The school is located in a small village with about 2000 residents. It is the only school in the district. It comprises of two types of schools: a primary school (7-12 years old pupils) and a junior high school (13-16 years old students). At present the school is attended by 340 students from three villages: Ślemień, Las, Kocoń. Many of students are talented in different fields: sports, music, art and knowledge. They take part in different subject contests annually and get impressive results on the voivodeship level as well as in the national exams. The obligatory language in our school is English but our lower secondary school students learn German also. Many of our students have special educational needs such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, myopia and amblyacousia.
The village is located in a mountainous terrain where the nearby mountains are about 1000 meters high: we are approximately 18 The school is located in a small village with about 2000 residents. It is the only school in the district. It comprises of two types of schools: a primary school (7-12 years old pupils) and a junior high school (13-16 years old students). At present the school is attended by 340 students from three villages: Ślemień, Las, Kocoń. Many of students are talented in different fields: sports, music, art and knowledge. They take part in different subject contests annually and get impressive results on the voivodeship level as well as in the national exams. The obligatory language in our school is English but our lower secondary school students learn German also. Many of our students have special educational needs such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, myopia and amblyacousia.
The village is located in a mountainous terrain where the nearby mountains are about 1000 meters high: we are approximately 18 km to the nearest town. Since there are no significant industrial plants in the district the main concern of the local authorities is the development of tourism. The region is famous for its geographical features, the ethnographic park, numerous mountain routes and tourist trails. However, the location of the village has some negative influence on job opportunities. School graduates are often forced to leave the village in order to find jobs. Moreover, the access to cultural experiences, such places as opera or the theatre, is limited since they are located in bigger towns and cities only.
The school has some problems concerning students’ motivation to study, as well as pupils gaining the necessary skills to prepare them for further education and future specialist jobs. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more difficult for the students to find jobs matching their interests, expectations, qualifications and skills. Indeed, low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence blight our students’ enthusiasm: resulting in underachievement and unfulfilled aspirations. Therefore, our main concern is to teach our students flexibility and the ability to adjust to a changing reality. We strive to equip our students with the knowledge and understanding needed to acquire new qualifications and transferable skills that meet the demands of an unpredictable labour market.
Most of our students have never been abroad so far, that is why, all of the pupils and teachers have great motivation in participating and further launching projects, such as students’ exchanges. Our teachers put a lot of effort into increasing our chances as an institution by taking part in educational projects in order to enhance our students’ educational chances. We have gained experience in the implementation of the Comenius projects: between 2008-2010 our school undertook a project in cooperation with Turkey and Ireland, and between 2013-2015 with Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Great Britain, Spain. Both projects were awarded by the National Agency of the program, as an example of “good practice”.
We put great emphasis on instilling a love of Polish traditions and culture in our students, however, we equally wish to promote European awareness and encourage our students population to be active and well-informed European citizens.