The high school in Põlva, in southeastern Estonia, aims to reduce its carbon footprint and empower its pupils to become "active citizens".
Pupils at the Põlva Gümnaasium, a high school in southeastern Estonia, enjoy an exemplary learning environment. Thanks to a project supported by the European Cohesion Policy, the school was completely rebuilt in 2016 with sustainable solutions, making it the first nearly energy-neutral school in the country.
In the midst of Europe's energy crisis, the way the building operates means it consumes very little gas, electricity and water.
A different kind of teaching
But beyond its low-carbon performance, teacher Marit Oimet says the school wants to empower students with its fresh approach to education.
"The way we teach here, the way the students are learning, is different. It's built up differently than most...schools. When they have either 45-minute classes, we have 70-minute classes. So the teacher actually has time to go through... the topic. And we also have, every day, a long break in between the classes that we call 'useful times'.
Helping students become 'active citizens'
"We have a wide range of guest speakers," Marit explained. "From talking about upcycling, talking about nature, talking about volunteer work, talking about different jobs that exist in the world."
"So it's just to widen the point of view for the students. So I think we're really helping them to become active citizens, not just in the class but in a real life," she added.
Mental health day
"We think it's really important to empower the young people. For instance, they have a lot of freedom in a sense, when they want a plan to run an activity on a special theme or topic," Marit Oimet revealed.
"For instance, last year, students came to us saying that they would like to have a day that is concentrating on mental health. And we were like, Yeah, sure, what you want to have there?"
"And then we collected their ideas, put the plan together, and we had a mental health day. So yes, we try to engage them as much as possible and we keep telling them that this school is a school and as interesting as you make it to be," she concluded.