← Back to homeSpojená škola Novohradská
Bratislava, Slovakia · est. 1959 · State
Illustration · Bratislava
Spojená škola Novohradská is a state joint school in central Bratislava: the primary school ZŠ Košická (since 1963) and Gymnázium Jura Hronca (since 1959), merged in 2005. The school calls itself the only state school in Slovakia offering the IB Diploma and the only one in the country with all three IB programmes: PYP, MYP and DP. The Diploma Programme has run since 1994, PYP and MYP since 2005. Alongside IB there are national streams: four-year and eight-year gymnasium in Slovak and a five-year Slovak-English bilingual gymnasium. The school has more than 1200 students. The language of instruction depends on the stream: the English section of PYP, MYP and the IB Diploma are taught in English; the Slovak PYP section, the primary school and the national gymnasium in Slovak. IB graduates, the school says, go on to Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and other universities.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Slovak, English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, French
Students
more than 1200 students; the school curriculum document gives about 1191
Class size
up to 20 pupils in the first English PYP class; about 24 new students a year in the IB Diploma plus students from MYP
About the fees A state school. In its IB Diploma admissions notice it writes: 'Za štúdium tohto prestížneho medzinárodného programu u nás študenti neplatia (na rozdiel od privátnych škôl)' - students pay nothing for this programme, unlike at private schools. No separate fee for PYP and MYP appears on the site either.
Admissions The English PYP section admits children who turn 6 by the end of August: selection tests listening, visual memory, logic and English, and the school takes the best 20. The gymnasium admits by exams in mathematics and Slovak: for 2026-2027, 60 places in the four-year, 30 in the five-year bilingual and 30 in the eight-year stream. The IB Diploma takes students from the 2nd and 3rd year of the four-year gymnasium, the 3rd and 4th year of the bilingual stream and the matching years of the eight-year stream: written exams in English (70 minutes) and mathematics (60 minutes) plus an interview, about 24 places; the other half of the class comes from MYP. On foreign students: 'Admission of the students from other countries is based on the bilateral agreements of the Slovakian government and the government of the particular country', and 'For 32 years, talented students from the whole of Slovakia and from abroad' have taken the last two years here. There is no own boarding house; the school has long cooperated with a school dormitory.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-13. Primary: PYP in two sections, Slovak and English (one first-year English class a year), then ZŠ Košická in Slovak and MYP in English. Gymnasium: four-year and eight-year in Slovak, five-year Slovak-English bilingual, and the two-year IB Diploma Programme in English in the final two years. IB classes (PYP, MYP, DP) total 15. DP subjects: Slovak and English A, English, German and Spanish B, psychology, history, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, mathematics.
Address Novohradská 3, 821 09 Bratislava
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists three programmes at the school: the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. It is a Slovak state school: its English-language IB section runs alongside the national classes, and students pay nothing for the IB Diploma.
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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. 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
Where leavers go: University of Oxford · University of Cambridge · Harvard University · Princeton University · Yale University · MIT · Caltech · Emory University · University of Bremen · Sorbonne University · Imperial College London · UCL
The school says 99% of IB graduates enter university, mostly their first choice.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Campus: 51 classrooms, laboratories, computer rooms, two libraries, gyms, art studio, music room, canteen, renovated sports grounds with a running track and multipurpose courts, a new courtyard and a playground, after-school club.
Clubs and activities: BratMUN · DofE · CISCO Academy · Korešpondenčný seminár z matematiky · Spring Festival · TOK Week
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
✓Number of teachers31
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
The IB Diploma staff page lists 31 people, including at least three native English speakers: Alec Carter, Tor Lindbloom and Deanna Patricia Pizzitelli.
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 roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has a school support team; the IB programme has a special educational needs policy and an academic honesty policy.
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%)95 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data76 "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