Basic facts:

Name and address of the school

PORG - gymnázium a základní škola, o. p. s.
Lindnerova 3, Praha 8 – Libeň, 180 00

Headmaster
Václav Klaus

Promoter
Sdružení PRO GYMNÁZIUM, registered by the Ministry of the Interior

Date of foundation
September 2nd 1990

Legal status
non-profit organization

Type of education
"gymnázium" – general secondary school education

Number of students
442

Total time of study
8 years

Partnership schools
St. Alban School, Washington D.C. – U.S.A.; Osseo High School, Wisconsin – U.S.A.; The Priory LSST School, Lincoln – England (U.K.); George Heriot School, Edinburgh – Scotland (U.K.); Gymnazium Annaberg – Germany; Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore – U.S.A.; Lycee St. Victor, Valence - France; Lycee Gerbert, Aurillac - France  

Introduction to Our School
In the aftermath of Communism's fall the founders of První Obnovené Reálné Gymnázium saw the opportunity to create a truly independent school: an ivory tower unbuffeted by the gales of politics. On September 1, 1990, the start of the first academic year following the Velvet Revolution, PORG opened its doors as the first private school in post-Communist Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). PORG's is a success story by any standard: in its young life PORG has established itself as one of the premiere secondary schools in the Czech Republic. The latest comparisons of Czech secondary schools published by the Ministry of Education named PORG the top school in the Czech Republic for Czech Language and Literature and foreign language instruction. PORG graduates also proved to be the most successful in the country at passing university entrance exams. In the Czech Republic students are admitted to university on the basis of their performance on rigorous entrance exams in the field the student hopes to study.

Character of the School
The unique atmosphere of PORG plays a major role in its success. A small school with eight grades [students' ages range from 10-19] consisting of 20 to 24 students each, and 190 students in toto, PORG has a familial feel that engenders a close relationship between students and the 24 internal faculty members [an additional 10 external teachers reinforce this already strong base] and between the students themselves. PORG's faculty is young, with an average age of thirty-four, and exceptionally strong. Many teachers are as successful outside of academia as within it; we count ourselves lucky to have respected translators, playwrights, and scientists teaching with us. The friendly relationship between such high-caliber faculty and high-caliber students inspires an environment of intellectual curiosity that is perhaps PORG's greatest strength. A curiosity that is then bolstered by PORG's vigorous curriculum.

Curriculum
PORG sees itself as a bridge linking the strengths of a classical humanistic education with the desiderata of students living in the 21st century; we have students learning how to encode their favorite Latin quotes in HTML. Required courses at PORG include: Czech Language and Literature, English, German or French, Latin, Civics, Philosophy, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Integrated Sciences, Information and Computer Science, Aesthetic Education, Physical Education. Electives students may choose to take include: Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Creative Writing, Jazz Performance, Humanities, Classical Greek, etc.

Impressions of a Parent
"Nine years ago our daughter, then ten years old, read in some magazine an article about První Obnovené Reálné Gymnázium in Liben, and from that time she wanted solely to be a student of that school. We came somewhat apprehensively to the entrance exam, as admission was highly competitive. It went well, and Hana was admitted. From that time our fortune entwined itself with PORG's. I must say that no one in our family has ever regretted our decision to send our children to PORG. The level of instruction in standard subjects impressed as much as in the electives. The school operated pleasantly for us with its free and inspiring spirit. Both of our students graduated from PORG, but it still weighs heavily in their minds—in a good way. We hope that PORG will continue on its journey, we witnessed its start and hope to keep watching its progress, perhaps through the eyes of our grandchildren." — Helena Třeštíková