Studying in Bulgaria

The school year begins on 15 September, and children finish at different times: the youngest on 1 June, pre-gymnasium pupils on 15 June, and senior pupils study until the end of June.

Parents of foreign children used to have to pay 800 euros a year for schooling (except in a few regions of Bulgaria), but since 2014 schooling in state schools has been free for everyone. Collecting money from parents for repairs, gifts and everything else is not customary in Bulgarian schools: usually the matter is limited to buying some textbooks yourself, plus a small contribution to the board of trustees.

Teaching is conducted, naturally, in the state language and according to the Bulgarian curriculum. There is no need to fear this: children adapt quickly and learn to speak Bulgarian within a few months. In many Bulgarian schools Russian is studied as a foreign language (most often as a second foreign language, with English as the first). As a result, children know Bulgarian perfectly well, but with their native language things are sadder: problems with spelling and grammar are possible, even if the child speaks exclusively Russian at home. Such difficulties arise especially often in children who read little in their native language. There are several solutions to the problem: lessons with tutors, home schooling or studying at a Russian school.

Russian schools in Bulgaria

A Russian school using the Russian curriculum, teaching in Russian and issuing a Russian-format certificate, used to be the only one of its kind in Bulgaria — at the Russian Embassy in the capital. For the children of diplomats and of people working in Bulgaria under international contracts, schooling there is free; everyone else can study for a fee. In 2015 a second Russian school opened in Burgas, where tuition is paid for everyone.

In Varna, where, as in Burgas, many Russian speakers live, there are Bulgarian schools that teach in the state language but study Russian in depth from the first grade. These are the private school “The Little Prince” and the A. S. Pushkin School. Of course, studying at a school with in-depth language study is harder than at an ordinary one, but the result is worth it — the child will be able not only to speak but also to write correctly in Russian.

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