Sylvia May Interview

It would be easy to miss the English International School. Tucked away in Libuš, a far corner of Prague 4, and dwarfed by the panel-blocks surrounding it, the building looks small and inconspicuous. But appearances can be deceptive. The school, which has an intake of children from 18 months to 15 years and currently has pupils from 20 countries on its roll, plays an important role in the life of Prague´s expat community.

What´s more, these are important times for EISP – this year it celebrates its 10th anniversary, and will mark the occasion with a series of events. And in 2007 it will move to a purpose-built complex at a site nearby. Despite the changes afoot, Sylvia May, the head teacher since 2001, said that the school “feels like a real little English primary and middle school,” and she said this is one of its strengths.

May believes that because of its relatively small size EISP manages to be like a “family” while being thoroughly international. Pupils come from several English-speaking nations, as well as other countries as far apart as Kazakhstan and Brazil. There is also a sizeable number of Czechs (currently 35%) on the roll.

And it was Czechs that actually started up the school in its original form. Thirteen years ago a group of English teachers who worked at a private British school were unhappy with the teaching methods there and decided to set up their own English-language nursery school. They approached Radka Procházková, Director of Accent Language School for help. Originally it was called the English School and was focussed on language teaching rather than offering a full curriculum in English.

Later, as the school began to grow and expats continued to arrive, the teachers realized there was a demand for a formal curriculum and they moved to the current site. At that time there were 18 pupils, and when the school moved to the new site the Radka Procházková approached Nord Anglia Education, a UK-based firm operating network of private schools throughout the world, to find out whether this company could help the English School become a proper international school. “At that point it had gone past being just a normal school for learning English,” said Sylvia May. Nord Anglia was interested and the school became part of the company´s network in 1995, becoming the English International School, Prague. Since then it has continued to grow, and now has a roll of 200.

Pre-school children learn at the Green House, a separate facility also in Prague 4, which was set up in 1998 to provide care and learning for toddlers through the Early Learning Goals and Foundation Stages of the British National Curriculum up to Reception age children (age 5). At the Green House the children learn the skills that will provide the basis for the next stage of education, which takes place at the main school facility in Libuš. Here, teaching is based on the National Curriculum, and next year will see the first batch of pupils taking their IGCSE examinations, the national examination taken by pupils at the end of their fifth year of secondary school.

EISP has continued to enjoy success, with “word of mouth being our most effective marketing method” said Mrs May, who added that expats.cz has also been an important means of marketing. As a result of the demand for space and facilities, as well as in recognition that the pupils “wanted to be in a different environment”, the EISP will move to a new site, close to the existing school in Libuš, in 2007. Despite the changes, Sylvia May is keen to preserve the family atmosphere and spirit of the existing school in Libuš. “I want to keep that at the new school,” she said.

And before the move takes place the school has a series of 10th anniversary events to look forward to, including a 10km walk in the summer and the creation of a series of ceramic tiles which will be incorporated into the new school building. May explained that she wanted to “capture the life of the school at a particular time”. She added that charity events, which are frequently held at the school, would also be a part of the celebrations.

Sylvia May, who hails from the United Kingdom, is also celebrating her own anniversary, having been in Prague for exactly five years now. Although she has lived abroad for a large part of her life and is used to travelling, she said, “Home is wherever I am living at the moment.”

She has spent 27 years in teaching, of which half were spent in the UK. She has also worked in Germany, Hong Kong and Brazil among other places. After spending several years abroad the EISP director wanted to be back in the UK. “I wanted to be with kids and to get hands on experience again,” she said. While back Britain May saw an advertisement for the post of head teacher at the EISP. She applied and was successful, arriving in Prague January 2001.

May outlined what parents could expect from the school in terms of its values. She stressed the fact that although the EISP was not the biggest of the Prague international schools, this could be an advantage because “the family feel is our ethos.” We are a really caring school. We care about our children, and I know each of them,” she said.

Another aspect of the school philosophy was to encourage children to think for themselves. “We want them to take risks – in a safe environment,” she explained, whether risk means pupils taking part in drama performances in public or telling teachers they don´t understand something and to feel confident about doing so. But May said that she wanted the pupils to question things and be confident while at the same time respecting the teachers as well as their fellow pupils.

She also stated that this corresponded with the child-centred approach adopted at the school, and the overall emphasis was on the three ‘rs´- respect, responsibility and relationships. “This is the basis of what we do,” she explained.