A gold medal at the end of school is a worthy reward for a student’s hard work. To get a medal, it’s not enough to get straight A’s; it’s also important to take active participation in school life. What needs to be done to receive a medal, what prospects it opens up in the future, we will tell you in our review article.
A little history
The gold medal began its history in Russia in 1828. However, after October Revolution the presentation of gold and silver medals was cancelled. She returned in May 1945 thanks to Resolution No. 1247 of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Until 2012, changes occurred with the gold medal, but they concerned more the external image than the reward of students.
In 2013, the department of the Ministry of Education and Science decided not to award gold medals at the federal level; instead, they issued a certificate with honors, similar in appearance to the gold medal certificate. The right to award medals was left to the regional authorities.
But in 2014, the President of the Russian Federation signed a law that provides for the return of the gold medal to the federal level.
Medal 2014
Some students are interested in the question: is it true that it is gold? Interesting fact in the history of the medal: between 1946 and 1954 it was actually cast from 583-carat gold, weighing approximately 10.5 grams.
But what is a modern gold medal made of? The academic honors symbol now consists of an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel. But the coating is made of pure gold weighing 0.3 grams. It is noteworthy that the embossing on the certificate, which is attached to the gold medal, is also made with gold plating.
The design of the medal has also undergone some changes. Now the medal on one side has the inscription “For special achievements in learning”, and on the other side there is double headed eagle. In 2007, an image of the Russian tricolor appeared under the eagle.
Please note: to make a medal shine, do not rub it with an eraser. This will damage the special varnish layer and the medal will quickly darken.
Conditions under which the award of a medal is guaranteed
- According to the law, the main and main condition for receiving a medal is the final grade “excellent” received in all subjects, within school curriculum in 10th and 11th grades. In addition, an A must be achieved in all subjects on the final assessment.
- The decision to award the medal is made by a meeting of the teaching staff and confirmed by the director of the educational institution. Documents for approval are submitted to the local department of the Ministry of Education.
- If the student received full-time education, it is possible to be exempt from physical education for health reasons. Students studying externally and at home, unfortunately, cannot count on a medal.
These are the basic requirements for a student. But just being an excellent student is not enough. It is at the teachers' council that the decision on awards is made. What can influence a positive decision by teachers?
- As a rule, a teacher loves his job and his subject. Therefore, by showing interest in science, you can gain the teacher’s loyal attitude, attracting certain attention to your person;
- a special “tick” in favor of the medal will be participation in Olympiads, both regional, city or regional scale;
- taking an active part in the life of the school, it doesn’t matter what it will be: creative competitions or work as a designer. The attention of not only teachers is attracted, but also of more “senior” staff: the director and head teachers. Participation in sports competitions, speaking for the honor of the school, can also serve this purpose;
- It is desirable that there is no re-certification to increase scores during the course of study.
It is naive to believe that by studying “somehow” for 9 years, you can get a gold medal if you tighten up your studies a little. Whatever one may say, the teacher’s opinion about the student has been formed over the years, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to radically change the attitude. The maximum you can achieve is the status of a “promising” student. Therefore, it is necessary to study starting from the 5th grade.
Medal Features
Just recently, a gold medal opened doors to literally all universities in the country. It was enough to pass an interview with admissions committee. But starting from 2009, medalists are equal to all graduates, and admission to the university is based on the average score of the certificate and the results of the Unified State Examination. The only thing that the medal contributes to is that it will only add priority in choosing between two students with the same average score, and sometimes this is a significant help in the framework of high competitions for admission to a budget place.
Came into force from the beginning of the 2013-2014 academic year new law on education, which abolishes the awarding of gold and silver medals to school graduates and establishes new models of secondary school certificates general education with honors, similar to certificates of gold medal winners.
Now the solution to the question “to present or not to present medals?” completely depends on regional authorities.
Next - What school medals of the past and present look like
School medals in Russia were first officially introduced in 1828 by the “Charter of gymnasiums and district and parish schools”. Before this, the presentation various types school medals took place haphazardly and semi-officially.
Source: www.fresher.ru
Medals of the Russian Empire
Beginning in 1828, gold medals began to be awarded to graduates who showed excellent grades in all subjects of the gymnasium course. They were awarded by the gymnasium council, whose decision was subject to approval by the university before 1835, and by the educational district after 1835.
In 1835, Emperor Nicholas I approved a single medal for male gymnasiums “For success in sciences.” The obverse of the medal was decorated state emblem(double-headed eagle). On the back was the patroness of science, Minerva, standing with a lamp raised in her left hand. In her right hand there was a laurel wreath, at the feet - an owl and attributes of the sciences (scrolls and a globe) and the inscription - “TO THE SUCCESSFUL”.
“Men’s” gymnasium medals were minted in two types – a large one made of silver and a small one made of gold. They existed without major changes until 1917.
Source: www.fresher.ru
The gold medal of men's gymnasiums had a diameter of 32-33 mm, weight 25-26 grams and was made of pure 990-carat gold. The silver medal was made of silver and had a diameter of 43 mm.
To receive a gold medal you had to have exemplary behavior, “excellent” grades in Latin, ancient Greek and mathematics, and GPA at least 4.5 in all other disciplines.
