PORTUGAL
Agrupamento de Escolas Abade de Baçal
Situated in Bragança, in the northeast of Portugal, Agrupamento Abade de Bacal is one of the three schools of the city. It has students from 3 to 18 years old, with three kindergartens, eight basic schools and one Secondary School, Abade de Baçal, wich is the headquarter school. It has around 1200 students, being the largest group in the 3rd cycle (12 to 14 years old) and in the scientific-humanistic courses of regular secondary education and in professional courses (aged from 15 to 18). The teaching staff consists of 120 members and the non-teaching is made of 110 workers.
The school is located in the northeast of Portugal, close to the border with Spain, in a small city called Bragança (around 25000 habitants) with large range of social classes that are received by us. Being very far from big and crowded areas, our students have a poor living link with these places, and their challenging ways of life. But they are eager to learn, travel and have the opportunity to meet other young people from Europe.
Bragança has a rich historical background and an active cultural life and the school tries to connect their students with this environment in order to develop their skills and enrich them. So, visits to the museums and monuments, such as an ancient and well-preserved castle, participation in contests and parades, interaction with personalities, attendance to several shows in the local theatre, publishing of their own newspaper, production of original shows and plays and exhibitions of their own paintings, these are some of the activities which shows the dynamism of the school. Besides, is a city full of traditions and culture. The gastronomy is unique, using the ancestral way, in the way of the mountainous and cold lands of the interior. The Pauliteiros de Miranda are the greatest exponent of the region in terms of dance and folklore, also very present in Bragança. The conservatory of music, which some of our students attend, guarantees a permanent contact of the educational community with traditional Northeastern music, which some semi-professional groups maintain.
Lastly, the school has strongly invested in ICT, with computers in all the classrooms, most of them with interactive boards, and, considering the importance of the ICT in the 21st century education and society, has created a professional multimedia course.
POLAND
V LICEUM OGÓLNOKSZTAŁCĄCE IM. I. J. PADEREWSKIEGO IN BYDGOSZCZ
Secondary School No. 5 in Bydgoszcz has nearly 450 secondary school students aged 16-19. The best proof of the school’s quality are very good results achieved by students in external examinations and their successes at various levels, undoubtedly thanks to the 60-year history and tradition of the school. The students go to classes of four profiles: medical emergency, medical, humanistic and linguistic. After completing the 4–year course, the graduates pass final exams and are able to apply to any university in the country or abroad.
The school’s priorities are: developing creative thinking, efficient acquisition, collection and use of information and preparing graduates for current labor market needs. The school implements prevention programs conducted by experts: educators, psychologists, therapists, paramedics, doctors and other specialists. It cooperates with universities from Bydgoszcz: University of Science and Technology, Kazimierz Wielki University, Music Academy, Nicolaus Copernicus University, so that students can participate in open lectures, workshops and academic seminars. The students also attend additional non-compulsory classes and events: subject clubs, sports and leisure activities. In addition they participate in charity work. This helps them deepen their knowledge and develop their hobbies and interests. Students are able to participate in artistic and cultural events thanks to a close cooperation between the school and municipal and regional cultural institutions.
An important element of the functioning of the school is its cooperation with the institutions located in the vicinity: local social assistance home, local parish, schools, kindergartens, local council estate, hospital, local entrepreneurs.
The students and the teaching staff of the Secondary School No. 5 have repeatedly participated in projects and trainings improving their skills, competences and qualifications, including projects financed from EU funds.
The school is equipped with modern scientific classrooms to effectively teach IT, biology, geography, linguistics, chemistry, physics; there is a computerized library with a fully equipped reading area and a video library, two gyms, work-out space, a modern football pitch and an announcement radio station and modern swimming pool.