VOŠ a SOŠT Litomyšl is a technical college in the East Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. Our college provides a wide range of 4-year higher education vocational courses for post-secondary education students (students aged 15 to 19), leading to a "Maturita" Diploma - roughly the equivalent of the British BTEC Diploma. We also offer 3-year non-university higher education courses for college graduates with a Maturita Diploma, leading to a Specialist Diploma.
All the courses are suited for students who will be seeking employment with the necessary practical skills in the commercial, public and private sectors of the transport and motor vehicle engineering industry. There are courses for students, who intend to work in agriculture, road transport, construction industry or motor vehicle repairs and servicing. The courses are not purely male-orientated, as there are opportunities for female students. These opportunities include administration and logistics in the transport industry, and monitoring and movement of goods in international transport.
As well as the core subjects: Czech language and Literature, Mathematics, Physics, IT etc. there is a wide range of specialist subjects. These include Repairs and Servicing, Machinery and Implements, Welding, Typing and Logistics. Most courses have driving instruction as an integral part of the curriculum and consequently, students take their driving test free of charge.
VOŠ a SOŠT Litomyšl is a regular participant in various competitions and events; national welding competitions, regional sports events, Czech and foreign language competitions and, last but not least, the annual Litomyšl student festival in May.
Many years before it became fashionable, our college was working with similar colleges in France, Germany and Holland. Now, in the spirit of new trends leading towards European-wide recognition of vocational qualifications, for the past four years we have centred our activities on two partner colleges: Fachoberschule in Triesdorf, Germany and ROC Aventus in Apledoorn, Holland.
The above-mentioned co-operation with the German college in Triesdorf is a culture and education focused student exchange programme introducing Czech and German students to various aspects of everyday life in the two countries. The main aim of the co-operation between our college, here in Litomyšl and ROC Aventus in Holland is a little different. This programme aims to provide students from both countries with an opportunity to undertake a practical training placement with transport-orientated businesses in the host country.
We also work in close co-operation with leading automotive firms such as Bosch, Knorr Bremse, Praga, Jawa Divisov, Iveco, Scania, Tatra and Zetor to name just a few.
The college is equipped with a dining hall, a boarding house for about 300 students, a gym hall, 2 computer labs, plus several freely accessible computers in the main school hall with free access to the Internet.
If you are travelling by car you will find us just off the main E442 (35) Hradec Králové - Olomouc route in the centre of Litomyšl. You can see the college on the right-hand side, about 500 metres past the Penny Market in the Olomouc direction.
By bus it is simple: there are many bus connections operating from Prague - via Litomyšl - to Olomouc, Brno and Bratislava.
By train: From Prague to Choceň, from there by train to Litomyšl; from Prague to Česká Třebová and then by bus from the railway station to Litomyšl.
The main attraction is the town of Litomyšl itself. The biggest tourist attraction is the beautiful chateaux above the town centre, in whose courtyard the annual Bedřichova Smetana classical music festival is held in June. There are many other listed buildings in the picturesque town square, several museums and art galleries, a theatre and concert hall and a music club. No matter what your favourite sport I: tennis, swimming, volleyball or even ice hockey - you will be catered for here in Litomyšl.
Tourists wishing to stay for a few days will find a wide range of hotels and "pensions" to choose from, as well as a well-equipped campsite on the outskirts of the town. For more information click on: www.litomysl.cz
Every year for the past few years, our colleagues from the Dutch college, ROC Aventus in Apeldoorn, have visited our school. This school year was no different, and once again we played host to our Dutch friends from the 17th to the 19th of May 2006. The main task for them was to assess their students' practical training placements with two local firms, Apex and Socar, in the town of Svitavy. The placements take place under the auspices of the European Leonardo da Vinci program for college students.
The Dutch teachers met not only with their own students, but also with the heads and employees of both firms. Later on, over a business lunch, representatives of both colleges discussed issues concerning student placements. Three students from VOS a SOST Litomyšl will undertake a 3-week placement programme with firms in the vicinity of Apeldoorn, Holland in September - as has been the case for several years now. As well as the usual 2-month placement for Dutch students with Czech firms in the spring, there will be a shorter autumn placement for the aforementioned Dutch students this year.
