Poljane Grammar School Gimnazija Poljane

Gimnazija Poljane is located in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a co-educational non-denominational state secondary general education school for students aged between 15 to 19. It prepares them for university, which they can enrol at after successfully passing the final exam, the so-called ''matura''.

A short history

Gimnazija Poljane is a school with a long and rich tradition. The school was founded as a lower secondary school with German as the language of general use as early as 1889. 11 years later, in 1900, it was expanded to include 15 to 19-year-olds as well. In 2000 we celebrated the centenary of the school. In the present building classes started in 1907. In 1918 the building was renovated. The German language was replaced by Slovene. In 1921 Gimnazija Poljane was the largest secondary school in Slovenia. Several school reforms have changed the curriculum and the name of the school, but finally in 1990 it became Gimnazija Poljane again.

Gimnazija Poljane today

The architecture of the building is the only sign of its age. More than 900 students in 32 classes and more than 80 teachers and other members of school staff work in new, renovated and specialized classrooms with modern equipment and teaching aids, using modern teaching methods. Our curriculum consists of two programs: gimnazija, the general gymasium, and klasična gimnazija, the classical gymnasium. A novelty introduced two years ago are European classes in which the general gymnasium programme is updated to the latest trends: project approach, authentic interdisciplinary learning, team teaching at foreign languages with the aim to increase the intercultural competence of students.

Main characteristics

Gimnazija Poljane offers its students the broadest range of foreign languages in Slovenia. All students in our school study at least two foreign languages, some study three or even four. Besides English or German as the first foreign language (starting at an intermediate level), they can decide on one or two at a beginner level, choosing from German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Classical Greek in the classical gymnasium. The second foreign language is studied for all four years, the third one for two or three. In the classical gymnasium, Latin is a compulsory subject with a focal role in the curriculum.

High quality of educational work

Gimnazija Poljane has always had the reputation of one of the best Slovenian general secondary schools. There are very few, if any, dropouts, and the academic performance of our students is very good. This is shown annually in the results of the matura exam. Every year, the average results of our students are high above the national average, and the number of students who pass with distinction is among the highest in the country.

General Gymnasium

In the general gymnasium curriculum there are subjects, compulsory for all students in Slovene general secondary education schools, and elective subjects, decided on by the school and chosen by individual students as a set of electives. When students enrol, they choose between the language-oriented curriculum, the general one and since 2004 also the European one. For the first two the curricula are the same in the first year. In the second year, however, the students of the language-oriented curriculum study an additional, third foreign language, whereas in the general curriculum science subjects are given a more prominent role. On the other hand, the students of the first and the second year of the European programme learn how to present themselves and their country to foreigners at the subject Slovenia in the world which is run in the language of their choice and in the third year they concentrate on Europe at the subject called European studies.

Classical Gymnasium

In the classical gymnasium students learn Latin for all four years, either as beginners or at an intermediate level. They also have more hours of history and philosophy and can choose to study Classical Greek. Compared with the general gymnasium, the students of the classical gymnasium have fewer lessons of scientific subjects. But they can make up for it in the third year when they have to make an individual choice for four hours per week, choosing one or two elective subjects. Those interested in science can decide on one or two of the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), students keener on humanities are offered a fourth foreign language, a modern one or Classical Greek, art history, fine art or music.

School life

Classes start on 1st September every year (unless this is a Saturday or Sunday) and last approximately until 20th June. One period lasts for 45 minutes. In-between, there are 5-minute breaks. Classes begin at 8.00 a.m. and can last till 2.35 p.m. Students have 32 or 33 hours per week, which means 6 to 7 hours per day.

Students can also spend their time out of classes in the big school library. Gimnazija Poljane prides itself on its rich collection of old and modern books. The library, which has the status of an exemplary school library, was renovated and expanded in 2000. It gives the students the opportunity to study and carry out research in the reference room. There are also several computers with internet access and a large multimedia classroom.

School work is enriched by extra-curricular activities. There are numerous activities going on throughout the school year: music and painting workshops, library activities, health education, citizenship education, concerts and theatre visits, sports days and trips all over Slovenia as well as abroad. Some are the students’ compulsory and some their optional choice. Students can take part in different sports (aerobics, basketball, cycling, volleyball, football, swimming) and attend language courses (Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Chinese etc,). They can also decide on courses of archeology, biology, physics, geography, mathematics, computer science and photography. They participate in creative writing and debating workshops. They run their own theatre groups (in Slovene and foreign languages, the French one famous for years even outside our school) and three school newspapers (one of them in foreign languages). Many of our students are also involved in voluntary social work. We are very proud of the accomplishments of our students in the field of research as well.

We are very much involved in international school projects. Together with schools from Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia we participate in the Alpe-Adria project. With schools from six countries we work on “Home Green Home”, a Comenius project. We are twinned with Lycée Balzac from Tours (France), Bischoflishes Gymnazium from Graz (Austria), Frans Schartaus Gymnasium from Stockholm (Sweden), a language school - Istituto Statale A. Ghisleri - from Cremona (Italy), ad a liceo scientifico - I. Nievo - from Padova (Italy). We have started a wide-range co-operation project with the Dendron College from Horst aan de Maas in the Netherlands as well as class exchange projects with schools in Spain and Belgium. We are constantly broadening the scope and range of our international projects, hosting not only students and their teachers but – in co-operation with our Ministry of Education, Science and Sport - also headteachers, principals and other representatives of school authorities from abroad.

Gimnazija Poljane logo

is the work of the academic painter Tomaž Gorjup, who once taught at our school, and has a deeper symbolic meaning. The oval shape of the logo represents the ''hatching'' of knowledge within the school, the stylized bird is a symbol of everything that is spiritual, especially knowledge and manners, the Doric capital shows the orientation towards tradition and the capital letter P represents Poljane.

GIMNAZIJA POLJANE ANTHEMS

In 2000, in the year of the Gimnazija Poljane centenary, the headteacher's office decided to celebrate with an anthem. The writing of the lyrics was entrusted to Kozmi Ahačič, a former Poljane student, who asked his colleague, the musician Boštjan Narat, to write the music. They wrote two versions, which were both accepted by the teachers and students. The school thus has two anthems: Above us Only Sky (Nad nami je samo nebo) and Our Plains (Najine Poljane).

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