What once was an all-girls school is now a High School within the Venetian walls of Nicosia. The beautiful structure of Faneromeni school was built in 1857 and was founded by Archbishop Makarios I. It was also the first ever girls’ school in Cyprus. Archbishop Makarios I was very active in establishing schools in Cyprus in order to overcome illiteracy on the island.
The exterior of the building is of mainly Greek Neoclassical and Cyprus style architecture. History shows that the school had only one teacher and 115 students. In order to be able to teach all those children, the teacher needed help. Therefor the older children were also the teacher assistants or the teacher’s helpers.
Over the years the school kept changing. In 1903 it changed into a school for Teachers and all all-girls school. During the tragic events of 1974 the school temporarily closed. However, it was soon reopened with the new name of ‘Mixed School of Faneromeni’. The first year after the tragic events was for the school year 1975-1976. Both the school for teachers and all-girls school were under the same new name of Mixed High School of Faneromeni. The school of Cyprus Paedology Academy and the Faneromeni’s Girls school were the two schools housed in the same building. By this time there were some 458 students and 30 teachers.
