← Back to the rankingIII Liceum Ogólnokształcące z Oddziałami Dwujęzycznymi im. Bohaterów Westerplatte w Gdańsku
Gdansk, Poland · est. 1945 · State
Illustration · Gdansk
III Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Bohaterów Westerplatte, known in Gdańsk as Topolówka after ul. Topolowa, is one of the city's oldest state licea. The building was built in 1912 for a real gymnasium founded in 1909 by professors of the Gdańsk Polytechnic, and the Polish school has worked there since 1 November 1945; in the 1980s Topolówka students were known for resisting the communist authorities. The IB Diploma Programme has run here since 2001. All classes of the liceum are bilingual with English; the international IB MYP class runs for two years, in grades 1-2, and then continues into the IB DP in grades 3-4, taught in English. The school's MYP is still at candidate stage, without IB authorisation yet. In May 2026 all 64 IB graduates received the diploma, with an average of 35 points out of 45. Students get help applying to universities abroad through the school's foreign education centre.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Polish, English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, French
About the fees It is a public school run by the City of Gdańsk; tuition is free. The statute describes the IB DP as additionally individually paid: IB students pay the IB exam fees set annually by the IB and buy a graphing calculator, textbooks and additional materials.
Admissions Grade 1 admits through the Pomeranian electronic admissions system by points for the egzamin ósmoklasisty and grades; all six classes are bilingual, so every candidate must take an English language competence test (60 minutes; on 8 June in 2026, resit on 29 June, applications by 29 May). Results from the test at V, X or XX LO in Gdańsk are also accepted; winners of the regional English competition are exempt. The IB MYP class is only for those who want to enter the IB DP from grade 3. From grade 2 MYP students move into grade 3 IB with an average of at least 4.5, conduct of at least very good, and completed Service as Action and Personal Project; others may apply to the head and take an interview in English. There is no external admission to grade 3 IB. IB DP study requires C1 English. For foreigners and Poles educated abroad the language policy offers English A instead of Polish literature.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-4 (liceum). A four-year liceum ogólnokształcące with the Polish curriculum and matura; all classes are bilingual with English: A economics (SGH patronage), B medical, C law and diplomacy, D polytechnic, and the IB MYP class. International track, IB School 001309: IB MYP (MYP 4-5) in grades 1-2 at candidate stage, with bilingual mathematics, biology, physics, geography, history, chemistry, Design, Arts and philosophy with an introduction to TOK; Personal Project and CAS are compulsory. IB Diploma Programme since 2001 in grades 3-4: Polish (Language A), English A, English B HL, German B and ab initio, French ab initio, Spanish ab initio; history, geography, economics, psychology; biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, Environmental Systems and Societies; mathematics; arts; TOK, CAS, Extended Essay. Second languages: German, Spanish, French.
Address ul. Topolowa 7, 80-255 Gdańsk (Wrzeszcz)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The IB track runs in the international classes of a Polish liceum: the Diploma in grades 3-4, alongside the Polish curriculum leading to the matura. For the Middle Years the school is a candidate.
school 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 →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
Average IB score
35 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma, May 2026: 64 graduates sat 505 exams and all received the diploma; average 35 points out of 45, average grade 5.49, top score 43 points.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Campus: Since 1912 the school has occupied a building on ul. Topolowa by the Jaśkowa Dolina park in Wrzeszcz; a wing with classrooms was added later. With help from the parents' council it has equipped two biology laboratories, an art studio with a ceramic kiln, a chemistry laboratory and a server room with internet throughout the school. There is an assembly hall, a gym, a reading room and a pavilion; swimming takes place in a city pool. The building is under video surveillance. It is a day school with no boarding.
Clubs and activities: TopoTeatr · TopoMusic Music Club · Public Speaking Club · School Debate Club · Oxford Debates in English · Gdańsk Model United Nations · Stańczyk Political Thought Club · Economics Club · School Business Club · Chemistry Club · Geography Club · Philosophy Club · History Club · Art Club · French Language Club · RPG Club · UNICEF Schools Club · Student Parliament · Volleyball · Basketball · Swimming Pool
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers80
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: The school says it has more than 80 teachers, most of them nauczyciele dyplomowani, and more than 50 are certified matura examiners.
The school gives its number of teachers as more than 80.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has two psychologists, a pedagogue and a special education pedagogue; it has adopted child protection standards, and the building is under video surveillance with regulations.
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 data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "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 8 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.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country