Preparation Programme for the National Exams
1st Grade
Τhe dawn of preparation for University
The initial grade of the senior high school is the adaptation phase to the requirements of the new senior high school and students need to acquire the necessary background for their later development. Considering the learning needs of our students, the implementation of the Curriculum seeks to:
- Create a knowledge background in the courses: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Ancient Greek, Modern Greek
- Strengthen critical thinking and creativity (with various activities and complex tasks)
- Familiarise students with the new assessment methods.
In this context, students are required to take written exams with frequent quizzes and tests that reinforce them in order to deepen their knowledge of fundamental subjects, which are considered as pre-requisites for the National Exams. In this way, they enter the Orientation Group phase and become aware of their aptitudes and qualities.
2nd Grade
The initial stage of the final attempt
In this grade:
- The student’s compositional ability is stabilised and refined
- The student organizes and understands in depth the course material, which is the subject of examination not only at the school level but also for admission to University Education.
- The student moves towards the path of the National Exams by starting the preparation for the 3rd grade in selected subjects, while regularly taking part in simulation exams.
The internal editions of the Senior High School of the Kotronis Schools and the grade costumized notes and lectures are the means to achieve this goal. Our students eventually get into selected courses, which will possibly determine which school they will be accepted into. The collaboration with the Teacher Advisor, but also with specialized staff of the Counseling & Career Guidance Department of the Schools leads to this result.
3rd Grade
The reward
The preparation for the final line leading to the National Exams begins for all students who wish to do so at an increased pace. The goals of this class are:
- Complete, methodical and timely coverage of the material
- The immediate identification of students’ needs in order to provide them with additional lessons and additional material
- The mental preparation for the exams
- Comprehensive preparation for the exam topics
- The participation of students in simulation tests, in order to familiarize them with the process of the Panhellenic Examinations.
- Reinforcement Tutoring Programme
The Senior High School of the Kotronis Schools in the context of strengthening and reinforcing students’ learning, implements the following actions:
- Revision lessons: They are held prior to the beginning of the academic year and are addressed to students who want to catch up in basic subjects related to the preparation for the National Exams or Foreign Languages.
- Extended Educational Programme courses: within the framework of the Extended Educational Programme, those students who wish to do so can join the intensive classes of reinforcement teaching and study that operate as a Tutorial Zone for methodical preparation for all three grades of the Senior High School in the basic courses that are the subject of the National Exams.
- Personalised Reinforcement Teaching: It is conducted by teachers in the basic courses, which are the subject of the National Exams, for students who wish to solve questions or seek to cover learning needs.
- Summer Intensive Preparation Courses: We have established the summer intensive preparation for the courses that are the subject of the National Exams, after the end of the May-June preliminary examinations with a duration of five weeks, for students of the third grade.
- Voluntary Teaching: It is performed by excelling senior high school students for junior high school students under the supervision and support of their corresponding teachers.
- Information Technology and New Technologies-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics)
Digital Education and the integration of STEM philosophy in senior high school is a priority. Any technological development that can help young people on their journey to knowledge is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the school curriculum and works in a realistic way to benefit students’ education by creatively involving them in learning computing environments.
Programming is one of the most important subjects in global educational strategy and the most important skill in the Western world. Its inclusion in both the Basic and Extended Senior High School Curriculum aims to keep students in constant contact with digital technology, introduce them to algorithmic programming and develop their practical thinking.
- Foreign Languages
In senior high school, the learning cycle of foreign languages (English, French, German) is completed. The students of the senior high school prepare for the exams for the certification of language diplomas, aiming to obtain them in the first grade, in order to be able to prepare for the National Exams in the second and third grades. At the same time, if they are interested in being admitted to Academic Departments of Foreign Languages, the formation of dedicated preparation classes for them is ensured.
- Culture
In senior high school, fine arts, theatre and music are promoted in order to engage and involve all our students, not just those who are already gifted. We seek to familiarize students with literature in order to promote language proficiency, self-awareness and human knowledge. During the educational visits, the subjects with which the students are involved with are combined with the place of visit, implementing interdisciplinary activities. In multi-day excursions, the place is chosen according to its history, its museums and its ecological interest.
Our students are encouraged to participate in theatrical performances and musical ensembles and bands, in the context of a variety of events inside and outside the school, and often in collaboration with arts professionals. Through the collective experience of meanings and values, cooperation, responsibility, dialogue, respect for difference, critical thinking, expressive ability, imagination, creativity and self-expression, students develop a love for art and culture and acquire the skills to participate actively in general cultural developments.
- Physical Education and Sports
Physical Education aims to help the student to refine his/her skills in order to participate effectively in physical activities that suit his/her interests and to adapt to different tactics in team sports with responsibility, empathy and teamwork. It is the concern of the school teachers at this level to provide students with the opportunity for entertainment and temporary recess and to participate in leagues and competitions through competitive activities of the school’s representative teams.
- Interdisciplinary Co-teaching
They aim at the active participation and involvement of all students in the learning process and academic improvement through an enhanced approach to knowledge. Depending on the working group of teachers and the subject material, co-teaching sessions are organised either for bilingual teaching or for an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge.
- Innovative Educational Programmes and Activities
Seeking to give our students the opportunity to process and discover the world by following their own paths, we implement educational programmes of an interdisciplinary approach, which provide them with the opportunity to investigate, observe, discover, solve problems, analyse and formulate their thinking, craft, create, express and interact, travel and reflect in an experiential way.
The educational programmes are based on the broader approach of shaping future responsible citizens, through topics related to Digital Technology, Sustainability, Natural Sciences, Culture, Economy, Active Citizenship, Road Safety, Respect for Diversity, Multiculturalism, Health, etc. In this context, the following educational activities are implemented:
- Design and implementation of innovative research projects / activities and participation in national student conferences and competitions
- Environmental Education & Cultural Activities Programmes
- Youth Parliament
- Panhellenic Forensics Association Tournament (PFAt)
- Programs using Digital Technology (Educational Robotics, Coding, 3D Printing Software, Computer Aided Design Software, Computational Fluid Dynamics Software etc.).
- European Projects
The senior high school of the Kotronis Schools prepares its students for the decisive role of active and conscious citizens of tomorrow (global citizens), in order to be successful in a global environment, such as the one that is taking shape today. With this in mind, it encourages their participation in a number of national, European and international programmes such as:
- European Parliament model
- European Youth Parliament (Ε.Κ.Ν. – E.Y.P.)
- European Parliament Euroscola programme, Strasbourg, France.
- International Student Conference, Istanbul, Turkey
- World Robot Olympiad
- eTwinning, Comenius Programmes
- Schools – Defenders of Children (Unicef)
- Partnerships, Twinning and Exchanges with schools abroad