PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Damová, Zora
TI  - Czechoslovak State Secondary School in the United Kingdom (1940-1945)
DP  - 2012 Apr 11
TA  - Historica Olomucensia
PG  - 241--257
VI  - 41
IP  - 1
IS  - 18039561
AB  - The aim of this study is to examine the history and organization of the Czechoslovak state secondary school in Great Britain that was in service from 1940 to 1945 as a part of the Czechoslovak exile education system. The study is based on extant resources and testimonies of ex-students. With Czechoslovak schools in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia being suppressed by Nazi war occupation, this school was considered the only free Czechoslovak secondary school of that time although it operated in the foreign territory. The work examines the beginning of the Czechoslovak system of exile education in Great Britain, the historical background of the foundation of the secondary school and its operation during five war years.The main goal of the school was to provide children of Czechoslovak immigrants in Great Britain with Czech education that would follow tradition of their homeland and with Czech national spirit. The school adopted the organization system of the First Republic schools, yet due to an extraordinary situation it had to be adjusted to the different setting - for example by putting emphasis on the English language and by running the boarding school.Special emphasis is given to the school promotion activities within the Czechoslovak exile propaganda. As an educational institution working in the English surroundings the school could influence the public of the United Kingdom in an unofficial way. One part of the study also focuses on the teachers and their students as quite unusual members of the Czechoslovak exile.