In 1907, the first private Polish female boarding gymnasium for 30 girls was opened in Kiev. It was run by the prominent teacher and social activist Wacława Peretiatkowicz. The institution operated until 1920.

The appearance of the institution was made possible by the so-called "tolerant" manifesto of Nicholas II, allowing Poles to publish their own press, establish social, cultural and charitable associations, and open Polish educational institutions. The appearance of the Wacława Peretiatkowicz secondary school was long awaited by thousands of our compatriots living in Kiev.

Kiev beloved by Poles
Poles were a noticeable group in the future Ukrainian capital. In 1881, 10,409 Poles were recorded ( about 8 % of the total population), in 1887 - 19,397 (11.7 %). The 1897 census revealed that 16 579 people (5.6 %) declared Polish as their mother tongue. In 1909, 44 409 of our compatriots were counted (9.8 %).

For many Poles, the city on the Dnieper became a kind of Promised Land. Anna Pawłczyńska, a member of a Podolia landed gentry family, writes: " Almost every borderland family there had a son, uncle or brother who, out of their own desire or necessity, left the family nest to settle in the city, contributing to the stratum of the intelligentsia. They fell in love with this capital of Ukraine, which was becoming a support for the Polish manors scattered over the wide expanses of Podolia and Volhynia. It was possible to become attached to the houses, streets and alleys of this beautiful city, to the steep banks of the Dnieper and the breathtakingly beautiful views of the wild, awe-inspiring landscape on the Dnipro".

Secret teaching in Polish schools
After the suppression of the January Uprising in Kiev, teaching in Polish took place only in secret schools. One of the first establishments was founded by Jozefat Andrzejowski, an educational and political activist. The outposts operated on the premises of his own tile factory. In 1897, a People's Education Circle commonly referred to as the Society was established in the town. The statute of the organisation postulated that "the overriding aim was to provide educational assistance to the widest possible strata of the Polish population in Kiev, with emphasis above all on the teaching of the Polish language, Polish history and national literature". It included a point that the Society's overriding political objective "should be the independence of Poland". This meant that the organisation was political in nature. There was also a school at the Society, where religion, Polish language, Polish literature and arithmetic were taught. Teaching took place under the guise of preparing pupils for crafts or in private homes in an atmosphere of strict conspiracy.

Peretiatkowicz takes matters into his own hands
The breakthrough came after 1906. It was then that the widowed Wacława Peretiatkowicz (1855-1939) and her daughter Janina settled in Kiev. The woman came from the Plock area, from an impoverished landowning family of Jędrzejewicz. Her father was a clerk. From childhood, Wacława planned a career in teaching. She fulfilled her dream by becoming a geography teacher at Mrs Sikorska's private school in Warsaw, which in independent Poland was transformed into the 10th Queen Jadwiga Gymnasium and Lyceum.

In 1887, in Warsaw, Wacława Jędrzejewicz married Karol Peretiatkowicz, the owner of a grocery shop in Odessa. It can be presumed that during their union the spouses stayed not only in Odessa, but also in other Ukrainian cities. This is evidenced by the fact that between 1904 and 1905 Waclawa taught French at a private boarding school in Krzemieniec. In 1906. Karol Peretiatkowicz died.

After his death, Wacława settled in Kiev with the idea of opening a Polish secondary school for girls there. It was a favourable time for such an initiative. Nevertheless, Peretiatkovich feared that some official would veto her project, so she went to St Petersburg, to the minister of education or the head of a department in that ministry. She expected that only with the support of the highest-ranking official would she realise her idea. She returned from the Russian capital with a document allowing her to open a school. Unfortunately, she did not obtain permission for Polish to be the language of instruction in the new institution. It was to be an optional language, only for female students who wished it. The refusal did not discourage Wacława, as the school she was organising was to be Polish in spirit. The Polish woman quickly set about implementing her plan.

Peretiatki walk in bars
In April 1907, an announcement appeared in the pages of "Świt", stating that in the school year 1907-1908 an 8-grade private female boarding school would be opened, with the permission of the authorities. The school did not have the rights of a government grammar school, so its graduates had to take the state matriculation exam at a German grammar school.

Originally, Peretiatkowicz planned to open two gymnasium classes and one preparatory class in the first year of the institution's existence. Life verified her plans - one gymnasium class and three preparatory classes were created. Originally, the institution was located in a rented room on the corner of Bibikov Boulevard, and in 1914 it moved to 47 Vlodzimierska Street.

