The founding documents of the Pelgulinn and Mustamäe state high school projects were signed by Minister of Education and Research Jaak Aab (Center) two weeks ago. The Ministry of Education and Research told ERR that the idea of a state high school in Tõnismäe will be confirmed in the coming months.

According the ministry's plan, studies will begin first in Mustamäe High School, to be build on Akadeemia tee 25, close to the campus of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). Construction will begin over the summer with the school planned to open its doors in fall of 2022.

Development of the schools in Pelgulinn and Tõnismäe is set to kick off in the start of 2022 with doors planned to open in fall of 2023.

While construction will begin at different times, the state is looking for school directors concurrently in order to ensure a synergy between the schools as early as possible, said Jelena Zemskova, adviser of communications at the education ministry.

"We are interested in the new directors getting to work immediately. The first job of finding new school leaders is the planning of studies, the recruitment of teachers and finding partners," Zemskova said, adding that the director is also responsible for the school's admission protocol and conditions.

The ministry announced their search for new directors for the three state schools, along with Tallinn's Music and Ballet School and two state high schools, one in Tallinn's Laagri district and Rakvere, on Monday.

There are close to 1,000 places for students in each of three state schools in Tallinn. An additional 3,000 places in total should ensure that the number of high schoolers in the ever-growing Tallinn does not become a problem. "Based on an estimate that there will be another 3,000 high schoolers in Tallinn in 10 years," Zemskova noted.

She did not confirm if the three schools will be the only ones in Tallinn. "There could be other state high schools in Tallinn in the future, but there are no agreements yet." She added that the transfer of the schools to Tallinn has also not yet been discussed.

Mustamäe State High School

The high school to be built in Mustamäe will open its doors in fall of 2022. Architecture company Arhitekt Must's plan "Kuppelmaastik" won the school's design contest, with the net surface of the school totaling 7,900 m². The school is planned to accomodate 1,080 students, with another 120 made up by teachers and other staff. The second stage of developments will see additional rooms build, extending the school's closed room area to 16,000 m².

The building is planned in two large parts. A triangular building will contain classrooms and another building will house the sports facilities. The buildings will be connected by a first floor tunnel, hidden under the landscape.

Pelgulinn State High School

The school is planned to open its doors in fall of 2023 with the building also designed by Arhitekt Must, with its "Seitse venda" detail plan taking the contest. The high school is planned for the plot on Kolde puiestee 67a in the Pelgulinn district of Tallinn, bordered by residential areas, Kolde puiestee and a police station.

The school building will accomodate a total of 1,200 people, identical to the school in Mustamäe (1,080 students, 120 staff and teachers). The net surface of the area also stands at 7,900 m². The first stage of development will build classrooms and a sports hall with the second stage adding functional buildings to extend sporting and recreational areas in the surrounding Põhja-Tallinn neighborhoods.

Tõnismäe State High School

The school will open its doors in fall of 2023, with the building planned by architectural company Arhitekt11/Lunden Architecture's "Stack". The building will be built next to Endla Library and is planned for 900 students and 80 staff members, including teachers.

In total, there are 16 state high schools in 13 counties in Estonia currently active. Three high schools will open their doors for fall of 2021 - Tabasalu, Paide and Saaremaa.

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