The programme for our Dutch colleagues then proceeded in a less formal vein, with a visit to the chateaux in Častolovice and to the lookout tower above Usti nad Orlic. The overall impression was that the meeting was a relaxed and fruitful one, and all concerned are satisfied with the development of the mutual co-operation between both colleges.
Once again, as has been the case for the last few years, Dutch students from our partner college ROC Aventus, Apeldoorn, have undertaken a 2-month practical placement with firms in the Litomyšl region.
Of a total of four students, Erik and Rian worked in the garage at Škoda Apex in Svitavy, and specialized in car body repairs, whilst Roderick and Danny practiced their skills repairing and maintaining Opel vehicles with Socar Servis - also in Svitavy. Paradoxically, the Dutch students were not the only ones acquiring new skills - many of the employees of the above firms had the opportunity to refresh their English or German language skills in an attempt to communicate with the youngsters.
Two months is a long time and, as has happened in the last few years, Erik, Rian, Roderick and Danny also tasted the local cuisine (not to mention the beer), saw some of the local and national landmarks, and met with young people studying at the many colleges in Litomyšl. They even had the opportunity to take part in lessons at VOS a SOST and at Litomyšl Grammar School (thanks to that school's English teacher Jana Tmejova).
I'm sure all of the Dutch students gained something from their long stay in here Litomyšl: be it skills, memories, friends or even, as in the case of Erik, a second-hand Trabant. Most of all though, all have played a positive part in building a successful and functional programme of co-operation between both colleges - ROC Aventus, Apeldoorn in Holland and VOS a SOST Litomyšl in the Czech Republic.
The academic year 2006/2007 at VOŠ a SOŠT was in many respects a busy one. As usual, our teachers and students attended a series of lectures throughout the school year - the majority of them of course of a technical nature. One of the first lectures in March 2007, named "Identifying Engine Failure", was aimed specifically at professionals working under the auspices of the nation-wide organization Global Expert. This organization prepares data for major insurance companies in the Czech Republic. The lectures continued in a technical vein in May 2007 with one dealing with the failure of, and damage to, engine components of commercial and passenger vehicles. Once again, this lecture was aimed at specialists working in this branch of industry.
Representatives of two of Europe's major truck manufacturers also held lectures at VOŠ a SOŠT during the autumn of 2006. Scania was the first in October, closely followed by Volvo in November. The next lecture, in January 2007, was of a less technical nature. This lecture - presented by PhDr Jan Fišer and concentrating on the future of developing and teaching technical skills in the Czech Republic - was intended for the teaching staff at our school.
During the school year there were several opportunities for teachers and students alike to see transport technology for themselves. The regional representative of farm machinery manufacturer John Deere presented their new products in February 2007. Later, in April 2007, the teaching staff of VOŠ a SOŠT had an opportunity to visit the Škoda car plant in Kvasiny where the Roomster and flagship model Superb are produced. The Kvasiny plant is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, so there was plenty to see.
In September 2006, three of our students undertook a 3-week training placement in the Dutch Apeldoorn region in co-operation with our partner school there - ROC Aventus. In March 2007, six students from ROC Aventus started a 2-month training placement in co-operation with VOŠ a SOŠT Litomyšl. The Dutch students worked at two Svitavy businesses - SOCAR Servis and at the Škoda dealer, Olfin Car Palace s.r.o. In October 2006, students from another of our partner schools, FOS Triesdorf in Germany, visited our college. Early in 2007, our students were guests of the above-mentioned school.
During this visit our students also had an opportunity to visit the Audi car plant in Ingolstadt. During the school year we successfully submitted a project enabling six of our students to gain a training placement in Holland for the school year 2007/2008 - once again with the co-operation of our partner school ROC Aventus and thanks to financing by the European Leonardo da Vinci education program.
One of the major successes of our school in 2006/2007 though, must surely be the opening of our new teaching lab for CNC machines. This classroom is specifically designed to accommodate a FCM 16 CNC vertical mill and related accessories. The lab, built with financial help from the Pardubice regional council and a further 28 local businesses, will be used to train students in the use of similar Hi-Tech equipment. Subsequently, the students should help to fulfil the present demand for qualified workers in the field of engineering.