Sankt Georg Avusturya Lisesi
Encyclopedia
St. George's Austrian High School (Turkish
: Sankt Georg Avusturya Lisesi, German
: Österreichisches Sankt Georgs-Kolleg) is a private Austria
n-Turkish
high school located in Istanbul
, Turkey
. It is one of several secondary school
s that were founded by Europe
an or American
mission
s in Turkey
during the 19th century, but were then secularized after the founding of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923.
Today, the school is subject to regulation by the Turkish Ministry of National Education
, and almost its entire student body is Turkish, but a large part of its administrative and teaching staff remains Austrian (appointed by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture), and it offers a mixture of Turkish and Austrian curricula in a bilingual environment.
-speaking Catholic
children living in the Ottoman Empire
. After the Ottoman (and Austrian) defeat in World War I
, the school was ordered closed by the occupying Triple Entente
forces in Istanbul, and all of its staff was sent back to Austria. The school was reopened shortly afterwards when the Republic of Turkey was founded (1923). After the invasion of Austria by the Nazi Germany
in 1938, the school turned into a "German school" and it was closed once again in 1944, due to the freezing of relations between Turkey and Germany. It was reopened in 1947. In 1995, the girls' and boys' schools were merged together.
and English
are the two compulsory foreign languages taught at Sankt Georg. Aside from these two languages, students can choose either Latin
or French
as their third foreign language. Most subjects (including math, sciences, philosophy and arts) are taught in German by Austrian teachers, but subjects related to Turkish culture and language (such as Turkish literature, history and geography) are taught in Turkish by Turkish teachers. Students learn German in a compulsory one-year preparatory program.
, which is intended for the graduates of Sankt Georg living/studying in Austria or in other European countries.
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
: Sankt Georg Avusturya Lisesi, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Österreichisches Sankt Georgs-Kolleg) is a private Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
high school located in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It is one of several secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s that were founded by Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an or American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
s in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
during the 19th century, but were then secularized after the founding of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923.
Today, the school is subject to regulation by the Turkish Ministry of National Education
Ministry of National Education (Turkey)
The Ministry of National Education is a government ministry of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for the supervision of public and private educational system, agreements and authorizations under a national curriculum....
, and almost its entire student body is Turkish, but a large part of its administrative and teaching staff remains Austrian (appointed by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture), and it offers a mixture of Turkish and Austrian curricula in a bilingual environment.
History
Sankt Georg was founded in 1882 by Austrian Lazarists and was originally intended for GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
children living in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. After the Ottoman (and Austrian) defeat in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the school was ordered closed by the occupying Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
forces in Istanbul, and all of its staff was sent back to Austria. The school was reopened shortly afterwards when the Republic of Turkey was founded (1923). After the invasion of Austria by the Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1938, the school turned into a "German school" and it was closed once again in 1944, due to the freezing of relations between Turkey and Germany. It was reopened in 1947. In 1995, the girls' and boys' schools were merged together.
Curriculum
The school combines both the Austrian and the Turkish curricula to prepare its students for the Turkish and Austrian school leaving examinations and to enrich their general knowledge. Under the current curriculum, students at Sankt Georg can learn up to three foreign languages. GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
are the two compulsory foreign languages taught at Sankt Georg. Aside from these two languages, students can choose either Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
as their third foreign language. Most subjects (including math, sciences, philosophy and arts) are taught in German by Austrian teachers, but subjects related to Turkish culture and language (such as Turkish literature, history and geography) are taught in Turkish by Turkish teachers. Students learn German in a compulsory one-year preparatory program.
School-leaving qualifications offered
- Turkish high school diploma (Lise diploması)
- Austrian Matura: Students wishing to pursue their tertiary educationTertiary educationTertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
at universities in Austria, or in the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, have the right to sit the Austrian Reifeprüfung examination at Sankt Georg. Once students pass the examination, they obtain the Matura certificate, which is equivalent to International Baccalaureate (IB).
