Czech Republic · Babice
Open Gate combines a Czech primary school with an eight-year grammar school in Babice. Grammar pupils can attend by day or board on campus. The programme leads to the Czech maturita, the IB Diploma, or a permitted combination of qualifications.
Open Gate is a private, co-educational Czech school at Na Návsi 5 in Babice, east of Prague. It has a Czech primary school for Grades 1–5 and an eight-year gymnázium. Grammar pupils may attend by day or board on campus.
This is not an English-medium international school from the first primary year. The primary section follows Czech basic education. The grammar school combines the Czech programme with extensive teaching in English and an optional International Baccalaureate route.
The distinction matters. A family must be comfortable with Czech admissions and national requirements, even when the long-term aim is the IB Diploma.
Children normally enter the primary school at Grade 1. Transfer into Grades 2–5 depends on a vacancy. The eight-year grammar course begins with prima after Czech Grade 5 and runs to oktáva.
The grammar school is registered as programme 79-41-K/81. Open Gate says it usually opens two prima classes with no more than 18 pupils in each. That is a capacity description, not the confirmed 2027 intake.
The school is an authorised IB Diploma Programme school. The IB directory records English as the Diploma Programme language and authorisation since January 2009.
In the final years, pupils can follow the full IB Diploma, the Czech maturita, both, or the maturita with individual IB course certificates. Course certificates are not the full IB Diploma.
Open Gate also describes a Ministry-approved route combining the IB Diploma with the common Czech-language examination. The school says this can produce both the IB Diploma and Czech maturita. Ask which exact examinations and certificates apply to your child’s cohort.
Since March 2025, the Czech Universities Act has treated a full diploma from an authorised IB school as evidence of completed secondary education with a leaving examination. Universities can still set their own programme-entry conditions.
Czech remains essential to the national route and to admission. Much grammar-school teaching is in English, especially as pupils move towards the IB. Ask for the actual language balance in the proposed year rather than assuming a fully bilingual timetable.
The school counselling service includes a psychologist, special educators, educational and career advisers, and prevention support. Its remit includes learning needs, gifted pupils, wellbeing, and pupils from different cultural or language backgrounds.
These services do not establish a guaranteed English-as-an-additional-language allocation. They also do not confirm that every specialist need can be supported in residence. Request an individual plan before accepting a place.
For admission-test adjustments, a current recommendation from an authorised Czech school counselling facility is normally required with the application. The national guidance allows measures such as extra time and adapted test materials, depending on that recommendation.
Open Gate had not published its school-specific 2027/28 criteria by 4 September 2026. The Ministry timetable requires secondary schools to publish first-round criteria between 15 and 31 January 2027.
The school has announced open days for 19 November 2026 and 14 January 2027. Both include the grammar school and dormitories. They are useful visits, but they do not replace the formal January admission criteria.
The national timetable already fixes these stages:
| Stage | 2027 date |
|---|---|
| Applications. | 1–22 February. The normal 20 February deadline moves to Monday because it falls on a weekend. |
| School-set examinations. | 15 March–23 April. At least one school-test date must not clash with the unified examination. |
| Unified Czech and mathematics examinations for eight-year grammar schools. | 14 and 15 April. |
| Substitute unified examinations. | 29 and 30 April. |
| First-round results. | 14 May. |
Do not assume that Open Gate will repeat its 2026 place count, school-test dates or scoring. Wait for the January criteria before booking travel or tutoring around a particular format.
The latest school-specific model is useful only as history. For 2026 entry, Open Gate offered 36 places. Czech and mathematics each carried 30% of the total. A school aptitude test and interview together carried 40%. School reports were used only for tie-breaking.
Applications went through the Czech DiPSy admissions system or an authorised paper route. The 2027 criteria will confirm the permitted evidence and submission method for this cycle.
Applicants educated abroad can request a waiver of the written Czech test when the national conditions are met. For a child still abroad, the threshold is at least one of the previous three school years outside Czechia.
For a child now studying in Czechia, the threshold is at least two of the previous three years abroad. The request and evidence go with the application. The school then assesses necessary Czech through an interview.
For other written admission tests, these applicants receive 25% extra time and may use a translating dictionary. This does not remove the school’s need to decide whether the child can study the programme in Czech.
The school’s leaving-examination page separately says that it accepts Czech pupils or pupils with a Czech residence permit. That sentence is not a complete admissions policy. A non-Czech family should obtain a written eligibility decision before applying.
Any preschool child may apply for Grade 1. Entry to a higher primary grade is possible only when a place is available. The primary page has a 2027/28 registration option but no published 2027 timetable or criteria.
The latest completed Grade 1 process began on 17 January 2026 for 2026/27. Treat that as a historical date, not a forecast. Ask the primary office when the 2027 registration and assessment information will appear.
The dormitories serve grammar-school pupils, not the primary school. The campus has four residence houses, two for boys and two for girls. The current Czech accommodation page describes shared two-person rooms and bathrooms shared by two rooms.
Final-year pupils may receive single rooms where available. The English summary calls rooms en-suite, so families should ask to see the exact room and bathroom arrangement offered.
