Our school, including an eight-grade primary, a five-grade secondary grammar and a seven-grade secondary technical school (specializing in catering and computer studies) lies 13 kms to the south-west of Budapest in a small town called Törökbálint. In our school we have 70 teachers and 756 students altogether.
The ethos of the school is based on the Value Transfer and Ability Development Programme gained by pedagogic research and this creates the ground for its mission as well. The research was directed to identify a variety of choices and patterns of human abilities and potentials that may be developed at school. We want to make school more interesting, more efficient and humane. We try to make children more familiar with a wide spectre of subjects and activities for everyone to find their own challenges. This is a counterbalance to the one-sided intellectual education of traditional schools. The wide scope of activities enables every child to find a field in the school that is suitable for his/her inclinations and interests.
Our school has its own curriculum for its 13 grades different from those of the traditional schools. The programme aims to develop every factor of personality. There are also subjects intended to enable students to cope with the requirements of our changing world and society. They not only learn environmental conversation, communication, marketing but also how to learn efficiently. We encourage them to follow different searches when solving a problem, to create independent work and try out various forms of self-expression.
We also put a strong emphasis on extracurricular activities and learning outside the school building. Classes often visit places linked to projects worked out during their lessons. These trips provide useful stimulus for further work in school and let pupils discover what they have learnt in school.
Our role in the partnership will be to organise the first project meeting and introducing collaborative work to participants. We are responsible for maintaining cooperative work for the whole two years and encouraging and checking forums on the internet.
Students in our school has very different family background, some came from poor, one-income families. We have got some pupils who are at risk of social exclusion or migrants and some students with special needs. Involving these pupils to the project is one of our aims.
