Education

Ayia Varvara Primary School

The primary school is located west of the village, next to the central road leasing to Mathiatis,

The school was established in 1880, during the English domination of the island.

Before that, namely during the Turkish domination, the nearest school was in Lympia, a village located ten kilometers away from Ayia Varvara. They they were taught how to read, to write and calculate by the priest of the village.

In 1880,as mentioned earlier, the primary school was established in Ayia Varvara. It was roofed in a hall with three rooms, in the parvis of the church.

Since 1917, all boys went to one school and all girls to another. The number of the students in both schools reached fifty to seventy eight.

1947 is considered a turning point as far as schooling in Ayia Varvara is concerned. To be more specific, the first building of the primary school is constructed on land donated by the church. The school consisted of two teaching halls and an office.

Five years later, in 1952, an increase of students was noted and this led to the construction of two more teaching halls. Two additional halls were constructed in 1988, when the number of students increased significantly. At this point the halls of the school were built in a parallel manner. In 2002 three more halls were added and this resulted to the current shape of the school building, the π shape.

In 2005along with the measures in case of earthquakes came the betterment of the halls, the storage rooms, toilettes, and the school yard. The structure of the school building was restored so as to protect its one hundred and thirty students and to promote their learning through modern methods of teaching.

The Primary School is without a doubt a knowledge nursery. This is where all future free and democratic citizens are formed and this is where they learn how to contribute for the general development of Ayia Varvara.

Source:
Ayia Varvara Community Council