Teaching was based on the curriculum of men's real schools with a predominance of science subjects. At the same time, great emphasis was placed on the languages German, French, English, Russian and Latin. Over time, optional Greek classes were introduced. The school's pupils were characterised by Janina Peretiatkowicz: they were "well-educated girls, from good homes characterised by a high level of culture and prosperity. There were no children of proletarians in the school. Only a few were exempted from fees".

In the city, the female pupils of the grammar school were called - after the owners of the school - the peretiats. They were an integral part of the Kiev street: "On Vlodzimierska Street, close to the Great Podvalna, one could see 'peretiatki', beautiful girls in checkered red uniforms" . It was because of these uniforms that Kiev citizens used to say: "Peretiatki go in checks". The local elite were keen to send their daughters to the gymnasium, because after graduation they could continue their studies at university or find a well-paid and prestigious job. For example, the granddaughter of the famous Kiev doctor Konstantin Tadeusz Ruszczyc attended the institution.

The Gymnasium enjoyed a reputation among our compatriots. This is confirmed by the recollections of a former pupil, Irena Bączkowska-Zabłocka, according to whom it was "simply excellent and produced good results not only in terms of the degree of education, but also in terms of the moral upbringing of its pupils" . The diarist also admired Wacława's personality: "A wonderful school, wonderful thanks to the peculiar atmosphere created by a woman who never imposed her presence or her opinion on us, but who knew how to hold the reins of a large, strong institution with her wise and delicate hands, how to select her staff superbly, and how to manage us - by nature a rather unruly bunch of borderline temperaments".

In 1910, the gymnasium was hit by a financial crisis and the institution was on the brink of bankruptcy. The local Polish elite immediately rushed to the aid of Václav Peretiatkovich by giving her a loan of 3,000 roubles for an indefinite period. In 1914, the Polish gymnasium was granted the rights of a government school and the pupils could take the
matura in their own school.

The years 1914-1920
Paradoxically, however, the outbreak of the First World War had a positive impact on the activities of the gymnasium. This was because thousands of Poles from the Kingdom of Poland who had been forced to evacuate due to the German occupation, including school-age girls, flowed into Kiev. Therefore, in 1916. Wacława opened a second secondary school. An advertisement announcing the new institution appeared in the then Kiev Journal: "Eight-class female school with government rights by Vatlawa Peretyatkovichova. Kiev Vladimierska 47 tel. 26-18". It was during the Great War that the Polish woman even employed lecturers at Kiev University, for example Dr Wiktor Klinger, a classical philologist (it is interesting to note that after the Bolsheviks took power, the scientist left for Poland and took up a chair at Poznan University, while his son Jerzy became an Orthodox clergyman and served as pro-rector of the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw). Among the pupils of this school was the future world opera star Wanda Verminska, who performed in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Madrid and even sang with the great Fyodor Shalapin!

Soon the Polish woman also opened a kindergarten, which was also reported in the Kiev Gazette: " A children's home (garden) for children from 4-7 years according to the latest methods. Developing the child through his own insights and investigations. French language learning will be included, using the method of observation, playing, singing and drawing. There is a large garden next to the school. Enrolment daily in the school office". It is interesting to note that the kindergarten was observed by Janusz Korczak himself, who was forced - due to the turmoil of war - to evacuate to Kiev. With Wacława's participation, a Polish university was opened - the Polish University College.

In 1917, after the abdication of Nicholas II and the establishment of the Provisional Government in Russia, Peretiatkovich was finally able to introduce Polish as the language of instruction. The last high school final exams were held at Wacława Gymnasium in 1920. The Polish woman left Kiev when the Polish army was leaving the city.

In independent Poland
In her homeland, Wacława continued her teaching activities. From 1920 to 1922, she was headmistress of the Maria Konopnicka State Female Gymnasium in Łomża, and then at an institution in Wołomin near Warsaw. In 1937, in Warsaw, there was a meeting of female graduates and teachers dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Kiev Gymnasium. Mrs Peretiatko was 82 years old at the time and could not be present at the event. She sent the following message to its participants: "Dear colleagues and pupils, my Peretiatko! [...] I have experienced much happiness in my life. I managed to realise my plans regardless of all the difficulties and obstacles [...] I worked not for rewards and glory [...] Now, at the end of my life, when I can once again turn to you, my dear girls. I wish you to have similar feelings".

Wacława died in 1939. She was buried in Warsaw's Powązki cemetery.