Stefan Stojanović will represent Savremena Gimnazija at the Serbian Philosophical Olympiad

A philosophy competition was held in Savremena Gimnazija for the first time, and it was organised due to the great interest of our students in this subject and participation in the Serbian Philosophical Olympiad, where a representative of our country is chosen to participate in the International Philosophical Olympiad, where representatives of all countries compete in writing philosophical essays.

The first place in the competition, and thus the privilege of representing Savremena Gimnazija at the Serbian Philosophical Olympiad, was won by the high school graduate and student of class IV-2 Stefan Stojanović. Through his work, he demonstrated above-average knowledge of history of philosophy, as well as great philosophical insight in his way of thinking.

Second place was won by Sofija Ivković, a student of class III-2, and third place was won by Dorotea Korać, a student of class III-6.

Each of the works that stood out has a specific approach and a different point of view on the same topic. Each essay fulfilled the given form and yet was technically constructed differently. All students demonstrated excellent knowledge of philosophy and the grammar of the English language, as well as a highly developed capacity for critical thinking.

The students had four hours to write an essay in English on the computer, based on a given philosophical quote, which is the same format used in the International Philosophical Olympiad. All works were marked with a different code so that objectivity was guaranteed.

By the way, the high school competition in the subject of Philosophy differs from the competition in other subjects, because there are no municipal, city or district levels in this competition. The representative of Serbia at the International Philosophical Olympiad is chosen at the Serbian Philosophical Olympiad, and the participants have a very demanding task ahead of them, bearing in mind that good knowledge of philosophy and literary skill is not the only criteria that determine the winner. Namely, due to the international character of the competition, the essays are written in English and in digital form.

First graders of Savremena also had the opportunity to participate in this event as part of the activities of the philosophy club. Not only did they become familiar with the competition process itself, but in this way, they also started preparing for this competition which they’ll participate in when they reach higher grades.

This competition showed that Savremena Gimnazija has very talented students who are ready to face demanding tasks and demonstrate their knowledge and abilities at the international level. We thank all the students for their participation, and we wish Stefan the best of luck and success on 18 March when he will fight for first place in Serbia with 48 other participants, which is a record number of participants since the foundation of the Serbian Philosophical Olympiad.

I am extremely pleased and proud to be the parent of a Savremena student. During my first encounter with the school management, when I asked about my child’s potential enrolment, I saw how much love, enthusiasm and professionalism you put in your work. I was impressed by your approach, ideas and methods. I couldn’t believe something like this existed in our country! It doesn’t take long to realise that this is a school you would recommend to everyone. Creativity, modern technology, top-quality education, and most of all, the humaneness that can be seen throughout the school, make it truly different and worthy of its name – Savremena Gimnazija. With such an approach, the success of this school and, consequently, our children’s success, is unavoidable. Congratulations! Jelena Đorđević, Andrija’s mum
Contemporary in any sense of the word, our school offers functional knowledge and quality preparation for tertiary education in Serbia and abroad. Implementing modern and creative teaching in the classroom, where the teachers’ pedagogy and students’ performance are aligned with the highest academic standards for the high-school finals, our school develops linguistic, mathematical, scientific, artistic, cultural, technical and ICT competence, which is a prerequisite for further education and professional development. Teaching is supported by the interactive whiteboards and educational software, whereas practice exercises research and critical thinking.