“Bisschoppelijk College” Broekhin, Roermond, the Netherlands
Bisschoppelijk College Broekhin is a school in which the welfare of the pupil comes first. Situated in rural Limburg, a province in the south-east of the Netherlands, renowned for its picturesque landscape and friendly people, B.C. Broekhin provides secondary education to pupils over three locations: Roermond, Swalmen and Reuver. In Roermond, his main location, 1650 pupils in the 11-19 age group are educated according to their aptitude. Here we have four educational departments, ranging from pre-vocational education to pre-university Atheneum/Gymnasium /TTO (second language education) level. Apart from offering quality education, one of the highest priorities lies in communicating the norms and values necessary in a modern society. The school has many international contacts, each year around 300 pupils take part in international exchanges, study visits or projects. The teachers believe that values such as self-discipline, compassion and respect for other people’s ideas are all central to the healthy development of children and young adults.
“Externato de Penafirme” A dos Cunhados e Maceira, Portugal
https://www.facebook.com/externatopenafirme/
Externato de Penafirme, a Catholic school historically and juridically dependent of Seminário Liceal de Penafirme, was founded after the Portuguese Revolution in 1974 with the purpose to serve the educational needs of the population of its geographic context, a rural area 60 km to the north of Lisbon. In order to do so, today the school offers lower and upper secondary teaching, complementing scientific-humanistic courses (preparing for university) with professional courses.
In 2019/2020, there are 1561 students (397 in Upper Secondary), 107 teachers and 75 non-teaching staff members. In its educational project, the school defines its mission as providing students with a personalized, demanding learning process in which education for solidarity and for local, national, European, and global citizenship occupy a central place. In order to put into practice this mission, the school has carried out European projects over the past 17 years, improving continually their quality and gaining expertise. A significant number of teachers has gained skills in the area of work with intercultural groups and
organizing LTT-activities. The fact that the school defined education for citizenship on all levels as part of its mission is a clear indicator of the strong impact of this experience on the institution as a whole.
“Romain Rolland ” Foreign Language School
https://www.romainrolland.org/site/
“Romain Rolland ” Foreign Language School is a secondary school with a strong specialization in foreign languages – English, French and German. All students study two languages – a primary, based on their choice from the three languages, and a secondary which again they choose from the three. The curriculum is very competitive. There are about 1110 students enrolled and 85 teachers. The city of Stara Zagora is centrally located and is traditionally a business and trade centre with hundreds of different companies, many of which deal with foreign partners. Since the fall of communism industry has changed significantly but the need for qualified young professionals has been growing every year since most of our students find work in the capital or abroad. It is a common goal for our school’s community – teachers, students and parents – to be able to receive education that is adequate to the current requirements of both the academic and professional worlds. Therefore our students seek to get advanced language training and also solid basis in other subjects such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, history. This preparation is further developed by international programmes such as student exchanges as this provides the chance for becoming more aware of culture and mutual understanding and in turn this helps young people be enthusiastic about studying.
“Åkrahällskolan”, Nybro, Sweden
Åkrahällskolan is the only upper secondary school in the small town of Nybro, which means that the school has a great social diversity of students (age 16-19). However, since the community is mainly supported by industries (also facing an increased unemployment), this shows in the social background of their students, as well as the fact that they have a large group of immigrants from the middle east and Somalia. For Nybro community as well as the school it is vital to inspire the young people to fullfill their potential both with studies, jobs and to be able to be a part of a larger world as an european citizen. Åkrahällskolan also want to involve newly arrived citizens to get involved in the swedish and european society. Not at least it is important in case since researches show that immigrants, children to immigrants as well as children to industrial workers are less likely to go to university and to get involved in the european society. Åkrahällskolan want to show to the young people how to mix with people with different cultures, language and experience and to open up the world.