Gimnazija in Kruševac was founded in 1865, as one of the first of its kind in Serbia. Throughout its history it changed names, but not the educational pattern and high standards. The current name, Gimnazija dates back to 1990. Among the students who went to Gimnazija in Kruševac during its existence of 150 years of its establishment, are nine prolific and significant academics belonging to the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Today, the educational system within the school is based upon the national programme designed for grammar schools which includes four departments -Natural Sciences and Mathematics department, Social Sciences and Languages department, the Linguistics department the and IT department. Grammar school education lasts for four years. Our school consists of 39 classes, 16 belonging to The Natural Sciences and Mathematics department, 18 in The Social Sciences and Languages department, 4 in The Philological Department and 1 in The Computer Science Department. The total number of students is 1107.
There are 92 highly qualified teachers working in the school. Some of them are authors of experimental curriculum, textbooks and booklets approved by the Ministry of Education, some are teacher trainers in seminars of the national significance and other approved seminars and some have been awarded by prestigious local and state rewards. Others take part in numerous seminars with the aim to be professionally engaged and to be in tune with modern trends and the processes of enhancing the school system. Seminars and the training the teachers have passed indicate the willingness of teachers to improve their knowledge and upgrade their standards. They are very interested in new innovative teaching methods, general and interdisciplinary students competencies, the promotion of entrepreneurship and ready to cooperate with colleagues from other schools.
Gimnazija has recently been awarded with two the most significant and exclusive national awards, with the prestigious Vuk Reward, for the exceptional results achieved in creative work on the promotion of culture, education and science in Serbia and the prestigious award for achievements in education since the school’s existence, named The first ranked Award of Sretenje. The students in our school are among the winners of state competitions in most subjects every year, and the most ambitious are the participants of the prestigious seminars at the National Research Station Petnica. As for the students’ success in competitions and at University Entrance exams, Gimnazija is one of the best schools of its kind in the country. The advantage of the school is the number of foreign languages taught at school (English, French, Italian, German, Russian, Greek, Latin), as well as a large number of extra-curriculum activities and teams. Extra curriculum activities include the school theatre, the choir consisting of female students, the local school magazine, the poets’ society, different sports teams, and teams dedicated to raising the environmental consciousness, ecological issues etc. The IT and science students’ teams are also significant. The Festival of Science „Eureka Days“ was held for several years in our school, promoting science achievements. The school actively cooperates with parents, local community and various national scientific institutions. Our School has international cooperation with schools from Slovenia, Denmark, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as students’ exchanges including the students and teachers from these countries.
Gimnazija of Kruševac has gained some experience in Erasmus+ projects, as well as in projects with the NGO sector and the local community, and also in the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. There is also a professional and career development team within the school, which provides counseling about future careers and leadership, which help students to make the right choice about their future career opportunities. The aim of this team is to inform and support the students about the right choice of the future choice of University and future careers.
Entrepreneurship has not been in the focus attention of general secondary education in Serbia for years. Our students have taken part in various external projects of entrepreneurial spirit development organized by civil and public organizations supported by The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Rasina county, the Youth Association of Municipality of Kruševac and Center for Professional Development Kruševac. The projects were mainly designed in the form of lectures, seminars or volunteering in public organizations and private companies.
But, the most recent educational pattern has highlighted entrepreneurship as one of the most relevant competencies that should be accomplished during secondary school education and that should last for life. We bear in mind that the legal regulations have recently been imposed, so we strongly believe that our teachers and students need additional training in entrepreneurship mindset and skills and coaching in order to prepare our students for the life in the modern world.