The  Gymnasium and Lyceum of Michal Kosmowski continues the tradition of the school stated by abbot bishop Michal Kosmowski. The school was opened in 1776 and belongs to the group of the oldest secondary schools in Poland.

 Presently almost 900 students from the ages of 13-19 attend the school. The Gymnasium is an obligatory school whereas the Lyceum is attended only by those who wish to continue their education, and a matura examination is usually taken when they finish.

 Among their students and graduates are many well-known people such as Franz Mertens, Hipolit Cegielski, Jedrzej Sniadecki, and General Marian Langiewicz, for example (possibly unknown in the United States but of some importance in Poland). Students of the school took part in independence uprisings of 1794, 1830-31, 1848, 1863, and 1919 as well as during World Wars I and II.

 The school is an active participant in international projects. There have been several exchanges with students from Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Sweden in the Comenius project. The European Young Readers’ Prize provided students the opportunity to meet with others from Bulgaria, France, Luxembourg, and Romania.

 Excerpted from the Comemius Project handbook.