Batory High School is a public

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

founded on 1 September 1918 and located at 6 Myśliwiecka Street in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It is one of the best and most prestigious high schools in Poland. Famous alumni include among others composer Witold Lutosławski and poet and

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

soldier

Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, (; nom de guerre: Jan Bugaj; 22 January 1921 – 4 August 1944) was a Polish poet and Home Army soldier, one of the most well known of the Generation of Columbuses, the young generation of Polish poets, of whom several ...

, killed during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

. The school offers subject-profiled classes taught both in Polish and English. Enhanced education in mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, humanities (languages and history) and geography is provided. Since 2005, the school offers the two-year IB program intended for students aged 16–19.

History

The school's history starts with the founding of the Stefan Batory Gymnasium (now called Lyceum) on 1 September 1918 with Zdzisław Rudzki as its first headmaster. It was originally located at 21 Kapucyńska Street. Construction of the current premises, the work of the eminent architect and urbanist Prof. Tadeusz Tołwiński, started in 1922 and was completed in September 1924. The school was equipped with exceptionally modern learning facilities and science labs, an astronomical observatory (now closed), an underground swimming pool, and botanical garden. The teaching staff was composed of distinguished teachers like Stanisław Młodożeńiec,

Stanisław Arnold Stanisław Arnold (20 December 1895 in Dąbrowa Górnicza – 3 November 1973 in Warszawa) was a Polish historian, professor of the University of Warsaw, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, chief of Marksistowskie Zrzeszenie Historyków (Marx ...

, Stanisław Malec, Gustaw Wuttke, Adam Zieleńczyk to name just a few. At the outset of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in September 1939, the school served as field hospital, supporting the nearby Ujazdowski Hospital. During the German

occupation of Poland (1939–1945) The occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II (1939–1945) began with the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, and it was formally concluded with the defeat of Germany by the Allies in May ...

the school's buildings were requisitioned and hosted German primary and secondary school. Its opening was attended by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Party ...

. Throughout the occupation period Stefan Batory Gymnasium teachers organized underground education for its students. In the post

period the name of the school was changed to Stefan Batory Lyceum (full Polish name - II Liceum Ogółnokształcące im. Stefana Batorego w Warszawie). In 1996, during a visit to Poland, the school was visited by Queen Elizabeth II and in 1997, the school was visited by Michael Jackson. In 2017, a team from the school became the first from Poland to win a title (in the Varsity Bowl Division) in the International History Bee and Bowl European Championships, which were held in Rome that year.

Notable alumni

The following list is based on the list provided on the website of the school who have Wikipedia pages about them, historian and alumni information:Zespół Szkół nr 66: Absolwenci
/ref> * Witold Wincenty Staniszkis (1926) - hydro engineer, scholar, politician, father of

Jadwiga Staniszkis Jadwiga Staniszkis (born April 26, 1942 in Warsaw) is a Polish sociologist and political scientist, essayist, a former professor at the University of Warsaw and the Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu (Higher Business School), a Polish campus of National-L ...

* Witold Lutosławski (1931) - composer *

(1939) - poet,

(

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

) soldier * Jan Bytnar (Rudy) (1939) - WW2 resistance hero *

Tadeusz Zawadzki Tadeusz Leon Józef Zawadzki, assumed surname: ''Tadeusz Zieliński'', alias ''"Kajman"'', ''"Kotwicki"'', ''"Lech Pomarańczowy"'', ''"Tadeusz"'', ''"Zośka"'' (born on January 24, 1921, in Warsaw, died on August 20, 1943, in Sieczychy) was a Poli ...

(Zoska) (1939) - WW2 resistance hero * Agnieszka Holland (1966) - director * Ewa Bem (1969) - singer *

Marian Danysz Marian Danysz (March 17, 1909 – February 9, 1983) was a Polish physicist, Professor of Physics at Warsaw University. Son of Jan Kazimierz Danysz. In 1952, he co-discovered with Jerzy Pniewski a new kind of matter, an atomic nucleus, which ...

- physicist * Andrzej Łapicki - actor *Agnieszka Wagner - actress *

Andrzej Ciechanowiecki Andrew Stanislaus (Andrzej Stanisław) Ciechanowiecki (28 September 1924 – 2 November 2015), Dąbrowa Coat of Arms, was a Polish-British nobleman, diplomat, prisoner and agent of Communist Poland, economist, academic, art historian, philanthro ...

- art historian and patron *

Piotr Słonimski Piotr Słonimski (November 9, 1922, in Warsaw – April 25, 2009, in Paris) was a Polish-born French geneticist, pioneer of yeast mitochondrial genetics, nephew of the Polish poet Antoni Słonimski. __NOTOC__ Biography Słonimski was born in Wa ...

- geneticist, pioneer of yeast mitochondrial genetics *

Henry Millicer Henry K. Millicer, AM (11 June 1915 – 28 August 1996) born Henryk Kazimierz Milicer, was a Polish-Australian aircraft designer and pilot. Early life and Second World War Millicer was born in Warsaw, Poland, the son of Kazimierz Mili ...

- aircraft designer and pilot *

Maciej Nowicki Maciej Nowicki (born 28 September 1941 in Warsaw) is a Polish politician, manager and scientist. Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Poland in the cabinet of Donald Tusk (from 16 November 2007 to 1 February 2010). Career Nowicki gra ...

- architect * Jerzy Kroh - chemist *

Adam Galos Adam Galos (22 July 1924 – 11 April 2013) was a Polish historian and professor at University of Wrocław. He specialized in the history of Germany. He died, aged 88, in Wrocław. He spent his childhood in Warsaw, where his father worked as off ...

- historian * Jan Nowak-Jeziorański - “''Courier from Warsaw”,'' remembered for his work as an emissary shuttling between the commanders of the Home Army and the

Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

* Michał Matczak (Mata) - rapper

References

{{Authority control 1918 establishments in Poland Schools in Warsaw Educational institutions established in 1918