The Koç Elementary and Middle Schools

Contemporary education all around Turkey ...

In 1998, the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKV) built 13 state schools in various regions of Turkey to support the eight years core education, commemorating the 75th year of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. The schools were transferred to the Ministry of National Education (MEB) through the “Build, Transfer , Maintain” principle. Between 2006 and 2008, four more schools were added to the project, and the number of schools was increased to 17. Afterwards, the project came to be referred as the “17 Schools” Project.

Each school has the same interior and exterior design and was built to take about 500 students within 4,800 square meters of enclosed space containing 16 classrooms, a library, science and computer labs, and a 300-capacity multi-purpose hall.

VKV supports the teachers of the schools by encouraging them to participate in conferences for vocational development. The Koç School organized seminars and development programs until the end of 2014, for meeting the vocational and personal needs of school administrators and teachers.

VKV continues supporting the project by providing annual financial aid to the schools and also  giving scholarships to the top three graduates of each middle school.

Please click to access detailed information on 17 Schools grant program.

The 18th school and the Model School Project
The 18th school, which was donated by VKV to MEB, is the Beykoz Koç Middle School built within the scope of the “Model School” project. Beykoz Koç Middle School opened with the knowledge accumulation that VKV acquired from 17 Schools project. However, it differs from the 17 donation schools as it was built as a “model school”.  With 520-student capacity, the school provides physical and social learning environments to meet the student’s needs for 21th century.

Designed by the international architectural education design firm Cannon Design, Beykoz Koç Middle School includes 11,320 square meter enclosed space, 5,500 square meter garden, a multi-purpose hall, a gym, a library, a conference hall, an amphitheater, IT and software classes and laboratories. Through its physical environment, the school aims to enable its each student to receive education in a high quality environment where they can discover their skills.

As consisting the social environment of the Beykoz Koç Middle School, students, parents, teachers and the school administration participate in school’s running. The output of the 14 workshops, which were developed for teachers since 2014, was decisive in the schools creation process. Moreover, the School Board consisting of students, teachers, parents and representatives from VKV decide to execute the school. Parent-Teacher Association enables the participation of the parents in topics such as students security, eating order, hygiene.

The inspiration for the Model School: Third Teacher Book
79 ideas related to the learning environment such as lightening, layout of the classroom, nutrition, use of garden, education methods, participation of parents and graduates, were incorporated in the Beykoz Koç Middle School’s construction. The Vehbi Koç Foundation translated the Third Teacher (Üçüncü Öğretmen), a book that explains these 79 ideas, into Turkish and published the book online.

To order your own copy of the book, click here.

Please click to visit the Model School project micro-site for further information about the Beykoz Koç Middle School and the Project.

Koç Elementary and Middle Schools

• Bağlar Koç Elementary School
• Beyazıt Koç Elementary School
• Beylikdüzü Koç Middle School
• Bolu Koç Elementary and Middle School
• Elazığ Koç Elementary School
• Gebze Koç Middle School
• İnegöl Koç Elementary School
• İnönü Koç Elementary and Middle School
• İzmit Ford Otosan Koç Middle School
• Kayapınar Koç Elementary School
• Nilüfer Koç Elementary and Middle School
• Orhangazi Koç Elementary and Middle School
• Silopi Koç Elementary and Middle School
• Sincan Koç Elementary School
• Şanlıurfa Koç Elementary and Middle School
• Van Koç Elementary and Middle School
• Yenişehir Koç Middle School
• Beykoz Koç Middle School