| Gheorghe Lazăr National College Colegiul Național Gheorghe Lazăr | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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Regina Elisabeta Boulevard no. 48 | |
| Coordinates | 44°26′6.06″N26°5′24.73″E / 44.4350167°N 26.0902028°E /44.4350167; 26.0902028 |
| Information | |
| Funding type | Public |
| Established | 1860 |
| Founder | Gheorghe Lazăr |
| Status | Open |
| Category | High School |
| Grades | 5 to12 |
| Gender | coeducation |
| Age range | 10–19 |
| Enrollment | c. 1,200 |
| Average class size | 28 |
| Language | Romanian |
| Hours in school day | 5–7 |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Nickname | CNGL |
| Website | cnlazar |
TheGheorghe Lazăr National College (Romanian:Colegiul Național Gheorghe Lazăr) is a high school located in centralBucharest,Romania, at the southeast corner of theCișmigiu Gardens, on the corner of Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta. One of the most prestigious secondary education institutions in Romania, it was named after theTransylvanian educatorGheorghe Lazăr, who taught at theSaint Sava College. Founded in 1860, it is the second oldest high school in Bucharest.
On 18 January 1860,Alexandru Ioan Cuza founded the second gymnasium with teaching in Romanian in Bucharest and gave it the name ofGheorghe Lazăr, who "was the refounder of the nation's schools". The high school's anniversary has been celebrated from then on this date, when the school first opened its doors.[1]
The decree of the establishment of the high school bears the signature ofKingCarol I and the date 20 May 1890. In the autumn of 1890, the new place near theCișmigiu Gardens was inaugurated. The construction, designed by architect F. G. Muntureanu, who studied in England, is an architectural jewel of elegant sobriety, combining several styles: from theBrâncovenesc to theneoclassical English one. It is not by chance that the Lazăr High School has been compared to the Parisian high schools near theJardin du Luxembourg.
In 1931, the new wing of the high school was built at the initiative of the general assembly of parents, which allowed the development of new laboratories, the elegant amphitheatre, the semi-basement buffet. In theStalinist era, the high school suffered. First, it was given a number instead of its old name: it became Middle School No. 22. It shared the building with a new girls' school and in 1949 the high school was transferred, along with the archive and everything else (paintings by former directors, books, documents, commemorative plaques), at the former Spiru Haret High School. Mechanic Gheorghe Dinu saved from destruction the Book of Honor of the high school, hiding it in the attic of the school. In 1955 the ministry decided to return to the old name, the resumption of possession of the place and the establishment of mixed schools.
Some remarkable achievements of the 1990–1997 period are the radical strengthening the school's building under the administration of principal Nicolae Novac; the high school's affiliation withUNESCO (1992); twinning with the French high school "Jean Monnet" inJoué-lès-Tours; protocol initiated and consolidated by Professor Roxana Veleanovici (1991); and receiving the National College title (1995).[2][3]
From the mid-2010s the high school's motto has been "Pentru unii un liceu, pentru noi un mod de viață", meaning "For some a high school, for us a way of life". Previously it was "Acest liceu este făcut pentru învingătorii vieţii", meaning"This high school is made for life's victors".[4][5][6]
The motto of thestudent council is "Chaque enfant qu'on enseigne est un homme qu'on gagne", in English "Every child we teach is a person we win".[7][8]
The oldanthem of the high school, on a text by V. I. Păun and a song by G. Brătianu, was presented for the first time during the first celebration of the patron's commemoration on 18 January 1892. In 1910, on the occasion of the school's semicentennial, the high school orchestra and choir performed under the baton of Master Ion Costescu a new variant of the anthem, on the conductor's music.[9]