Famagusta Namık Kemal High School is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

located in

Famagusta Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city located on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It is located east of the capital, Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime ...

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

. It was founded in 1944. Many famous Cypriots have graduated from Famagusta Namık Kemal High School.

History

As the first Turkish Cypriot secondary education institution in Famagusta, the school was initially founded as the Famagusta Middle School () in 1944. It was initially a single room appended to the Gazi Primary School building. On opening, the school had 60 students. Once it reached 72 students in 1945, it moved to its own separate building; in 1949, it moved to the Kutup Osman Tekke building. The British colonial government of the time provided the monetary resources required to expand middle schools with a further three year groups, thus establishing

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s in the process. With the instigation of Niyazi Manyera, the Famagusta Middle School was expanded in 1953 and renamed after

Namık Kemal Namık Kemal (, ; ; 21 December 1840 – 2 December 1888) was an Ottoman writer, poet, democrat, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and political activist who was influential in the formation of the Young Ottomans and their stru ...

, the Turkish nationalist poet who had been imprisoned in Famagusta. By 1959, the school had 2,000 students. In December 1961, the students of the school undertook strike action and refused to attend school in protest of the Turkish Cypriot Communal Assembly and its educational policies. After the incident made national news, the parents wrote a letter to

Rauf Denktaş Rauf Raif Denktaş (27 January 1924 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish Cypriot politician, barrister and jurist who served as the founding president of Northern Cyprus. He occupied this position as the president of the Turkish Republic of Nort ...

, the head of the Assembly, apologising, and stating they would ensure their children returned to school. Owing to its historical status, the high school has one of the largest libraries in Famagusta, but keeps this library closed to the public.

Notable alumni

* Derviş Eroğlu, third president of

Derviş Zaim Derviş Zaim (born Derviş Zaimağaoğlu in 1964) is a Turkish Cypriot filmmaker and novelist, who has twice won the Golden Orange for Best Director for '' Elephants and Grass'' (2000) and ''Dot (2008)''; Golden Oranges for Best Film and Best S ...

, award-winning film director * Oktay Kayalp, former mayor of

Oz Karahan Oz Karahan is a Cypriot political activist, columnist and current president of the Union of Cypriots. Life and political career Born in Istanbul, in 1990 to a Turkish Cypriot mother and a father of Meskhetian descent, Oz Karahan moved to Famag ...

, current president of the Union of Cypriots *

Beran Bertuğ Beran Bertuğ (born 6 October 1956) is a Cypriot politician who served as the of the Gazimağusa District of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. She is the first woman to hold this post. Biography Born on 6 October 1956 in Famagusta, Cypr ...

, former

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

* Turgay Avcı, former deputy prime minister of

İsmet Kotak İsmet Kotak (1939 – 11 September 2011) was a Turkish Cypriot politician, public administrator, journalist and columnist. İsmet Kotak was Member of Parliament (1970–85, 1990–93), Minister of Labour (1969–76), Minister of Industry and C ...

, former Cabinet minister of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Famagusta Namik Kemal High School Schools in Northern Cyprus Educational institutions established in 1944 1944 establishments in Cyprus Famagusta