direction from and music direction from our Arts Faculty (Logan Hillier, Trevor Marshall) the students lead by Barbora Hrabová and Julie Dočekalová in Y5 produced their own complete choreography and set design for the show. At the English College in Prague students don’t just perform but learn about every aspect of the production process.

Story by: Roger Corman, Howard Ashman, Charles B. Griffith

Meek flower shop assistant Seymour pines for co-worker Audrey. During a total eclipse, he discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey II, which feeds only on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling store. After Seymour feeds Audrey’s boyfriend, Orin, to the plant after Orin’s accidental death, he must come up with more bodies for the increasingly bloodthirsty plant.

ECP IB Art Exhibition

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IB Art Exhibition 2019

A spectacular ECP IB Art Exhibition took place at the Pragovka Gallery. Well done to the IB Art students for their remarkable pieces of work.

ECP students:

  • Heda Antošová
  • Olya Fakeieva
  • Jan Loebl
  • Natalie Vacíková
  • Ly Leová

The Art department aims to work towards providing an environment which nurtures and actively encourages creativity and talent. Practical work develops through an ethos of praise and constructive dialogue between student and teacher. Students are exposed to a wide range of media and techniques and develop their appreciation of art through the generation of their own work and through the opportunity to see artwork in gallery settings. All students are encouraged to have ownership of their ideas and, beyond the Junior School introductory courses, students develop their work with guidance and advice from the teacher rather than instruction whenever possible.

The department works towards a wider involvement within the whole school environment through the use of displays and exhibitions in order to enhance the whole school profile. We have the facilities to accommodate a broad range of outcomes in both expressive and design  contexts and students enjoy a high level of success in IGCSE, IB and beyond.

“Art is a fundamental human process. Every society, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated, has expressed itself through art. Art is a dynamic and unifying activity, with great potential for the education of our children. The process of drawing, painting, or constructing is a complex one in which children bring together diverse elements of their experience to make a new and meaningful whole. In the process of selecting, interpreting, and reforming these elements, children have given us more than a picture or a sculpture; they have given us a part of themselves: how they think, feel, and see.” 

Lambert Brittain and Victor Lowenfeld from Creative and Mental Growth.

ECP’s Annual Debate

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ECP’s Annual Debate

Does individual action matter in the fight against climate change, or should governments be doing more through legislation? This was the topic of ECP annual debate, students from year 4 and 5, with Mgr. Březovská, Ministry of the Environment, Ing. Karlík, Arnika, and RNDr. Hollan, Czech Academy of Sciences.

“The world experts clearly proved our climate changes fast and they provided reasons for the changes. If the human society wants to survive, people have to change the way they think. It is important to realize that people can have comfortable lives while using less energy” – a quote by RNDr. Hollan

Ing. Vlastimil Karlík has worked for environmental NGOs since 1997, at first for an organization called Children of the Earth (Děti Země). In 2001, he was a co-founder and a first chairman of Arnika association till 2005. Since 2010, he has also been a representative of Arnika and statutory representative (secretary) of another Czech NGO – Coalition for Rivers. His special fields of interest are nature protection (especially issues of river and wetland protection, river restoration and Natura 2000 network) and adaptation to climate change. He is also a member of the board of Green Circle (the umbrella organization for Czech environmental NGOs).

RNDr. Jan Hollan, Ph.D. graduated from the Masaryk University in Brno and later gained Ph.D. at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Technical University in Brno. He has been lecturing and writing on the whole scope of climate change since 1990. He has also been teaching on environmental issues including energy efficiency at Masaryk University since 2005. He published a textbook on climate change for the Faculty of Education. His environmental career included educating the public about global changes through the institution called Global Change Research Institute AV ČR, working as a climatologist at the Veronica eco institute as well as being a leader in a project mapping light pollution and negative effects of artificial light on nature of the Czech Republic.

Mgr. Romana Březovská is a graduate of both the Charles University in Prague and Sciences Po Paris, currently working at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. She has been working at the Department of Energy and Climate Protection for over 9 months now, focusing on the links between global, (inter)national and local climate action. A determined optimist, her main interests include meeting new inspirational people and intense tea drinking. She considers herself a lifelong learner with a passion for sustainable development and sustainable consumption.