Aprilov National High School

The Aprilov National High School in Gabrovo is the first modern secular school in Bulgaria. It was opened on 2 January 1835, when Bulgaria was still part of the Ottoman Empire, with the financial help of Vasil Aprilov, Nikolay Palauzov, Vasil Rasheev and other wealthy Bulgarians and was based on the Bell-Lancaster method.

The April High School was established during the Bulgarian Renaissance as the first Bulgarian high school. Its origins and development are inextricably linked with the ideas, activities and generosity of the ideologue of modern Bulgarian education Vasil Aprilov. The school is the first modern Bulgarian secular school and gave impetus to the opening of similar schools in other cities in the Bulgarian lands. Its graduates are some of the most prominent Revival educators such as Neofit Rilski, Joseph Kovachev, Kalist Lukov, Tsvetan Semerdzhiev, etc. The school was public and free for children from all over the country. With the help and donation of Vasil Aprilov and his closest associate and supporter Nikolay Palauzov, on April 24, 1840, the first public school library was established. In 1857, another prominent Revival activist, a graduate of the school and an Aprilov scholarship holder, Todor Burmov, reformed the curricula and the school moved into the next educational level – a class school. Only 10 years later, in 1867, the teacher Yosif Kovachev introduced the teaching of the “sound method” for the first time.

Meanwhile, the construction of a special school building was in progress. During his visit to Gabrovo in the summer of 1847, Vasil Aprilov opened a subscription list to raise funds for the construction. The building was built in several stages. The building was finally completed after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1880–1881, when its middle part was finished and a number of structural improvements were made. However, on August 26, 1873 the high school moved to a new place and thus became the first school to have its own, specially built building. The class of 1873 was the first complete class to graduate from the school.

The inherited tradition, the good teachers and the material base enabled the school to keep its position as one of the most elite in the country even after the Liberation. On August 12, 1878, the high school was declared state-owned. A little later, on July 20, 1889, on the occasion of the solemn celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vasil Aprilov, it adopted the name “State Men’s Aprilov High School”. The school’s staff consisted of prominent pedagogues, specialists and public figures. At the school they expand their pedagogical experience and had the opportunity to implement new educational ideas. Some of them were authors and translators of text- and handbooks. The high school drew students from all over Bulgaria. According to data for the first four school years after the Liberation, it was the largest secondary school in the country. More than 183 of the students came from lands outside of Bulgaria’s borders. Among its graduates are some of the leading Bulgarian intellectuals and public figures such as Aleko Konstantinov, Nikola Mihov, Stoyan Romanski, Anastas Ishirkov, Petko Staynov and others. As early as September, 1916, the high school became mixed.

In 1988, the school acquired a new status, becoming a high school with a humanitarian profile, which studies subjects such as literature, history, philosophy and arts. Initially, the program contained elements of classical education such as the study of Old Bulgarian and Latin, the history of culture and the history of philosophy. A few years later, the study of ancient languages dropped out of the program with the aim that the foreign language profile is strengthened.

n 1992, after its transformation into a state school, it received its current name, the National Aprilov High School. At that time the Aprilov High School was housed in the building of the Mathematical High School. In 1996, a decision was made by the Gabrovo Municipal Council to return the school to its historic building in the city center, which for the previous few decades housed the National Museum of Education, founded in 1973. On February 9, 1998, the President Petar Stoyanov together with the mayor Nikolay Dachev inaugurated the renovated historical building of the Aprilov High School. This happened after a 25-year interruption of school activities in this building. From 1992 to 1996 the two institutions were administratively merged under the name National Aprilov High School with a museum of education. This merger has been terminated. The museum is still housed in the west wing of the same building.

The school is ranked among the most elite secondary schools in the Bulgaria. Over the years, graduates of the school have been winners of prestigious national and international student competitions. According to data, 95% of the school’s graduates continue their education in universities.