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History of the Mathematical High School

The Mathematical High School was established in 1966 and intended to house pupils with high abilities in mathematics and science. A group of outstanding professors after a thorough preparation and cooperation with the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Belgrade Department of Education realized their idea of opening a school for highly talented students. The man who gave the original idea and who arranged everything was Professor Vojin Dajovic, member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts. The School’s 56 original pupils gradually increased over two years until in 1968 the school building became too small. A move to the present building at 37, Narodnog fronta Street was the opportunity to expand into a four year high school. The curriculum introduced in the school year of 1975\76 emphasized the main purpose of the School and that is to support and educate students with above average abilities in mathematics and physics. Up to 1970 the School had two principals, Ranko Radovanovic, M.S. and Dusan Adnadjevic, PhD. The main figure of the School from 1970 to the very beginning of the new millennium was Professor Milan Raspopovic who was the principal during that period. Together with the students of the School he maintained and cherished its high reputation not only in our country but also abroad. The reputation of the School remained unblemished despite various reforms in our educational system. During the last educational reform and from 2001 to 2004 Professor Ljubomor Protic, PhD was at the head of our school and together with the teachers began an experiment of gathering young talents from primary schools in Serbia to continue their education in our school. The school has maintained constant cooperation with the Faculty of Mathematics in Belgrade, universities in the country and abroad and other scientific institutions and preserved modern organization and up to date teaching methods. This led to the remarkable success of our students on various competitions in and outside the country. As a result of these unmet achievements, the Ministry of Education decided to give the School a status of an experimental school in 1989. The main emphasis was placed on mathematics and computer science and thus a new curriculum was introduced. In 1995 the experiment ended and the Ministry of Education recognized the School as a School for talented students and gave it the status of a School of special national interest. For the results achieved in international competitions the School was awarded membership in the European Council of High Abilities (ECHA) in 1994. This organization was founded in 1987 in order to promote studying conditions of young talents. The school participated in three conferences focused on talents (The Netherlands in 1994, Belgium in 1995 and Austria in 1996).