The 2026/27 handbook says boarders usually arrive on Sunday between 15:00 and 20:00. They normally leave by 15:00 on Friday. Pupils can request weekend residence by Tuesday at 16:00, except on announced sanitation weekends.
Dinner is not served on normal arrival days, so pupils bring their own. Bedding and towels are supplied. Residence staff organise supervised study from 19:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Thursday.
The published school calendar has teaching breaks in October, at Christmas, in January, March and at Easter. It does not say exactly when every dormitory closes. Obtain the residence calendar before arranging flights or assuming holiday accommodation.
Parents must provide health information, a health-insurance card copy and relevant medical instructions. The school does not provide health insurance. Residence supervision and medication support are not a legal-guardian or immigration service.
The grammar fee page is still headed 2025/26. However, the school board’s December 2025 minutes state that grammar fees remain unchanged for 2026/27.
| 2026/27 grammar place | Annual fee | Payment schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Day pupil. | CZK 282,000. | Two instalments, due 15 July and 15 December. |
| Boarding pupil. | CZK 620,000. | Two instalments, due 15 July and 15 December. |
The fee page says the day rate includes formal uniform, library materials and school counselling. The boarding rate adds accommodation, residence supervision, meals, many activities, medical support and additional uniform items.
Ask for the current inclusion list. The fee page says boarders receive five meals daily, while the 2026/27 handbook describes six, including a second supper. The public material also does not explain replacement uniform charges or every optional trip.
The primary fee page still shows CZK 215,000 for 2025/26. No current primary fee was located. Do not use that figure as a 2026/27 or 2027/28 quotation.
Day pupils can buy food separately. The September 2026 canteen list gives these prices:
| Meal | Price |
|---|---|
| Breakfast. | CZK 40. |
| Morning snack. | CZK 35. |
| Grammar-school lunch. | CZK 75. |
| Primary-school lunch. | CZK 65. |
| Afternoon snack. | CZK 35. |
| Dinner. | CZK 65. |
Lunch advances are CZK 1,500 monthly for grammar pupils and CZK 1,300 for primary pupils. The school reconciles actual consumption each semester. A medically confirmed food intolerance must be documented.
The Prague school bus costs CZK 6,000 per month from September 2026. It is a flat monthly charge regardless of usage. Published morning stops include Dejvice, Smíchov, Roztyly and Čestlice; afternoon services return to Prague.
Day grammar pupils may request flexiboarding for CZK 2,000 per person per night, including VAT. It is discretionary and capacity-dependent. Requests are normally due at least three working days before arrival and must be paid before or at check-in.
A flexiboarding stay cannot exceed 14 consecutive days. Repeated Friday, Saturday or Sunday bookings are not permitted. Weekend, holiday or school-closure use is exceptional. The terms require prompt cancellation but publish no refund rule.
No public application charge, acceptance deposit, annual contract, withdrawal notice or full refund schedule was found. Before paying, request the 2027/28 study and boarding contracts. Check the date from which each year’s fee becomes non-refundable.
The Kellner Family Foundation runs social and academic scholarships for Open Gate. A new applicant for 2027/28 must submit the scholarship application by 30 January 2027 and must also gain school admission.
Social scholarships are for families facing financial or social disadvantage. The academic scholarship route generally requires boarding and a household net annual income no higher than CZK 1.5 million. Awards are individually assessed and may cover up to the published educational costs.
Open Gate also advertises annual school scholarships. An achievement award can cover up to 75% of tuition. A community-contribution award can cover up to 25%. Applications are normally due by 31 March and are reassessed each year.
A pupil receiving the Foundation’s academic scholarship cannot also receive a school scholarship. Grade 5 Open Gate primary pupils may have a separate merit route when they pass admission to prima. Ask for the current rules before relying on any award.
Non-EU applicants must show lawful Czech residence by the start of secondary education. National admissions guidance says evidence of a pending residence application may be sufficient at that stage, but the immigration outcome remains separate from school admission.
Czech immigration guidance does not treat every ordinary private-secondary enrolment as a study-visa case. Secondary education most clearly fits that route when it is part of an exchange programme. Another long-term visa or residence purpose may therefore apply.
Confirm the route with the Czech embassy or Interior Ministry before paying non-refundable fees. Typical evidence can include admission, accommodation, funds, insurance and parental consent. Applicants aged 15 or over may also need a criminal-record document.
Where a parent or guardian will not stay in Czechia, the authorities may require formal parental consent. Open Gate’s public pages do not promise visa sponsorship, immigration representation or legal guardianship. Boarding supervision does not replace those arrangements.
Open Gate is most convincing for a pupil who can manage Czech national expectations while developing strong academic English. Boarding makes the school accessible beyond a daily Prague commute, but it creates extra planning for weekends and holidays.
Use the Prague school guide for local alternatives and commuting context. The Czech Republic guide explains the wider admissions and qualification system.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
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Prague 6ISP offers four IB programmes in Nebušice. Confirm the child’s upper-secondary route and support fit, and budget annual tuition plus the recurring capital fee and any first-entry charges.
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