The English School, Nicosia

The English School Αγγλική Σχολή (Greek) İngiliz Okulu (Turkish)
Non Sibi Sed Scholae
Location
Nicosia Cyprus
Information
Type	selective co-educational secondary school
Established	1900
Founder	Canon Frank Darvall Newham
Chairperson	Magda Nicholson
Headteacher	Graeme Garrett
Teaching staff	110
Age range	11-19
Houses	Wolseley      Beaconsfield      Newham      Kitchener
School colour(s)
Website	www.englishschool.ac.cy

The English School, Nicosia is a selective co-educational school in Cyprus. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious secondary schools in the Middle East and Europe, with rigorous selection process for admittance.^[1]

History

The school was founded in 1900 by an Anglican clergyman, 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 is regarded as one of the most prestigious in the entire geographic area, with rigorous entrance criteria.

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.^[2][3]

Some of the School's worst moments came to pass during the time when Thomas Thomas was Headmaster. Scandals rocked the school and the Headmaster was sacked, with accusations over favouritism and his erratic behaviour.^[4]

From September 2003 onwards, the school returned to its bi-communal status by re-enrolling Turkish Cypriots.^[5] It is a highly selective academic co-educational secondary school and most of its leavers attend universities in Great Britain.^[6][7]

In November 2006, Turkish Cypriot students were attacked at The English School by extremist members of "National Voice of Youth with a Greek Soul". At the time, The US Department of State released the following statement:

"In April 2007 court proceedings began for 13 suspects charged with attacking Turkish Cypriot students. On November 22, 2006, 15 to 20 Greek Cypriot teenagers, believed to be members of an ultranationalist group, National Voice of Youth with a Greek Soul, entered the English School in Nicosia and attacked a group of Turkish Cypriot students, causing minor injuries."^[8]

It follows British educational models in its emphasis on the all-round education of the whole pupil and offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including sports, music and drama.

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.^[9]

The school hosted the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in 1995, 2000 and 2005.^[10][11][12]

5B4ES is an amateur radio club in Nicosia. It has been operated by the students of the English School since 1969. In recent years the club couldn't operate as it had no member with a license, but in 2008 a member of the club acquired his license and the club resumed operations.

Instruction

Based on the model of British independent secondary schools, 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 / Turkish 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. Lots of English School students continue their studies in the top universities of England. The English school is considered to be one of the best English schools all over the world.

The school has the following 16 departments:

Art and Design, Biology, Chemistry, Design & Technology, Economics, English, Geography, Greek, History, ICT, Maths, Modern Languages, Music, Physical Education, Physics, and Turkish.^[13]

A Religious Instruction department also exists, but classes are optional as they are available only to Greek-Orthodox, Armenian-Orthodox and Maronite-Catholic students. Religious Education is also available for students who do not wish to partake in Religious Instruction; lessons review a more general overview of various faiths and their histories.

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.^[14]

The school's extensive sport grounds include 2 full size football fields, 4 futsal fields, running and athletics tracks, 3 tennis courts, a (lawn) hockey field, 2 basketball and 2 volleyball courts. The school has a large multi-purpose indoor sports arena completed in 1992.

Houses

The school is split into 4 houses. Each house has associated colours.

Notable alumni

• Dimitris Lipertis, poet and writer, former teacher.
• Rauf Denktaş, Turkish Cypriot politician
• Michalis Karaolis, EOKA fighter
• Stephanie Solomonides, first Cypriot to ski to the South Pole^[15][16]

In 2010, a book was published to list the notable alumni of the school.^[17]

Amongst others, numerous famous doctors, financiers and politicians around the world are known to have attended the English School in Cyprus.

References

External links

• English School homepage
• ESOBGA (English School Old Boys and Girls Association)

Coordinates: 35°09′04″N 33°21′01″E / 35.1512°N 33.3503°E / 35.1512; 33.3503