The
history of the First Language School begins
in 1964, when in the Education Department
of the Regional City Council, an initiative
committee of parents and public figures
pointed out the necessity of efficiently
learning English and German in a specialised
school. The Ministry of Education at the
time gave permission for the opening of
English, German and Russian classes of
twenty students each. Russian was a compulsory
subject for the English classes, and German
or French - a compulsory third foreign
language. A respective arrangement was
applied to the German and Russian classes.
Initially, students were admitted to the
school according to their Seventh Grade
Primary School Certificates. The outstanding
interest in the newly founded Varna school
was the reason for i ntroducing
two entrance exams - in Bulgarian and
literature, and in mathematics. The very
first years witnessed great competition
- ten to twelve pupils for one place,
a tradition that has remained unchanged
all through the years and still exists
in spite of the many other opportunities
to learn a foreign language.
Some of the best experts on methods of
teaching foreign languages were invited
as teachers - Stefka Hadjiivanova,
Ksenia Staneva (as teachers of German),
Vessela Zaharieva and Dimitrina Sabotinova
(as teachers of English), as well as young
and enthusiastic and extremely devoted
teachers. From the beginning, subjects
such as biology, chemistry, history, geography
have been taught in the respective foreign
language, mostly by Bulgarian specialists
but also by native speakers. The principle
of employing renowned teachers of all
the subjects taught was basically followed.
The results did not come as a surprise.
98% of the first alumni were admitted
to continue their higher education in
the year of their graduation. Now they
are qualified specialists in all the spheres
of our social life. Until 1972 the school
had been hosted in the former girls-only
school, now the History and Art Museum.
In 1972 the First Language School moved
into a new building near "Spirka
Pochivka". Since the same year four
English and three German classes have
been formed each year. Russian has not
been included.
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