Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera (commonly abbreviated as GChD) is a public secondary school located in the Malá Strana district of Prague, Czech Republic. The school offers both 4-year and 8-year study programs, and students can specialize in mathematics and physics or in foreign languages.

History The secondary school was founded in September 1953 as the 14th 11-year secondary school by unification of the 3rd national school, the 4th national school, the 3rd high school, and a language-oriented high school in Slezská street.Chaotické záznamy o historii CChD (student website) (The term "national school" originally referred to what is now called the first level of primary school, and the term secondary school referred to what is now called the second level of primary school.) The school was formerly located in Wilhelma Piecka street (1990 renamed to Korunní) in Vinohrady, in the building of today's Archbishop Gymnázium.

In 1990, due to the renaming of the street, the school's name Gymnázium Wilhelma Piecka (informally called Píkárna) was changed to Gymnázium Korunní. When the building had to be abandoned for the Archbishop Gymnázium in 1993, the school moved to the building of a former industrial secondary school in Zborovská street, which in turn moved to a new building in Pankrác in 1993 and was renamed as Gymnázium Zborovská.

For long-lasting excellent results in physics competitions, on January 1, 1999 the school received its current name, honoring the 19th-century physicist Christian Doppler known for his discovery of the Doppler effect. The school currently has the status of a faculty school of the Faculty of Science, Charles University and the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University.

In 1998, doc. RNDr. Zdeněk Kluiber, a science popularizer who had been teaching physics at the school since 1990, was appointed as the principal. Under his supervision, preparatory courses for Grade 9 students were established, including FYGYK, later renamed as FYGYZ. The course has been gradually transformed into a series of lectures for primary school students on a variety of topics from mathematics, physics, and computer science. Apart from FYGYZ, the students organize science competitions Pražská střela and Dopplerova vlna.

The present Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera offers 4-year and 8-year study programs ended with the Maturita exam. Every year GChD opens one 4-year class of the educational field 79-41-K/41 Gymnázium - Per partes ad astra focused on mathematics (with a further focus on physics and computer science), one 8-year class of the educational field 79-41-K/81 Gymnázium - Myslím, tedy jsem focused on mathematics (with a further focus on physics and computer science), and one 8-year class of the educational field 79-41-K/81 Gymnázium - Cizí jazyky – brána do světa focused on foreign languages. Every class has a maximum capacity of 30 students.

The mathematics part of the exit exam comprises a 4-hour written examJ. Zhouf: Písemné maturitní zkoušky do gymnaziálních tříd se zaměřením na matematiku (which is created by Doc. RNDr. Jaroslav Zhouf, PhD, a member of the Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Education of the Faculty of Education, Charles University), and an oral exam. Students of all three programs are required to study at least two foreign languages at the B2 or C1 SERR levels. Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera is a Deutsches Sprachdiplom-certified school. The diploma (equivalent to the C1 level within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is awarded to the students of the language classes.

The school resides in an 1896 building which has been reconstructed several times during the last few years (building of a new dining hall, modernization of computer equipment).

International Competitions In past years (since 2006), students of Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera won the following prizes:

International Physics Olympiad 2013: Lubomír GrundSilver Medalists at IPhO 2013 – Silver medal

2012: Lubomír GrundIPhO Estonia 2012 – Silver medalists – Silver medal

2010: Jáchym SýkoraGold Medals – 41st International Physics Olympiad – Croatia 2010 – Gold medal

2009: Jáchym Sýkora – Bronze medal

2006: Radek ŽlebčíkThe 37th International Physics Olympiad 2006 – Bronze medal

Middle European Mathematical Olympiad 2012: Lubomír Grund6th Middle European Mathematical Olympiad, Solothurn 2012, Switzerland – Bronze medal

2011: Lubomír Grund5th Middle European Mathematical Olympiad, Varaždin 2011, Croatia – Honorable mention

2009: Radek MarciňaThe 3rd Middle European Mathematical Olympiad – Bronze medal

International Mathematical Olympiad 2010: Jáchym SýkoraInternational Mathematical Olympiad - Czech Republic – Honorable mention

2010: Radek Marciňa – Honorable mention

International Astronomy Olympiad 2008: Jana SmutnáXIII International Astronomy Olympiad – Winners and prizewinners of the Olympiad – Bronze medal

2008: Tereza KroupováWebsite of the Czech Astronomical Society – Honorable mention

2007: Jana SmutnáWebsite of the Czech Astronomical Society – Honorable mention

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2014: Aranka Hrušková – Silver Medal

Notable alumni Jan Fischer – politician, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Karel Janečekhttp://www.kareljanecek.com/cs-CS/o-mne – mathematician and philanthropist; founder and chief executive of RSJ Algorithmic Trading Josef Lustig – director and writer; production assistant to Miloš Forman Martin MyšičkaRozhovor s Martinem Myšičkou - Czech actor, member of Dejvické divadlo (The Dejvice Theatre) David NavaraDavid Navara's blog at praguechess.cz – highest-ranked Czech chess player

Universities Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera ranks among the most successful Czech high schools in terms of the percentage of graduates admitted to universities and colleges.Kde bytní mozky (E15.cz) GChD graduates attend – among others – the following universities:

Charles University in PragueStipendium Georga Placzeka Czech Technical University in Prague Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague University of Economics, Prague Harvard University Imperial College LondonOxbridge Admissions University College London University of CambridgeZdeněk Bakala Foundation – Our Students (2010)Zdeněk Bakala Foundation – Our Students (2011) University of St Andrews University of Glasgow

References

External links

Official website of Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera Student web of Gymnázium Christiana Dopplera Teachers' websites: Petr Pudivítr Ondřej Machů