The Poljane Upper Secondary School () is located in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, the capital of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is a coeducational nondenominational state secondary general education school for students aged between 15 and 19. It prepares them for university, which they can enroll at after passing the

matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

(leaving exam).

History

The Poljane Upper Secondary School was founded in 1889 as a lower secondary school with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

as the language of instruction. Its initial name was "Second State Gymnasium". In 1900, it was expanded to include 15- to 19-year-olds as well. In the present building classes started in 1907. In 1918 the building was renovated and German was replaced by Slovene as the language of instruction. By 1921, the Poljane Grammar School was the largest secondary school in Slovenia. Several school reforms changed the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

and the name of the school. These names included "Upper Secondary School No. 2", "Upper Secondary School No. 5", and "Vida Janežič Upper Secondary School" (the last name refers to the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-era hero

Vida Janežič Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to: Geography * Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica * U.S. settled places: ** Vida, Montana ** Vida, Oregon ** Vida, Missou ...

, 1914-1944). In 1990 the school was renamed the Poljane Upper Secondary School.

Main characteristics

The school's curriculum consists of two programs: the general program () and the classical program (), in which one of the foreign languages is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. A change introduced three years ago is European classes, in which the general program incorporates the latest trends: project approach, authentic interdisciplinary learning, team teaching of foreign languages with the aim of increasing the intercultural competence of students. The Poljane Upper Secondary School offers its students the possibility to choose among a broad range of foreign languages. All students in school study at least two foreign languages, some study three or even four. In addition to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as the first foreign language (starting at an intermediate level), they can pick one or two at a beginner level, choosing from German, French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

in the classical program. The second foreign language is studied for all four years, the third one for two or three. In the classical program,

is a compulsory subject with a focal role in the curriculum.

Quality of education

There are very few, if any, dropouts, and the academic performance of students is very good. This is shown annually in the results of the leaving exam. Every year, the average results of students are high above the national average, and the number of students who pass with distinction is among the highest in the country.

Notable people

Notable instructors: *, author and literary historian *

Božidar Jakac Božidar Jakac (July 16, 1899 – November 20, 1989) was a Slovene Expressionist, Realist and Symbolist painter, printmaker, art teacher, photographer and filmmaker. He produced one of the most extensive oeuvres of pastels and oil paintings ...

, painter *, prelate,

bishop of Trieste The Italian Roman Catholic Diocese of Trieste ( la, Dioecesis Tergestina) in the Triveneto, has existed since no later than 524, and in its current form since 1977. The bishop's seat is in Trieste Cathedral. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese ...

* France Koblar, art historian *

Ferdo Kozak Ferdo Kozak (28 October 1894 – 8 December 1957) was a Slovenian author, playwright, editor and politician. He was born as Ferdinand Kozak in an upper middle class family in Ljubljana, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His older brothe ...

, author and politician *

Juš Kozak Juš Kozak (26 June 1892 – 29 August 1964), also known under the pseudonym Jalanov, was a Slovenian writer, playwright, and editor. He is best known for his autobiographic novels, such as ''Celica'' (The Cell) on his experience as a politica ...

, writer *

Dragutin Mate Dragutin Mate (born 2 May 1963) is a Slovenian diplomat and politician of Croat origins. He was a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party (2008-2016). Between 2004 and 2008 he served as Minister of Interior in the centre-right government led by ...

, diplomat and politician *

Simon Rutar Simon Rutar (12 October 1851 – 3 May 1903) was a Slovene historian and geographer. He wrote primarily on the history and geography of the areas that are now part of the Slovenian Littoral, the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the C ...

, historian *

Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949, pseudonym ''Gojko'') was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature. ...

, poet *

Fran Zwitter Fran Zwitter (24 October 1905 – 14 April 1988) was a Slovenian historian. Together with Milko Kos, Bogo Grafenauer, and Vasilij Melik, he is considered the co-founder of the Ljubljana School of Historiography. Life and work He was born in ...

, historian Notable alumni: *

Bojan Adamič Bojan Adamič a.k.a. Master ( sl, Mojster; 9 August 1912 – 3 November 1995), Slovene Partisans nom de guerre Gregor, was a well-known Slovene composer of jazz, the Slovenian song festival music, and particularly film scores. He was also an avid ...

, composer and photographer *, sports commentator * Alenka Gotar, singer *

Tamara Griesser Pečar Tamara Griesser Pečar (born 18 March 1947) is a Slovenian historian. Early life and education She was born in Ljubljana, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She attended high school in Ljubljana, Koper and Portorož and ...

, historian * Zoran Janković, manager and politician, mayor of Ljubljana *

Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti Zmago Jelinčič "Plemeniti" (born January 7, 1948) is a Slovenian politician and author. He is the head of the Slovenian National Party ( sl, Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka, SNS). Jelinčič was born in the eastern Slovenian city of Maribor in w ...

, politician *

Taras Kermauner Taras Kermauner (13 April 1930 – 11 June 2008) was a Slovenian literary historian, critic, philosopher, essayist, playwright and translator. Life Taras Kermauner was born in Ljubljana as the son of the Slovene communist politician and inte ...

, literary historian, philosopher and essayist *

Ernst Mally Ernst Mally (; ; 11 October 1879 – 8 March 1944) was an Austrian analytic philosopher, initially affiliated with Alexius Meinong's Graz School of object theory. Mally was one of the founders of deontic logic and is mainly known for his contrib ...

, Austrian philosopher * Vasilij Melik, historian *

Boris A. Novak Boris A. Novak (born 3 December 1953) is a Slovene poet, dramaturge and editor. Novak was born in 1953 in Belgrade where he also spent his early childhood. He completed secondary schooling in Ljubljana and studied Comparative literature and ...

, author *

Alenka Puhar Alenka Puhar (born 4 February 1945) is a Slovenian journalist, author, translator, and historian. In 1982, she wrote a groundbreaking psychohistory-inspired book ''"The Primal Text of Life"'' (in Slovene: ''Prvotno besedilo življenja'') about t ...

, journalist, author, and human rights activist *

Vasko Simoniti Vasko Simoniti (born 23 March 1951) is a Slovenian historian and politician. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the Minister of Culture of Slovenia, being reappointed in 2020. He is an active member of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Early ...

, historian and politician *

Matjaž Šinkovec Matjaž Šinkovec (; born on 22 May 1951) is a Slovenian diplomat, politician, translator, journalist and science fiction writer. He was one of the co-founders of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Early life and career Šinkovec was born in a mi ...

, diplomat and politician *

Gregor Strniša Gregor Strniša (18 November 1930 – 23 January 1987) was a Slovenian poet, playwright, and songwriter. He is considered one of the most important Slovene-language poet of the second half of the 20th century. He spent most of his life away from ...

, poet *

Igor Torkar Igor Torkar was the pen name of Boris Fakin (13 October 1913 – 1 January 2004), a Slovenian writer, playwright, and poet best known for his literary descriptions of Communist repression in Yugoslavia after World War II. Life Torkar was born i ...

, writer * Vladimir Truhlar, poet and theologian *

Dane Zajc Dane Zajc () (26 October 1929 – 20 October 2005) was a Slovenian poet and playwright. He served as president of the Slovene Writers' Association (1991–1995), and was awarded the prestigious Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement (1981). Toge ...

, poet and playwright

External links

official site of the Poljane Upper Secondary School
{{Authority control Secondary schools in Slovenia Schools in Ljubljana Educational institutions established in 1889 1889 establishments in Austria-Hungary