← Back to homeGimnazija Novo mesto
Novo mesto, Slovenia · est. 1746 · State
Illustration · Novo mesto
The oldest continuously operating school in Slovenia: the gimnazija was founded by Empress Maria Theresa in 1746, lessons began on 3 November of that year with sixty-six pupils, and in 2026 the school marks 280 years. Today it has 796 pupils in 31 classes, and the International Baccalaureate programme is only two classes out of the thirty-one, the third and fourth year of study; the rest follow the Slovene gimnazija programme, its sports stream, the classical gimnazija and the matura preparation course. The school has run the IB Diploma since 2021, graduating twenty a year, and in 2025 the average score of the cohort was 36.4 out of 45, every candidate received the diploma and one graduate scored the full 45 points. The entry condition is strict: age 16 or 17, the second year of a four-year secondary school completed and a grade of no less than "prav dobro" in the mother tongue, mathematics and English, with the mother tongue named in the school's own document as Slovene, Italian or Hungarian. The teaching side is set up more broadly than the admission gate: the school's language policy provides for language A "other languages" as a self-taught course and support for Slovene from scratch, Russian is taught in the gimnazija and stands as a separate line in the catalogue of extracurricular activities, of which the school counts sixty-three. The school does not publish a list of universities: all that is named is that from the IB cohort of 2025 three went to study in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan, and the rest entered Slovene universities.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · German language diploma · National programme
Languages of instruction
Slovene, English
Languages taught
Russian, German
About the fees The school does not name a tuition fee: it is a state school, its founder is the Republic of Slovenia, and there is no sum either on the pages of the International Baccalaureate programme, or on the admission page, or in the admission policy published in English. Only the accompanying payments are named: lunch at 4 euros, a usage charge for textbooks from the school textbook fund and parental contributions for activities that the school itself calls above-standard - excursions, workshops and trips. For families in difficulty the school fund reimburses these costs on application.
Admissions Admission to the International Baccalaureate programme is competitive, 22 places a year. The general conditions: "16 or 17 years of age", the second year of a four-year secondary school completed in the current school year with an overall grade of no less than "very good" and a grade of no less than "very good" (4) in "mother tongue (Slovene, Italian or Hungarian), Mathematics, English", plus active participation in culture, sport and subject olympiads. Selection is out of 100 points: attainment in the first and second year - 50, extracurricular activities - 10, research work and olympiads - 10, references from the form tutor and one further teacher - 10, the interview - 20. There is no entrance examination. The application is sent by registered post marked "Vpis v MM" by 13 March, a panel of three - the programme coordinator and two teachers - interviews every candidate in April, the decision is announced in May, enrolment follows at the end of June once the second year has been completed successfully, and where there are more candidates than places there is a waiting list. The school writes plainly that "The admission process starts in year 2 of the national programme (program gimnazija)", that is, admission directly from a school abroad is not provided for. Its own admission policy states that all four Slovene public schools with this programme select by the same general criteria: "All four Slovenian public schools that offer the IB Diploma Programme (Gimnazija Bežigrad, II. gimnazija Maribor, Gimnazija Kranj, and Gimnazija Novo mesto) select their candidates following the same general admission criteria and school-specific admission criteria". The admission page of II. gimnazija Maribor itself and its own admission policy word the same condition differently - simply "Mother tongue", with no list of languages. Both wordings are given as they stand. The school names no citizenship or residence permit requirements; in its annual plan, in the table of pupils by municipality of permanent residence, there is one line - "Rusija", one pupil. Admission to the first year of the gimnazija runs separately, in June, under the general Slovene procedure.
Stages and year groups Grades Gimnazija Years 1-4 (third and fourth year - IB DP); 31 classes: 20 general gimnazija, 4 sports, 4 classical gimnazija, 2 International Baccalaureate, 1 matura preparation course. Four years of gimnazija. The International Baccalaureate programme occupies the last two years and runs as two classes - 3mm and 4mm. Alongside it the school runs the Slovene gimnazija programme in general and sports classes, the classical gimnazija with Latin and a one-year matura preparation course. Number of places: For 2026/27 the school declares 140 places for the gimnazija, 28 for the classical gimnazija, 18 in the sports stream, 36 for the preparation course and 22 for the International Baccalaureate.
Address Seidlova cesta 9, 8000 Novo mesto
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeZfA · authorised programmeschool is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →ZfACentral Agency for German Schools Abroad
A German federal agency. It recognises a school as a German school abroad, funds it and grants the right to award the German leaving certificate. Quality is examined by a state inspection about once every six years, and schools that pass receive the mark of an excellent German school abroad.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →German language diploma
The Deutsches Sprachdiplom, the German language diploma. The federal agency ZfA grants a school the right to prepare pupils for this examination and to sit it; the conference of state education ministers oversees the work, and Germany signs the diploma. There are two levels: DSD I is B1, DSD II is C1, and the latter admits a holder to a German university without a further language examination.
What this means for this school. This is the right to run one language examination, not a school programme: the other subjects follow the national curriculum of the school's own country, and no inspection of the school as a whole stands behind the DSD. It does not lead to a German leaving certificate; that is awarded only by recognised German schools abroad, which hold a different recognition from the same agency.
