Thirteenth Year - 345 pupils and students
In the new school year, the Open Gate grammar school and primary school in Babice near Prague has welcomed 345 pupils and students; 251 of them are students in the grammar school while pupils at the first level of primary school number almost 100. Some 40% of the students receive need-based scholarship during this school year and have come to the grammar school from children’s homes, foster care or socially disadvantaged families. Open Gate graduates achieve superior results in final examinations every year. Six of this year’s International Baccalaureate graduates can boast a score of 40 or more points. Sixty-eight members of the teaching staff, headed by the new Open Gate headmistress, Kateřina Kožnarová, as of July 2017, take care of the pupils and students.
After the holidays, 94 pupils joined the Open Gate primary school. This school year, 251 students attend the grammar school; 119 of them live in the student dormitories. Thanks to them, the Open Gate campus resembles a traditional British boarding school.
While the primary school is a classic private school where all pupils pay the school fees, the grammar school brings together students who have grown up in varying, often very different social environments. Almost one-half of the grammar school students receive need-based scholarship from The Kellner Family Foundation. This year, it is 97 students, of whom eleven live in foster care and nine in children’s homes.
“Open Gate is not a school for elitists but for those who desire a high-quality education. Thanks to the support provided by The Kellner Family Foundation, Open Gate brings together students from different social strata, which naturally engenders a unique educational environment. In addition to educating them, we also guide students towards responsibility and solidarity. They are also involved in various charity activities,” adds Kateřina Kožnarová, the headmistress.
The Open Gate eight-year grammar school graduates achieve superior results in final examinations every year, both in the Czech school-leaving examinations and in the International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations. “Our graduates this year have achieved an overall average score of 40 points in the IB examination. Six graduates received 40 or more points in the final evaluation, and the best two can boast a score of 43 points out of the 45 points possible. In a global comparison with the results of 150,000 IB graduates in May 2017, our students were again amongst the very best,” noted Kateřina Kožnarová.
What candidates for Open Gate enrolment should know:
Those who aspire for Open Gate enrolment will have an opportunity to see the campus on the Open Days held on 23 November 2017 and 18 January 2018, or on another day, subject to prior arrangements.
The decisive factors for admission to Open Gate include the student’s academic aptitude and their mental motivation for learning. Students of other grammar schools and pupils at the second level of elementary schools also have chances for admission: in the new school year, need-based scholarship have been awarded to students joining the prima and also to five students who have transferred to higher forms at Open Gate from other schools.
Open Gate news
The key piece of news is the change in the school principal post: after eleven years in Open Gate management, Peter Nitsche has retired. Kateřina Kožnarová, until recently the head of the Science Section at the grammar school and a biology and social science teacher, is now the new headmistress of the school. Kateřina Kožnarová has been working at Open Gate for ten years and already before her appointment contributed to the development of the school and improvements in teaching as an adviser for the school’s curriculum and for the professional development of the teaching staff. She is a graduate from Charles University’s Faculty of Education and is also a certified IB examiner for biology.
- The Counselling Centre started to operate in September; it provides students with a number of services ranging from traditional career counselling through to systematic care for talented and extremely talented students.
- During the school vacations, the laboratory for science studies was furnished with new equipment.
- A school bus shuttling on the Prague-Babice route is available for primary school pupils.