Batory High School is a public

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 ...

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

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

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

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

and poet and

Home Army The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

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 (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. 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 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

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

occupation of Poland (1939–1945) During World War II, Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union following the invasion in September 1939, and it was formally concluded with the defeat of Germany by the Allies in May 1945. Throughout the entire course of the ...

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

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

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

. 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. In 2023, the History Bee and Bowl team won 3rd place in the International History Bee and Bowl European Championships, which were held in Barcelona. In 2024, the History Bee and Bowl team won 1st place in the International History Bee and Bowl European Championships, which were held in London.

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> * (1926) - hydro engineer, scholar, politician, father of Jadwiga Staniszkis *

(1931) - composer *

(1939) - poet,

(

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

) soldier *

Jan Bytnar Jan Roman Bytnar, ''nom de guerre'' "Rudy" (''Ginger'') (born 6 May 1921, Kolbuszowa, Poland – died 30 March 1943, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish scoutmaster, a member of Polish scouting anti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in the Home Army du ...

(Rudy) (1939) - WW2 resistance hero *

Tadeusz Zawadzki Tadeusz Leon Józef Zawadzki (; January 24, 1921 – August 20, 1943) was a Polish Scout leader, scout instructor, scoutmaster, Home Army second lieutenant, commander of Gray Ranks, assault groups in Warsaw, one of the protagonists of Aleksander ...

(Zoska) (1939) - WW2 resistance hero * Barbara Hesse-Bukowska (1948) - pianist *

Daniel Olbrychski Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish people, Polish film actor, film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is bes ...

(1963) - actor *

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

(1966) - director * (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 * Dorota Wellman - journalist * Agnieszka Wagner - actress * Andrzej Ciechanowiecki - art historian and patron * Piotr Słonimski - geneticist, pioneer of yeast mitochondrial genetics * Henry Millicer - aircraft designer and pilot *

Maciej Nowicki Maciej Nowicki (born 28 September 1941) 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 graduated of ...

- architect * Justyna Pochanke - journalist * Hanna Lis - journalist * 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 Warsaw, officially the C ...

- 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 (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

* Anna Mucha - actress * Michał Matczak (Mata) - rapper * Anna Wendzikowska - actress * Vanessa Aleksander - actress

References

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