Lyceum "Physical-Technical High School" (PTHS)
ФТШ

Full name: Academic lyceum "Physical-Technical High School" named after Zh. I. Alfyorov.

Established in 1987 by a group of scientists from the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, PTHS covers the last four years of secondary school education with 200 students (9 classes).
It is the only secondary school in Russia linked to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

 

The main goal of the Lyceum's activity is to aid the development of an independent researcher.
Major subject areas are Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science and the English language. Entry to the 8th, 9th and 10th forms is competitive (by examination in Physics and Mathematics).
Education in the Lyceum is free.
970 students finished PTHS within the 1989 to 2007 period; 1140 Olympiad's awards have been won.

 

School Curriculum, having classes six days a week, includes among the core subjects 6-8 hours of Physics, 8-10 hours of Mathematics, 4-6 hours of English, a second foreign language, 4 hours of physical training as well as more than 25 optional and elective subjects including Drama and the History of Arts in the Hermitage Museum. Once a week, students attend research laboratories of PTI, Technical University, Institute of Physiology, Medical Institute, etc. The students perform a coursework and are engaged into individual activities in the school Computer Centre and Physics Laboratory.
Best students are awarded grants established by Siemens AG and the Foundation for Support of Science and Education.
School graduates (nearly one half) continue their studies taking university courses at the sub-faculties of PTI (established in the same building). 35% join courses in Physics and Mathematics at other Universities. The rest choose courses in Medicine, Biology, Teaching, Art history, Philology, History, Geology, and Acting. Many of our graduates continue their studies in universities of the USA, Sweden, Israel, England, France, etc. They later come to teach at PTHS, take postgraduate courses at PTI, do their research with PTI and take part in numerous extra-curriculum activities together with the Lyceum students.
Every fourth student of the Lyceum later becomes a scientist with PTI.
Staff: There are 20 full-time and 20 part-time (mostly university scientists). 12 PTHS teachers have Doctor and Candidate Degrees in Science, 8 are winners of the Soros Teacher title, 2 are Honoured Teachers of Russia and 4 are teacher-methodologists. Teachers from the USA, England, Germany and France worked at the Lyceum in different years.
Evening classes: Paid classes on Physics, Mathematics and computer Science for city's schoolchildren (500 students) are taught by the Lyceum staff and its former graduates. The Centre for Gifted Children offers free classes (6-7 forms, 50 pupils admitted on competitive basis). At free classes of Physics Education Centre city's schoolchildren (60 admitted on competitive basis) solve higher level complexity problems in Physics.
Traditions: Annual events are the Sakharov Readings, the International Seminar on Science for school students (200 participants from 26 cities of 7 countries). Lectures are given on Science and Culture in the 21st century. Besides there are hiking treks and festivals, Korchak Award; Chess club; Poetry nights; School Theatre; sports activities (swimming, football, tennis, long-distance trekking and orienteering).
International relations include links with the British Council, the Gothe Institute, the European Youth Parliament (Barcelona, Oxford, Gent), Siemens Company, etc.; students exchange with the schools at Illinois and Sent-Louis Universities (USA); contacts with schools in Chicago and Arkansas; lectures of Lyceum staff in Columbia, California, Harvard, Stanford, Lund, Princeton and St. Petersburg Universities, MIT and CIT (USA).

 

For its activity PTHS has been awarded with grants of the Soros Foundation (ISSEP), Cultural Initiative International Fund, Open Society Institute, Russian Fund for Fundamental Research, Best Practice in Education Foundation (USA), University of Toronto Innovation Foundation (Canada).

 

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