Lord Byron School №20 () is a public school in

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

(formerly Leninakan) founded in 1990, following the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

that devastated the city, by funds provided by the British Government as well as donations raised by the British people. A carved stone cross called a

Khatchkar A ''khachkar'', also known as a ''khatchkar'' or Armenian cross-stone ( hy, խաչքար, , խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, in ...

was placed in a British school by the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n government in thanks for the rebuilding of this school following the 1988 earthquake. Hucknall - the only two khatchkar town in Western Europe
, St Mary Armenian Church, Toronto, accessed 25 September 2008

History

The school was built in 1950 and was named after the Armenian playwright Gabriel Soundukyan.History of Gyumri 20 School
The 1988 earthquake occurred at 11:41 local time when most people were either at work or at school.On This Day
BBC, accessed 30 September 2008 The Soviet general secretary

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

asked for international assistance. The death toll from the quake was 25,000 and the school lost over 40 students and staff. The rebuilt school was opened by the United Kingdom Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

on 10 June 1990 on her first trip to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

.Armenian Embassy
, accessed 30 September 2008 Since then there has been support from Armenians living abroad. A new boiler-house was constructed and a playground were paid for by the

Armenian General Benevolent Union The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ ...

.Armenian General Benevolent Union
accessed 30 September 2008 After the building a partnership was established between Lord Byron School and a school near to Byron's resting place near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. As a symbol of thanks the government arranged for a

khatchkar A ''khachkar'', also known as a ''khatchkar'' or Armenian cross-stone ( hy, խաչքար, , խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, in ...

(traditional Armenian carved stone cross) to be placed in the British school's playground.

Layout

The design for the school was by British architects. The materials, furniture and the labour required to construct the school were exported from the United Kingdom. There are six low rise buildings, they were arranged in a two by three grid and the main entrance approached one of the two central buildings. Behind the central building is the craft and dining building. To the left of the administration building is a primary building and behind that a gym. To the right is a building for language study and behind that a combined building for maths and science.Layout of the school
, before 1992, accessed 30 September 2008

Curriculum

Lord Byron school has a building dedicated to the study of languages and the school specializes in the study of English in particular. The Byron Day is annually celebrated by the school on January 22.

Partnerships

* Canajoharie Central School,

Canajoharie, New York Canajoharie () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,730 in 2010. Canajoharie is located south of the Mohawk River o ...

Project Harmony
accessed 30 September 2008 *

The Holgate Academy The Holgate Academy (formerly Holgate School) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, England, a former mining community north of Nottingham. The school's sixth form is part ...

near

, UK. This partnership arose because of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

who was a famous British poet who had shown an affection for

Armenian culture The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people. Creative arts Literature Literature began in Armenia around 401 A.D. The majority of the literary ...

when he was a guest of the

Mekhitarist Order The Mechitarists officialy named as the Benedictine Congregation of the Mechitarists ( la, Benedictina Congregatio Mechitarista) abbreviated CAM is an Armenian Catholic Church Monasticism, monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded in 1701 ...

Saint Lazarus Island San Lazzaro degli Armeni (, "Saint Lazarus of the Armenians"; called Saint Lazarus Island in English sources; hy, Սուրբ Ղազար, Surb Ghazar) is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon which has been home to the monastery of the Mekhitar ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. A partnership was formed between Lord Byron School and Holgate, another secondary school which was close to Byron's final resting place in

Hucknall Hucknall, formerly Hucknall Torkard, is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies 7 miles north of Nottingham, 7 miles south-east of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, 9 miles from Mansfield and 10 miles south of Sutton-in ...

Obituary
Hucknall Dispatch, accessed 30 September 2008

References

{{Gyumri Schools in Armenia Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations Schools in the Soviet Union