First Protestant Gymnasium

It has been established as another educational facility within the Filipka school (officially named the “Story School –Primary and Secondary Church School”). It will thus become part of the family of eight schools of the Evangelical Academy, founded by the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. After a long 106 years, the Protestant Gymnasium is the first of its sort in the Czech Republic.

As descriptive as the name of the school might sound, the founders took a long time to think it through. “We discussed the name thoroughly, for a long time. In the end, we agreed on ‘Evangelical Gymnasium – Egy’. What we had in mind was the tradition of Protestant education. We would like to build on the foundations that have been established in the past,” explained teacher Alžběta Macková in an interview with Daniel Ženatý.

The Protestant Gymnasium wants to offer its students an education with an emphasis on literacy, ethical education and social and civic responsibility. It also wants to focus on ecology and environmental responsibility, through teaching in nature as much as possible, frequent field trips, expeditions and excursions, among other things.

The school will be led by a team formed around Ruth Konvalinková, who has been principal of the Filipka elementary school for six years now. “We are very humble in our approach. All of those that make up the Filipka school and now the new secondary school have one thing in common: they work with great enthusiasm and personal commitment. Above all, we are grateful to them for the fact that the Filipka rocket flew into Brno’s educational sky faster than we expected and settled firmly there. Egy is now building on the success of Filipka,” she said. She also appreciated the trust that the church has been showing the schools. “We are glad to be part of the union of schools belonging to the Evangelical Academy,” she added. 

3 September 2024 – the first ever Protestant Gymnasium opened in Brno

The special day began with a service held at the J. A. Komenský church (the “Red Church”). The service was led by the pastors of the local congregation, Ondřej Macek and Iva Květonová. For his sermon, Ondřej Macek chose the biblical story of the two builders (Luke 6:47-49). 

“Wisdom is not only something you can learn. Wisdom is also something that is offered to us, opened from above. I wish you, dear students, that you may dig good and deep foundations that will sustain you later in life. My wish for you is that you will be invited to seeking wisdom at Egy,” he said. He and his colleague Iva Květonová then presented the students and school representatives with symbolic “shovels” (spoons) to enable digging for wisdom.

There was also room for greetings from guests from the church. “I would like to thank the Brno congregations and the entire seniorate for also committing to this whole project and taking specific steps towards a positive outcome,” said synodal curator Jiří Schneider.

Filip Keller, the senior of the Brno seniorate, spoke on its behalf. He expressed his gratitude for the fact that five protestant schools have already been established in the region. “Through the efforts, will and determination of specific individuals, there is an increased number of schools belonging to the Evangelical Academy in the Brno seniorate. It is encouraging and hopeful that this trend is continuing into its next stage, with the establishment of the Protestant Gymnasium.” He emphasised the good relations, based, above all, on understanding and willingness to help. “The seniorate is not institutionally linked with the schools, yet I still feel a great sense of involvement here, and I am truly grateful for that,” he added.

Štěpán Hájek, the ECCB’s pastor in Brno-Husovice, who also teaches Biblical History at Filipka, recalled the story of both of the schools (Filipka and Egy). “For a pastor, it is wonderful when a completely spontaneous initiative emerges in a congregation and such wonderful things as the creation of a new school come to fruition. The Filipka elementary school was established and gained an excellent reputation. I must confess I would never have dreamed that in five years we would be opening a secondary school. And so I want to thank the headmistress, Ruth Konvalinková, and her circle of collaborators who made both schools possible,” he said.

After the service, those present moved to the nearby Opletalova Street, to the building of the “Green Parish House”. Here, the official program continued, with Ondřej Macek as the host.

Several distinguished guests, such as the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Mikuláš Bek and the Minister of the Environment and former Deputy Mayor of the City of Brno Petr Hladík, presented their greetings and congratulations. He appreciated that the new high school will contribute to expanding the offer of secondary education in the region. “As a parent, I am well aware that there is a lack of secondary education capacity in Brno. Which is why I am truly glad that you have managed to open the Protestant Gymnasium,” he said.

The gymnasium was also opened thanks to the support of the Brno-Židenice town district and its mayor Petr Kunc. He recalled the state the school building in Filipínského street was in at the outset. “It was the original, late 19th century building of the first school in Židenice and its technical condition corresponded to that. Over the course of five years, we gradually repaired the worst of it, so that the school was ready for basic use – without floors getting damp and without the building freezing though,” he said.

Helena Wernischová, coordinator of the schools of the Evangelical Academy, was also present at the ceremony. She read a part of “Prayers of a Young Person for the Perfect Readiness of the Heart to Serve God" by John Amos Comenius.

After the introductory speeches, the school’s headmistress Ruth Konvalinková took on the official opening by symbolically unveiling the sign board with the school’s name on it. In future, this will hang above the entrance right on the Židenice building. At present, however, it is undergoing construction work, so the unveiling could not take place directly on site.

Starting next year, the Gymnasium should also be located in the building of the Green Parish House in Opletalova Street, where one of the Evangelical Academy’s schools (the Higher Vocational School of Social and Legal Education) is already operating. Due to the need to adapt the interior of the building for teaching purposes, tuition will take place exclusively in the Filipka building in Židenice during the first year; in the future, it will be distributed between both addresses. The school has also managed to acquire the second floor of the building from the municipality for its use, which was previously leased by another legal entity.

Although the Evangelical Gymnasium is a brand-new school, it has already seen an overflow of applicants in its first year. While more than 60 students have applied, only 28 students are expected to take their seats in the first year. The total capacity of all four grades should be 112 students.