SOS Schools: Estelí Primary and Secondary School

The combined SOS Primary and Secondary School opened in 1993. There are about 770 pupils, 530 in primary all of whom receive free education a programme which is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, and 240 in secondary of whom about one-third receive either full or part scholarships. There is also a technical school that gives training in dressmaking, accounting, computer, commerce and secretarial duties as well as two workshops for carpentry and agriculture for about 500 students.

The primary school has16 classrooms, a library, some administrative rooms, a cafeteria, a kitchen, and a playground. The secondary school has10 classrooms, 3 laboratories for chemistry, biology and physics, a library, an administrative building, a teachers' room, a cafeteria, a store room and a basketball field. The primary and the secondary schools both have a very good reputation because of the high standard of teaching. In order to use the building all day long and thereby increase the capacity to the maximum, classes are held in two sessions, so that some classes have lessons in the morning while others go to school in the afternoon. In 1995 four classrooms of the secondary school were adapted to become the new SOS Vocational Training Centre. Since the region does not have any vocational schools other than the SOS Vocational Training Centre, the initiative was also welcomed by the local authorities.