Who we are.
ERUNI comprises academically oriented University Grammar Schools in Prague and Brno, offering a four-year general secondary education programme. Both schools operate as non-profit institutions established by the European Research University (ERUNI). They hold all necessary approvals from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and are duly registered in the national Register of Schools and Educational Facilities.
The concept of a grammar school founded and directly governed by a university is unprecedented in the Czech Republic, making ERUNI’s academic grammar schools genuinely distinctive. By their very nature, grammar schools are designed to prepare students for university study; their integration within a university environment therefore provides an exceptional foundation for academic progression. Traditional grammar schools, typically established by local authorities or other providers, tend to have a more limited connection to universities and may not always reflect the evolving expectations of higher education—both in the Czech Republic and internationally.
By contrast, ERUNI’s grammar schools form an integral part of the University itself and are situated within its campus environment. The European Research University brings extensive experience in preparing students for admission to leading international universities, an expertise that is fully embedded within the academic life of its grammar schools.
Alongside the grammar schools, ERUNI also operates the Pedagogical Secondary School in both Prague and Brno. This offers a four-year, school-leaving (maturita) programme in Pre-school and Out-of-school Education, delivered through a specialised curriculum focused on university-level preparation in pedagogy, psychology, and contemporary approaches to learning. The guiding philosophy of the EPSS is to educate a new generation of teachers—professionals who understand children, society, and the world in which they live; who combine academic expertise with empathy; and who inspire curiosity, creativity, and personal development in the pupils they teach.
Background and Founding Body.
Although ERUNI’s University Grammar Schools and Pedagogical Secondary Schools are newly established institutions, their founders—the European Research University—bring over 30 years of experience in running two large grammar schools and an additional secondary school, as well as an international school offering the globally renowned International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
30+
years of experience in secondary education
4
international research hubs in London, Rome, Amsterdam and Paris
50+
partner schools abroad
Who are our grammar schools for?
ERUNI’s University Grammar Schools are designed for academically oriented students who aspire to continue their studies at leading universities in the Czech Republic and abroad. Above all, we seek students who are creative, intellectually curious, and genuinely driven to explore, question, and discover—already during their secondary education. Our students engage not only with their teachers, but also with a wide range of the University’s researchers, becoming part of a vibrant academic environment from the outset.
By design, ERUNI’s University Grammar Schools are intended for gifted and highly motivated students. We understand talent in a broad and inclusive sense—not limited to traditionally emphasised areas such as mathematics, logic, or languages. We are equally open—indeed intentionally so—to students with talent in the arts, visual creativity, music, or sport. We neither prioritise nor marginalise any particular form of ability. What we do expect, however, is motivation: a willingness to develop one’s talent to a high level, alongside the determination to address and overcome challenges in less naturally developed areas. We recognise that exceptional ability in one domain is often accompanied by difficulties in another—and we approach this with understanding rather than concern.
Given the international character and research focus of our parent university, we place strong emphasis on students’ command of English and their continuous development in the language. Students benefit from regular contact with English-speaking researchers and from opportunities linked to the University’s international research hubs in London, Amsterdam, Rome and Paris.
Teaching at our grammar schools is conducted primarily in Czech. At the same time, approval is currently being sought from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to offer selected subjects in English on an optional basis, as well as to obtain international school status enabling the delivery of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. We are also developing partnerships with foundation programmes of the University of London, which provide a recognised pathway to study at this distinguished British university.
Our grammar schools are not “alternative schools” in the sense of Montessori, Waldorf, Dalton, or similar models. These approaches typically focus on particular aspects of individual development. While our schools are distinctive in being established and directly governed by a university, they are not alternative in this sense. Rather, we represent what we believe a grammar school should be: an institution that prepares students not only for their school-leaving examinations and university study, but above all develops their individual talents and enables each student to progress to the best universities—institutions that actively seek capable and motivated applicants.
Within the educational process, we deliberately limit formal assessment, grading, and rigid subject compartmentalisation to the minimum extent permitted by national regulations. Nor do we regard a student’s age as the primary determinant of their abilities. Guided by the spirit of the well-known educational philosophy associated with Ken Robinson—that one should study without losing curiosity and creativity—our School Educational Programmes (ŠVP) have been carefully designed to foster intellectual independence and genuine engagement.
At the same time, our educational approach is firmly grounded in scientific evidence and in the extensive experience of our parent university in the preparation and professional development of teaching staff, delivered in full accordance with the accreditation standards of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
The educational philosophy of our Pedagogical Secondary Schools.
ERUNI also comprises a distinctive Pedagogical Secondary School in Prague and Brno, offering a four-year school-leaving (maturita) programme in Pre-school and Out-of-school Education, delivered through a specialised curriculum focused on university-level preparation in pedagogy, psychology, and contemporary approaches to learning. The guiding philosophy of our school is to educate future teachers who understand children, society, and the world in which they live—educators of a new generation who combine professional expertise with humanity, and who inspire children to think, create, and grow.
Our approach to education is grounded in scientific knowledge and in the extensive experience of our parent university in the preparation and professional development of teaching staff, delivered in full accordance with the accreditation standards of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. Guided by the principle of Ken Robinson, we have designed our School Educational Programmes (ŠVP) around the idea: Learn how to teach — without stifling curiosity and creativity.
ERUNI, the University Grammar School in Prague, is a Candidate School* for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorisation as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that ERUNI UGS believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorised by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorisation will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org.