Elite School Goes Partially Private
In a bid to take in more students from its abundance of applicants, one of Tallinn's most selective schools, Reaalkool, is opening a private school for grades one to nine.
Over 600 children applied for a first grade spot in Reaalkool last fall, Postimees reported, but the school could only accept two classes worth of students. Next year, the school hopes to double its entrants.
The annual fee for the private school is roughly 1,500 euros per student. Alar Tamkivi, a school official, said the primary admission terms for pupils are their skills in sciences. He said grades 10 to 12 will then be made up of the cream of the crop of the public and private schools.
Both Reaalkool and another elite school, the Tallinn English College, had set their sights on obtaining the new building, a former police headquarters by Freedom Square.
The building belongs to ECE Capital, a company with an Austrian background. Tallinn English College was offered a rental deal a few years ago, but the education minister post shifted from Tõnis Lukas to Jaak Aaviksoo, and the college's plan to open a new school with an international curriculum was put aside.
Reaalkool seized the opportunity and came up with the private school idea, pitched it to the Austrians and the rental deal was signed last fall. The school will have a chance to buy out the building.
The school keepers hope to get their papers sorted out by early March.