National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Went on to university
100% of leavers
Average IB score
36.4 (world average 30.88)
Exam results The 2025 cohort on the International Baccalaureate programme is the third: twenty candidates sat the examinations, all of them received the diploma, the average score was 36.4 out of 45, three became gold graduates and one scored every point available. Converted to the Slovene scale the cohort gave 28.45 points, 28.65 after appeals; a year earlier it was 29.38, two years earlier 28.47. The Slovene general matura in the same year was sat in the spring session by 182 leavers, 177 of them successfully, that is 97.3 per cent, with an average result of 21.0 points against a Slovene average of 20.6; across both sessions the school names 98.4 per cent and five female leavers with 30 points and above. A separate page about the matura results is undated and gives different figures - 194 sitting, 181 successful, 93 per cent and 18.7 points. Both versions are given as they stand.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓LibraryLibrary with a reading room, an equipped study room and a printer, more than 70 titles of Slovene and foreign magazines, two daily newspapers, a reference collection, a collection classified by UDC and access to COBISS; the library is open from 7.00 to 15.00 and doubles as a hall for events, exhibitions and rehearsals.
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field
Campus: One building on Seidlova cesta 9, built in 1912 and thoroughly refurbished for the school's 250th anniversary; in 2012 a permanent exhibition on the history of the gimnazija opened in it. What is missing the school names itself: "Nujno potrebujemo novo športno dvorano ter urejeno igrišče" - and along with them a room for a serving kitchen, a dining hall and a small theatre hall. The school has no dining hall. Classrooms: 25 ordinary classrooms and 5 specialised ones for physics, chemistry, biology and computing. An atrium where lunches are served and matura results are announced, and a study room in the basement.
Clubs and activities (63): Choir · Orchestra · Drama, Goga · School literary magazine Stezice · Film season ticket · School evenings, GIMNM KANT · Reading club · Art · Cankar literary competitions · Russian · Ancient Greek · Latin readings · Debating club · Entrepreneurship · MEPI · Volunteering · Tutoring · Research projects · Mathematics weekend · Extra mathematics course · European Statistics Competition · Rubik's cube · 3D printing · Astronomy · Chemistry, KEMIK.SI · Science, NARAVOSLOV'C · Diabetes awareness · Eco quiz · Language camp in Klagenfurt · Exchange with a school in Spain · DSD I German language diploma · DSD II German language diploma · DELF French diploma · English reading badge · German reading badge · French reading badge · DILO Spanish competition · French pastry baking, Macaron d'Or · Book repair workshop · Mindfulness at school · Quiet thoughts · Critical Frames · Yoga and relaxation · Pilates · School chess championship · Football · Basketball · Volleyball · Football refereeing course · Wilderness weekends · Interact club · Coding days
Teaching staff from the school's official website
✓Teachers listed by namepublished
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: The school publishes a list of 79 teachers and staff by name with subject and form tutoring, and in its annual handbook the same body of staff arranged by subject department.
Leadership: Headteacher Mojca Lukšič, two deputies - Anita Nose and Vasja Jakše; International Baccalaureate coordinator Polonca Centa, EE coordinator Klara Šurla. Diploma programme teachers: For the IB cohorts of 2023-2025 the school names nine teachers with their subjects and the number of pupils each: Slovene A HL (20 pupils), English B HL (20), German B SL (5), Geography HL and SL (5 and 12), Psychology HL and SL (4 and 5), Biology HL and SL (5 and 14), Chemistry HL and SL (2 and 7), Math AA HL (8), Math AA SL (12). Besides the teachers the school employs three laboratory assistants, a librarian with an assistant, two members of the counselling service, a learning technology technician, a facilities manager, the accounts office and five cleaners; one teacher is seconded to work abroad. Subject departments: Teachers are grouped into subject departments for Slovene, mathematics and computing, English, German, Romance languages and Latin, history, geography, biology, chemistry, physics, social science, art and physical education.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical roomSystematic medical examinations for the first and third year of study.
✓CounsellorA counselling service of two members - Anica Kastelec and Petra Škof - sees pupils and parents, works on academic, behavioural and personal difficulties, careers guidance and transfers to other schools, and takes part in the working group on reducing drop-out and in drawing up individual programmes for pupils with special needs and for gifted pupils. The school has four teachers of psychology; one of them coordinates the research work of the International Baccalaureate programme. The prevention programme is set out year by year: in the first year a workshop "Mladi, varnost, nasilje in droge" with a police prevention officer, resuscitation training with an automated defibrillator, safe use of the internet with the organisation Logout, a medical examination with a lecture and the workshop "Če ne veš, vprašaj"; in the second year a prevention workshop on mental health; in the third year workshops on self-defence and non-violent values. In its annual handbook the school prints helpline numbers: its own counselling service, TOM - the telephone line for children and young people, the social work centre, the centre for the prevention and treatment of addiction, the association against sexual violence, SOS for women and children, the crisis centre for young people and the society "Življenje brez nasilja".
✓Child protection policyThe school does not publish a separate child protection policy; an Access and Inclusion Policy and an Academic Integrity Policy are posted in English. The person responsible for personal data protection is named - dr. Tatjana Novak.
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)82 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data90 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data90 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median80 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
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