The short history of the Ipari Technical Secondary School of the Veszprém Center of Technical Vocational Training

The school was established in 1949 as Technical Grammar School No. 17 with faculty for chemistry.

The predecessor of the new institution was the Vocational State School for Women in the Szeglethy Street, in the present day building of Padányi Bíró Márton Catholic School.

For the chemistry vocational training the building proved to be cramped, so in 1950 the students started the school year in the new school building in the Iskola Street, in the former convent of the Order of Congregation Jesu.

The name of the school was changed to Technical Secondary School of Chemistry No. 6. The “Vegyi” (Technical Secondary School of Chemistry) became one of the popular and well- established schools of the township of Veszprém.

At that time vocational training was offered in general and inorganic chemistry. There were four full-time teachers and several external-lecturers at the school.

In 1955 due to the high number of applicants, there was an entrance examination organized by the school. As a consequence of the increase in the number of students, in 1956 the existing laboratory spaces were not enough, so the school started to build further laboratories. The new laboratory wing was completed by 1958.

To satisfy industrial demands, in 1958 the vocational training for non-ferrous material processing (later renamed for aluminium processing) was launched. The 1960-s were the heydays of the “Vegyi”, there were 6-7 times more applicants over the quota, students from all over the country wanted to continue their studies at the school. As a result of this, by 1968 the school building was overcrowded. 70-75 percent of the students were boarding students; the dormitory in the school building became too small. After long planning and construction processes, the new and modern dormitory building was inaugurated. There was enough space to set up more classrooms, the staffroom was moved to its current place, the ceremonial hall was turned into a school library. The present-day inner structure of the school building evolved at that time.

From 1969 in a phasing-out- system the technician training was transformed into secondary school vocational training. Graduating students received general certificate of education instead of technician certification. This lowered the reputation of the school. Therefore, the number of students enrolled in chemistry training decreased, and the number of students enrolled in aluminium processing training increased.

From 1978 the situation of the chemists got worse, the secondary school training was transformed into vocational school training, classes for chemical manufacturers and chemical analysts were launched and the vocational certificate was even less appealing for the students. In 1985 the technician training for chemists was reintroduced.

In 1981 training for telecommunication technicians was introduced. Due to the increase in the number of students and the lack of space, a new wing was added to the existing school building. In 1983 our school got the first four computers and a special classroom for computer studies was also set up at that time. All the students had the opportunity to use these computers as their timetables included one IT class per week.

With the regime change and the liquidation of the large- scale industrial plants things got worse for the institution, there was time for a change. The vocational training courses offered by the school became outdated. The project launched and sponsored by The World Bank was a breakthrough point for the school. In 1992 aluminium processing training was replaced by metal industry training, and one year later it was changed to mechanical engineering.

In 1993 telecommunication training courses were transformed into information technology training courses. The training courses for chemistry remained, only the curriculum changed. In 1995 environmental protection, the latest training course sponsored by the World Bank was introduced.

Parallel with these changes the profile of the school had also been also expanded. High interest in ordinary secondary school classes induced their introduction in 1992. The name of the school was changed to Ipari Technical Secondary School and Grammar School. From 1998, sports classes specialised in handball were also launched. Our school became one of the bases of the Handball Academy of MKB Veszprém.

In 2012 the decision was made about the discontinuation of grammar school classes. The last grammar school class sat for the CCSE at the end of the school year 2016/2017. The discontinued grammar school classes were replaced by new technical secondary school classes. In 2013 classes for mechatronics, in 2014 classes for plastic processing technicians were introduced. In 2016 a special class for early childhood educators was launched, with a preparatory school year of intensive language training in English and German. The organ of governance of the school was the township of Veszprém, then the Klebersberg Institution Maintenance Center (KLIK), finally from July 1st 2015 the Veszprém Center of Technical Vocational Training.

At the moment the profile of our school is pure technical secondary school, in 6 industrial branches such as: chemistry, special vehicles and machine manufacturing, information and telecommunication, social sector, environmental protection and mechanical engineering. There are 7 vocational training courses offered: chemistry technician, plastic processing technician, mechatronics engineering technician, software developer and tester, early childhood educator, environmental protection technician and machine manufacturing technician) With nearly 900 students, our school is the biggest vocational training institution of Veszprém County.

The nationwide PISA - survey found our students above average both in mathematics and reading comprehension, moreover our secondary school students proved to be among the best ones. For years, there have only been 4-5 institutions with significantly better results. The average of the GCSE is regularly over 3, 6, and the vocational training exam results for classes are over 4,00. In the last 10 years, at the various national academic competitions our students had more than 30 first places. These were mainly vocational training competitions. There are also podium places in general education school subjects. In 2019 according to the ranking of legjobbiskola.hu, our school was the 16th best technical secondary schools nationwide. Our motivated and highly innovative educators have notably contributed to these. academic achievements. Our school has full-time teaching staff for general education school subjects, but it is difficult to find well-prepared educators for some of our vocational courses. The high standard of education at our school is supported by high quality IKT devices in considerable quantity. The students are able to access the Wi-Fi network of our school and they can use their smart devices in classes. The vocational training rooms are equipped with machines and tools to meet the professional requirements of the 21 century.

What really matters is, that our students like it here.

The former headmasters of our school in chronological order: