Hungarian schools listed among the most successful in the world!

Two Hungarian schools got on the list that includes the institutions from which most foreign students enter the courses of the two most renowned British universities.

According to Eduline, the Fazekas Mihály Secondary School and the Milestone Institute have both been listed by the Telegraph among the 20 institutions from where the most foreign students can enter the top British universities, Oxford and Cambridge. Three Singaporean schools topped the list, followed by many schools in China, Greece, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Malaysia, Gibraltar, and Lithuania.

György Greskovits, Head of Education at the Milestone Institute, told Eduline that Hungarian students used to major in subjects like Mathematics, Computer Science or Physics, but more and more apply to Oxford or Cambridge to study Geography, Philosophy, History, and Economics. The Telegraph highlighted the Milestone Institute because, since its 2010 start, 162 of its students have been accepted to British universities.

Brexit, however, affects the opportunities of many Hungarian students.

Eduline claims first-year students from EU countries starting this September will no longer receive tuition reductions and will not be able to take out British student loans. Therefore, the number of EU students applying to Cambridge or Oxford has fallen. According to Index, this year, 58% fewer Hungarian students applied to British universities by the January deadline.

Greskovits says there were many students this year who could not go due to financial reasons, so Milestone students had to change tactics: they applied to top universities in Europe, America, and England and will enrol where they receive a favourable scholarship as well.

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The Milestone teaching system is somewhat similar to the two British universities.

They both put emphasis on debating and autonomous thinking. According to Greskovics, Hungarian students are used to frontal education, so they are usually surprised when they first come to the institution. Another important factor to their success is that students at Milestone compile their own curriculum.

Hungarian students are unfamiliar with interactive, debating courses, and it is not characteristic for schools to give the students any freedom regarding their timetable and curriculum. According to the Head of Education at Milestone, there are plenty of talented students, but the Hungarian education system is quite simply “wasteful of human resources”.

He says that the fact that they, a relatively new educational-pedagogical workshop, got on the Telegraph’s list proves that Hungary’s education could be more successful if they thought of education as a major resource-producing sector.

Read alsoHungary higher education becoming more competitive, says audit office

Source: Eduline, The Telegraph, Index