School library
The current school library opened in 1988, after 2 small libraries within the school building were brought together. As of 2006, it contains more than 16,000 books, 20 periodicals/magazines in Turkish, German and English, and CDs/DVDs.School counselor
Ms. Sylvia Vogl is the school counselor for the Sankt Georg Austrian High School.Alumni
Alumni of Sankt Georg gather every year in the last week of April at a re-union called "Strudeltag". Another annual re-union is organised around May in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, which is intended for the graduates of Sankt Georg living/studying in Austria or in other European countries.
Notable alumni
- Mesut YılmazMesut YilmazAhmet Mesut Yılmaz is the former leader of the Motherland Party and was the Turkish prime minister in the 1990s.Mesut Yılmaz was a rising star in the Motherland Party of Turgut Özal, representing the Black Sea province of Rize in the parliament and serving as tourism minister in Ozal's cabinet...
, former prime minister of Turkey - Rutkay Aziz, actor and director
- Zeynep Damla Gürel, Special advisor to the head of state in European affairs; former deputy of Republican People's Party (CHPCHP-Healthcare:* Oporto Hospital Centre* Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh* Community Health Partnerships* Certified Health Physicist-Politics:* Christian Heritage Party * Christian Historical Party...
) - Alev KorunAlev KorunAlev Korun is a Turkish-Austrian politician. Korun is the first Turkish congresswoman in the Austrian Parliament .-External links:* auf den Seiten der Wiener Grünen...
, the first Turkish MP in the Austrian Parliament - Zeyno BaranZeyno BaranZeyno Baran is a Turkish American scholar on issues ranging from US-Turkey relations to Islamist ideology to energy security in Europe and Asia. She is the Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy and a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, a think tank located in Washington D.C....
, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute - Ediz HunEdiz HunEdiz Hun is a famous Turkish film actor.-Biography:After studying at the St. George's Austrian High School in Istanbul, he graduated in Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Trondheim in Norway. After he had participated in a contest organized by Ses magazine he was noticed by...
, actor and MP - Zerrin Arbaş, actress and Best Model of Turkey 1965
- Ahmet Tulgar, writer and journalist
- Merva Ulusoy, program editor and presenter for the show Headquarters on CNN TurkCNN TurkCNN Türk is the Turkish version of the popular cable news channel CNN. CNN Türk is a nationwide channel broadcasting exclusively in Turkey, owned by Time Warner and Doğan Medya Grubu, broadcasting since October 11, 1999. It has its headquarters in Istanbul....
news channel - Enis Berberoğlu, Chief editor of the HürriyetHürriyet-External links:* * ** * *...
daily - Petros MarkarisPetros MarkarisPetros Márkaris is a Greek writer of detective novels starring the grumpy Athenian police investigator Costas Haritos.- Biography :...
, Greek author - Tunç HamaratTunç HamaratTunç Hamarat is a Turkish chess player living in Austria and the 16th International Correspondence Chess Federation World Champion in 2004....
, World Correspondence Chess Champion 1999-2004 - Murat SesMurat SesMurat Ses is a Turkish keyboard player and composer with strong Eurasian electronic elements...
, keyboard player and composer, Grammy jury member - Mustafa Iscel, ÖVP MP
- Fatih Ozguven, author, literary translator and columnist
- Mehmetcan Mincinozlu, actor
- Mehmet Gürel, writer, singer
- Cansu Demirci, actress
- Aret Güzel Aleksanyan, founder of Vienna Interkul Theater (Wiener Interkul Theater), 2008 Vienna City Gold Medal for Outstanding Service
- Leyla Gediz, painter, arts exhibition curator
- Ömer Göksel, composer, jazz musician
- Mine Ayşe Karamehmet, founder of the art schools; Atölyedans and Atölyemüzik
- Meral Güneyman, musician and pianist
- Nijad Sirel, writer
- Kenan Ece, actor
- Gültekin Çizgen, photography artist