Vladivostok Gymnasium No. 2 was established in 1990. It has 1,400 students, who can learn six foreign languages – English, French, German, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. The school cooperates with the Confucius Institute at Far Eastern Federal University and French and Asia Pacific schools. In 2016, Gymnasium No. 2 became one of the 11 pilot schools of the Russian School Students’ Movement.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good morning. I would like to congratulate all of you, all students and teachers in Russia on Knowledge Day, which marks the start of a new academic year, and to wish you success.
Your principal [Inna Shendrik] has told me about the tuition process in your school, how you work towards results and what you have achieved. I saw great many cups in the entrance hall, which shows that success only comes to those who work for it.
This is an unusual school, one of the basic platforms for students who want to succeed in life and are able to work for this, a school for talented young people. Moreover, you can study optional languages – Korean, Japanese and Chinese, which expands your horizons and creates new opportunities for your future careers and success in life.
I do not want to deliver a long speech. Let us just talk. I would be interested to find out what you think about education at your school. You also have an opportunity to apply your knowledge in practice, which is very important for young people, future professionals with secondary vocational or, better still, with a higher education. This allows them to see where they can apply their skills, knowledge and talent to succeed in life and to do what they enjoy. This is extremely important, but a really crucial element is to find a profession that will make you happy, because those who love their jobs usually succeed.
You have an opportunity to communicate with your peers in other schools in Russia and beyond. I would appreciate it if you told me about this and complemented your stories with a critical analysis. And then I will answer your questions, if you have any.
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