A little bit about history of our school
Mensa gymnázium o.p.s. is a non-profit organization. It was founded in 1993 by a group of parents including Kateřina Havlíčková under the name of Buďánka eight-year secondary school programme. Their aim was to provide education for children who did not fit in the traditional school system due to their abilities and who need a greater care. From the very beginning the aim was to create a Mensa secondary grammar school yet due to the Czech legislation system it was not possible for civic associations to run schools so Kateřina Havlíčková became the founder/owner of the school. Since 1996 the school is run by Mensa Czech as in that year it started to be possible in Czech legislation for a civic association to run a school. The connection of our school and Mensa Czech has been very strong since the very beginning. The students could choose from up to 60 optional courses and free-time activities including subjects such as interesting mathematics, Dungeon & Dragons and many others which were mostly led be Mensa members. The current management of both our school and Mensa Czech are looking for ways to enhance the schools connection to Mensa by joint organization of free time activities such as lectures, courses and even weekend trips. The name "Buďánka" is to commemorate that in its beginnings our school was in the building of a free-time center for the youth called Na Buďánce.
One of the notable people who were part of the school management in the 1990s was PaedDr. Tomáš Houška who is the author of multiple books for teachers about new approaches to education. He was a propagator of individual approach to students at our school. His leadership allowed for a great measure of student freedom and also made it possible for them to be involved in the day to day running of the school. During that time the school was one of the most prestigious schools in the Czech Republic. Both Mensa Czech and current school management strive to continue this tradition even in spite of growing competition in the school market.
