January 10, 2022 – The city of Rijeka has announced plans to open a classical ballet high school, the first of its kind in Croatia. The City also plans to introduce a primary education program in English in one of the schools in Rijeka.
The city of Rijeka and the primary school of Vežica sent a letter of intent to the Ministry of Science and Education in which they expressed their interest in establishing a new dance high school in Rijeka.
The headmistress of the Vežica primary school, Violeta Nikolić, said there has been a need for such a school for a long time now. Such an educational institution in Rijeka would be the first of its kind in Croatia, reports Novi List.
‘This year, the Primary School of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance [in Rijeka] marks its 15th anniversary. During these 15 years, around twenty of our students had to continue their studies in Zagreb or abroad. Namely, the students leave for Ljubljana, Milan and Budapest. There is interest in higher education, and if Rijeka had his own school, there would certainly be even more interest. The idea is to open a four-year vocational school after which our students could find employment straight away. The school would have two departments, for contemporary dance and classical ballet. It would be the first such school in Croatia, ”Nikolić explained.
The principal believes that the new school would certainly attract students, not only from Primorje-Gorski kotar county, but also from other parts of Croatia. Asked about the staff who would work in the future school, she replied that it would certainly not be a problem as they already have staff who are experts in the field of dance. “A high school would just be an extension of what we have been doing for 15 years,” said Nikolić.
The city agrees with the plan, according to Rijeka’s deputy mayor Sandra Krpan, who said the city will find a location for the future school. It would not be implemented at the primary school in Vežica, but would be an autonomous institution located in the city center.
“We immediately embraced the idea of creating a dance school. We are also planning an extension of the Vežica elementary school to meet the needs of the elementary ballet school, ”said Krpan, adding that the funds for the expansion of the school had already been earmarked in the city budget. of this year.
This is not the only new school that the city of Rijeka is planning, as there are plans to open a new primary school that would offer a program in English. Krpan explained that the creation of a new educational institution would not be necessary in this case, as the new program would be implemented in one of the existing schools in Rijeka.
“Rijeka is growing, international companies are more and more present and we believe there is a need for an English language primary education program. We would introduce it from the first year of elementary school. We believe staff won’t be a problem, ”Krpan said, adding that they had not yet decided which school would offer the new program and that it could be implemented in multiple schools.
