The Czech School Without Borders, London, is a charity and a company limited by guarantee whose purpose is to promote education in the language, history, geography, art, culture and heritage the Czech Republic.
The school was originally founded as a small art club for Czech-speaking pre-school children by the artist Zuzana Jungmanova in October 2007. Zuzana has a long-standing interest in creative art activities and working with bilingual children. In 2009 the initiative developed into the Kids’ Art Club and the same year the Czech School Without Borders, London, was established as a part of an international project Czech School Without Borders which has branches in Paris, Munich, Brussels, Dresden, Rhein-Main, Geneva and Zurich.
The Czech School Without Borders, London, is a voluntary organisation managed by co-directors Zuzana Jungmanova and Ivona Klemensova and committee nominated from amongst the parents. Parents of children enrolled at the Czech School Without Borders, London, automatically become members of the school and can directly influence the running of it by participating at the AGM and meetings held during the term.
Czech School Without Borders, London is a charitable organisation providing regular education in the Czech language, history and geography to Czech-English bilingual children living in the UK. Our classes take place every Saturday during term times from 10.00 am until 2pm in the London Borough of Islington. Our youngest pupils, aged 2 to 5, attend two pre-school groups. The school section starts with the Reception class for children aged five and six, and continues until Year 9. We follow the official Czech national school curriculum and are one of the three organizations accredited by the Czech Ministry of Education to provide education to the children in the UK.
In addition to our Saturday preschool and school and an after-school club Czech Through Play on Wednesdays. Altogether, more than 200 children attend our classes and workshops on a weekly basis. Alongside running the school we’ve created a vibrant active Czech community which is amongst the largest in the United Kingdom. Our aim is to educate a new Czech-speaking generation brought up in the UK who will not only be able to read and write in Czech, but will also feel a sense of belonging to the Czech nation and the Czech Republic.
We are also engaged in cross-community, all-inclusive educational arts projects across the Borough of Islington and are a regular recipient of the Islington Mother Tongue & Supplementary School Grant. Amongst our partnership projects are the short animation film Let’s Draw The Olympics, a celebration of the 2012 Olympics, created by more than 180 children from Islington; and the e-book Lilacs of Peace, a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2, which tells the history of WW2 for a primary school audience.
A Company Limited by Guarantee, no 7323697
Registered Charity Number 1151158
Program about Czechs in Britain (Češi v Británii – Jak se jim v ostrovní zemi žije tři roky po Brexitu?, Český rozhlas, Zaostřeno)
