The Slavic Gymnasium in Bobruysk

This school, one of the oldest in Belarus, got its name in 1993. Initially, the school was called Alekseyevskaya. Not so long ago, it was 110 years old and it still remains the leader among schools of this large district center. But there have been several different institutions over the time of its existence. Let's look at the history.

The Slavic Gymnasium is a large two-storey building made of brick

560 square meters were given to classrooms and offices. The Bobruysk town Duma adopted a decision to construct the gymnasium in 1904. The construction of a suitable building took 2 years. And it accepted its first schoolgirls there on July 1, 1906. At first, there were only 7 forms, but the eighth form of pedagogical specialization, and preparatory classes were opened over the next two years. By that time, there were already about four hundred young girls among the students of the gymnasium.

It was prestigious and fashionable to study at the female gymnasium in Bobruysk

At the time, the education was paid, but it only made the gymnasium in Bobruysk even more popular and gave it a high status. Each schoolgirl had to pay for the education 65 rubles. Plus another 4 rubles, as it was stated by the Jewish laws.

There were 7 class matrons in the gymnasium, all obeyed to the main one. They were two teachers of the laws of Orthodoxy, one – of the Jewish canons, and also subject teachers. The employees were chosen carefully: only graduates with “prestigious” diplomas were taken there. In order to teach there, it was necessary to graduate from, for example, the Higher Female School in Vilno or the University in Petersburg.

Among the disciplines, apart from religious ones, there were Geography, History, Mathematics, Physics, and Science. The Russian, German, French and Latin languages were studied there, but not all of them were compulsory. Girls were taught to needlework and drawing.

In honor of Tsarevich Alexey

The gymnasium in Bobruysk got its name after the son of the last Russian Tsar Nikolay – Alexey. However, there are 2 versions how that decision was made.

According to the first, the Tsar himself permitted to give that name to the educational institution when his son was born. The second version tells about a rather funny incident that occurred just at the beginning of the work of the school. They say, during the official opening, workers were entrusted to carry a very large-size portrait of Nicholas II, but one of them slipped and fell down, the portrait was damaged. The management called the gymnasium in honor of his son as an apology to the monarch.

The building hosted other educational institutions at various times

In 1921, Alekseyevskaya Gymnasium was closed and the building hosted the Soviet upper secondary school of Yanka Kupala. It hosted the technical school in the years 1930-1941, and the Teacher Training College after the war. In 1949, the building of the Slavic Gymnasium hosted the Teacher Training Institute for another 6 years and then the Teacher Training College was returned. In 1968, another building was attached to the school. In the following year there was opened the Museum of Lenin. In 1984 – the Hall of Military and Labor Glory.

The fifth secondary school was located there in 1957. In the early 90s, it changed its name to the Slavic Gymnasium. In 2009 – the third gymnasium.