Schools in Moscow look like New Zealand schools from the outside but Alison Gernhoefer, principal of Westlake Girls High School, Auckland, found aspects of them to be quite different.
Alison travelled to Moscow, Russia for two weeks in April 2005 to observe schools in the in the relatively high socioeconomic Western Suburbs district of Moscow. She comments on one of the schools she visited, School 72.
School role
School 72 has a school roll of 1200 and caters for students from kindergarten to pre-university level. It has been open for 18 months and would be termed a typical modern school.
Healthy mind, healthy body
As well as the usual classrooms, .gymnasium, offices and resource spaces, School 72 boasted consulting rooms for a resident doctor, dentist and psychologist and for no cost students were examined regularly. Adhering to the philosophy of ‘healthy mind, healthy body’, the gymnasium was generously supplied with a wide range of equipment that would grace any fitness centre in New .Zealand.
Curriculum
The core curriculum, in Russian primary and secondary schools bears a striking similarity to what we teach in New Zealand schools. Both primary and secondary students study Russian language and literature, mathematics, social disciplines (history and geography) and natural disciplines (physical and biological sciences). As in New Zealand, schools are free to enhance the curriculum with their own special interests, and magnet schools have been created where students learn English from their earliest years. In secondary schools, students study for the Russian National Certificate of Secondary Education.
Oh…you come from New Zealand….
Surprisingly, New Zealand as a country was well known to both students and teachers for two reasons. Firstly, the impact of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy has been enormous, perhaps because myths and fairy tales are a much-loved part of their own literature. In fact, videos of the Lord of the .Rings trilogy that I had taken to give as gifts to the schools that I visited were very highly prized. The second factor was unexpected in that football (soccer) reigns supreme in Russia, yet in spite of this the school authorities in Russia have introduced rugby to schools as a preferred sport, and national competitions amongst schools are now eagerly contested. The fact that I had met Jonah Lomu (when he was a schoolboy at Wesley College) gave me considerable cachet in School 72 and they are extending an invitation to Westlake Boys High School to visit when they take their next rugby trip to Europe.
Language
English has replaced German as the preferred second language in schools and fluency in the language is viewed as a most desirable asset. Some students visit English-speaking countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta for intensive language practice. Some school specialise in the teaching of foreign languages and opportunities for .studying abroad. Russian students are now spending time in foreign universities and many of the leading Russian universities have links with prestigious universities abroad.
