People

Pürksi's manor house

Noarootsi Gümnaasium

We are located in the centre of a peninsula in the small village of Pürksi, which has beautiful scenery and nature, and is situated on the west coast of Estonia. It is 100 kilometres from Tallinn and 35 kilometres from Haapsalu if travelling on land. But just across the bay, Noarootsi is only a few kilometres from Haapsalu.

Teaching takes place in two buildings, a schoolhouse that was built at the end of the 1980's, and in the manor house, which is restored. Language lessons take place in the manor house and there are also two homeroom classes situated there. Between lessons you have to walk between the two buildings, which gives us the opportunity to breathe fresh air.

Students live in dormitory apartments with all the comforts and it is all for free. Most of the apartments in the village have student housing. At the school's cafeteria you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. During your free time you can study, visit other students, sit in the library or in the computer class, which are opened in the evenings as well.

The idea to establish Noarootsi Gümnaasium germinated in 1988. Support was obtained from the Swedish Estonian Culture Club and its sister organization in Finland. Through that connection the school got its first Swedish teacher, Virve Kuula. The first teaching aids in were also provided by Finland. The idea of establishing a school was also supported by the Estonian Education Minister, Rein Loik, the Lääne County Department of Education Director, Hannes Danilov, and the Lääne County Governor, Andres Lipstok.

Noarootsi Gümnaasium started on September 1, 1990 in the same building with Noarootsi School (grades 1-9). In the same year the restoration of Pürksi manor house began. In 1995, when it was finished, some of Noarootsi Gümnaasium's classrooms moved there.

The originality of Noarootsi Gymnasium lies with teaching Swedish and the Nordic culture. Studying in Finland and Sweden helps students to learn Swedish at a high level. The best students have the possibility to live and study in Sweden, Finland or Denmark for a year.

As of 2005, thirteen classes have graduated from Noarootsi Gümnaasium.

http://www.ng.edu.ee/eng/en.htm