The English School, Nicosia

Infobox School


imagesize = 179px
name = The English School, Nicosia
motto = "Non Sibi Sed Scholae"
founder = Cannon Newham
headteacher = Stuart Haggett
chairperson = Andreas Panayiotou
established = 1900
type= selective co-educational secondary school
information = ([phone]
website = http://www.englishschool.ac.cy
teaching_staff = 110
age range = 11-18
school_colours =

native_name = Αγγλική Σχολή
city = Nicosia
country = CYP

The English School, Nicosia is a selective co-educational school in Cyprus. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious secondary schools on the island. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=English School in search of another headmaster | date=Friday, November 29, 2002 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main_old.php?id=7842&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ]

History

The school was founded in 1900 by Canon Frank Darvall Newham and since its inception the school has offered a British-style secondary level education to children from all the communities of Cyprus. Originally it only accepted the children of the British rulers of the island and was located within the medieval walls of Nicosia. It moved to its current premises in 1939.

The school started off as a private venture but control was transferred to the British Governor in 1930. Following independence from British occupation in 1960, control passed to the Cypriot Government. In 2007, the school's status and eligibility for state grants was challenged at the Supreme Court. [cite news | first=Elias | last=Hazou | title=Promotion row throws English School status into question | date= 2007-07-21 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=33727&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ] [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Question time for the English School | date=Thursday, 2002-07-18 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main_old.php?id=7120&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ]

From September 2003 onwards, the school returned to its bi-communal status by enroling Turkish Cypriots. ["English School to open entry for Turkish Cypriots Cyprus Mail Archive article - Friday, June 6, 2003 " [http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main_old.php?id=9895&archive=1] ] It is a highly selective academic co-educational secondary school and most of its leavers attend universities in Great Britain. ["2005 ES leavers destinations" [http://www.englishschool.ac.cy/destinations2005.html] ] ["Cypriot schools celebrate top A-level results. Cyprus Mail - archive article - Sunday, August 28, [http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=21591&archive=1] ]

It follows British educational models in its emphasis on the all-round education of the whole pupil and offers an exceptional range of extra-curricular activities, including sports, music and drama.Fact|date=February 2007

Based on the model of the best British independent secondary schools,Fact|date=February 2007 for the first three years all students follow a broad curriculum designed to lay foundations for public examinations and give them a taste of all the subjects on offer.

At the end of the 3rd year, students begin to specialise by choosing their programme of GCSE subjects. The compulsory core subjects are English Language and Literature, Mathematics and Modern Greek and students choose a number of optional subjects. In the 6th year, all pupils must take five AS Level courses including Modern Greek, Ancient Greek or Classical Civilisation, and in the 7th year, pupils choose to continue with 4 subjects at A Level.

The school has the following 15 departments:

Arts, Biology, Chemistry, Design & Technology, Economics, English, French, Geography, Greek, History, ICT, Maths, Music, Physical Education, and Physics.

A Religious Instruction department also exists, but classes are optional as they are available only to Greek-Orthodox, Armenian-Orthodox and Maronite-Catholic students. This is so as there are also Muslim, Protestant and Roman-Catholic students which are not required to take these classes.

Staff are all qualified graduates of British or other English Language universities, or, in the case of the Greek Department, of Greek universities. The school is heavily oversubscribed and entry is by competitive examinations. ["Entrance Examinations" [http://www.englishschool.ac.cy/entrance.html] ]

The school hosted the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in 1995, 2000 and 2005. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Extra-curricular activities | date=2005-04-24 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=19572&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ] [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Debating their way to the top | date=2005-03-29 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=19111&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ] [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=60 pupils debate hot topics at World Championships | date=2000-04-02 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main_old.php?id=10233&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ]

Grounds

The school is situated in a semi-wooded parkland near the centre of the capital Nicosia and is one of the largest schools in Cyprus. Recent updating of the school's academic facilities came with the completion of the "Science building", a modern science wing. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=English School unveils new science building | date=Saturday, November 13, 2004 | publisher= | url =http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=16898&archive=1 | work =Cyprus Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-28 | language = ]

The school's extensive sport grounds include 2 full size football fields, running and athletics tracks, 3 tennis courts, 2 squash courts, a (lawn) hockey field, 2 basketball and 2 volleyball courts. The school has a large multi-purpose indoor sports arena completed in 1992.

Notable Alumni

* Dimitris Lipertis, poet and writer, former teacher.
* Rauf Denktaş, Turkish Cypriot politician, former student.

External links

* [http://www.englishschool.ac.cy English School homepage]
* [http://agrino.org/esobga/ ESOBGA (English School Old Boys and Girls Association)]

References