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BELS History

Thousands of students, many with scholarships, to experience an education of international norms, Bilkent University has launched the project “Turkey Faces East” under the leadership of Prof. Ali Doğramacı. The goal is to improve educational opportunities in eastern part of Turkey.

With the legislation 5526 accepted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Bilkent University is authorized to open Schools of Education in Erzurum, Malatya, Van and Şanlıurfa. After the first school in Erzurum,  it has been planned that other primary and secondary schools at an international quality and standards will be established in three other cities. The Graduate School of Education will embody those schools as laboratory schools.

The purposes of the Laboratory Schools are to deliver an high quality and international education standard, which follows Atatürk’s reforms and principles and Atatürk’s nationalism as expressed in the Constitution; also to protect, promote and improve the Turkish Nation’s national, moral, humanitarian, spiritual and cultural values​​; to love and always seek to glorify the concept of the family, the country;  also to raise citizens who are respectful and responsible of the rules of secular and social Turkish Republic that is based on human rights and the fundamental principles which are indicated at the beginning of the Constitution; and brought them into the behaviour of respecting others’ rights, in the same time protecting their own rights.

The campus, designed by one of the prominent architecture crew in our country, is 400.000 m2 of field and 65.000 m2 of closed area. It is the part of this plan to create necessary circumstances and opportunities for our students to develop their natural skills not only during the lessons, but also for extracurricular activities.

İhsan Doğramacı Foundation Bilkent Erzurum Laboratory School has been founded by İhsan Doğramacı Foundation in Erzurum city center with the latest technology. The school which will be an exemplary institution worldwide has started to carry out the plan with its education in English at high school and with the Cambridge University IGCSE and International Baccalaureate Programmes as a four year curriculum plus the prep year at high school.

Students who have been accepted with a school entrance exam have either a full scholarship or partial scholarships. In our school which has international standards, the number of students in a class is maximum 20.

The principle of the school is “pioneering and leadership”.  Our staff aims to lead the education and raise the leaders of the bright future of our country with their experience and the well-qualified students. Our school aims to educate students who have the consciousness of national and cultural values together with the necessities of the modern world in the light of Atatürk’s principles and revolutions; who learn, question, achieve to reach the knowledge and who are creative.

To educate the students with the most advanced opportunities in the most modern environments and to educate the students in Science and Technology as well as in Social Sciences, Art, Music, and Sports are the indispensable conditions of the school. It is aimed to educate our students in the conditions that all students are successful in the national and international exams so that they can obtain the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Teachers of the school can complete their masters and doctoral degrees at Bilkent University Erzurum School of Education. Members of the teaching staff at School of Education can also teach at the Laboratory School. In order to help teachers’ professional development opportunities within Turkey and abroad are considered.

The school is not a boarding school. The parents of the students admitted to the school have to live in Erzurum and this is seen as part of the social development of the student. In the philosophy of education of the school, monthly meetings held with parents play a role as important as the programmes designed for the students.