In 1870, after the approval of the regulations on women's gymnasiums, girls also received the right to be awarded gold and silver medals on an equal basis with boys. “Women’s medals” were of two types, since some of the gymnasiums were in charge of the Ministry of Public Education, and the rest were patronized by Empress Maria Alexandrovna. On the medals that the Empress was in charge of, the reverse side was decorated with a wreath of vines and bunches of grapes and the inscription “THE MOST WORTHY OF THE COURSES COMPLETED IN WOMEN’S GYMNASIUMS.”
The medals of the gymnasiums of the Ministry of Education were decorated with the image of the patroness of the sciences, Minerva, standing with a lamp and attributes of the sciences at her feet, but “in a light tunic” and with the inscription “FOR GOOD AND SUCCESS IN THE SCIENCES.” On the front side of both types of “women’s” medals, the profile image of the Empress and the inscription “THE EMPRESS MARIA ALEXANDROVNA” were uniformly stamped.
Medals in Tsarist Russia were given to all worthy people, regardless of their position in society, class and social status the student or his parents. There are known cases, and not isolated ones, when even the children of state criminals received medals. However, it should be noted that even with a strong desire, not all gymnasiums had the opportunity to celebrate the successes of their students with gold and silver medals. Everything depended on how rich the board of trustees of a particular gymnasium was, because for the medals made from precious metals, you had to pay.
The Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917 changed the previously existing order. Among other things, the previously existing system of awarding graduates of educational institutions with medals was also abolished. After 1917, some schools independently produced some kind of school medals - medal-shaped tokens on various pendants, which were awarded to those who had especially distinguished themselves during their years of study and to especially gifted students, but all this was amateurish and unsystematic.
Source: www.fresher.ru
The first medals of the USSR
For the first time in the USSR, gold and silver school medals were introduced starting from the 1944-1945 school year by the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 21, 1944 “On measures to improve the quality of education at school.” At the same time, it was decided to hold final exams for students in schools.
On May 30, 1945, the “Regulations on gold and silver medals “FOR EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENT AND EXEMPLARY CONDUCT” came into force, approving samples and descriptions of the medals themselves, as well as samples of certificate forms for them.
According to this provision, a gold medal was awarded to persons who showed outstanding success in passing the matriculation examinations, had exemplary behavior and a grade of “5” in all basic subjects of secondary school.
If a student showed similar knowledge when passing the exams, had exemplary behavior, but received a grade of “4” in no more than three of the other core subjects, then he could be awarded a silver medal. When awarding medals, scores in singing, drawing, drawing and military physical training were not taken into account.
The student's nomination for the medal was formalized by the school's pedagogical council, but the decision to award the medal was made by the regional and regional departments of public education.
Those awarded gold and silver medals had the right to enter higher educational institutions of the USSR without entrance exams, while those awarded the gold medal were accepted first, and then the silver medal.
The gold and silver medals “FOR EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENT AND EXEMPLARY CONDUCT,” awarded to high school graduates from 1946 to 1954, had the same diameter - 32 mm, and thickness - 1.5 mm and 2 mm, respectively.
The medals were made from 583-karat gold alloy and 925-karat silver alloy, respectively. The gold medal weighed almost 11 grams and was covered with a layer of pure gold 3 microns thick. The silver award was slightly heavier and weighed 15 grams.
On the front side of the medals, against a background of diverging rays, an open book is depicted, bordered below and to the right with a laurel branch. In the upper part, in the center of the diverging rays, there is a convex five-pointed star. Along the circumference is the inscription: “FOR EXCELLENT SUCCESS AND EXEMPLARY CONDUCT,” framed by a rim of dots and a border. On the reverse side of the medals there is an image of the coat of arms and an abbreviated inscription of the name of the corresponding union republic.
Source: www.fresher.ru
The Moscow Mint produced gold and silver medals for each of the union republics that existed at that time. The inscription “For excellent success and exemplary behavior” was sung in the national languages of the union republics.
A certificate of maturity and a gold medal “number 1” in the RSFSR were awarded to a student of one of the oldest schools in Moscow (No. 110, founded on November 27, 1795), the winner of the All-Moscow Mathematical Olympiad, Evgeniy Shchukin. After graduating from school, Evgeniy continued his studies at the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University, from which he graduated with honors. In 1967, Evgeny Dmitrievich Shchukin became a professor at Moscow State University. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 1984 and to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering in 1988.
Medals of the 1953 model
From December 14, 1953, due to a change technological conditions During the production of medals, some changes in their parameters occurred, first of all, the composition of the metal alloys used changed.
The gold medal began to be made from a 375-carat alloy and additionally coated with higher-grade gold using the electroplating method. The thickness of this layer was 3 microns; only 6 grams of gold remained in the medal.
The silver medal was still minted from 925 silver. With a preserved diameter of 32 mm, the thickness of the medals increased to 3 mm. The design of the medals remains the same.
Medals of the 1960 model
Since 1959, due to the transition to new system school education, gold and silver medals began to be awarded not only to graduates of secondary ten-year schools, but also to graduates of schools for working youth. This procedure existed until December 18, 1968 and was canceled due to the reorganization of schools for working youth into secondary general education labor polytechnic schools with industrial training and evening secondary schools.
On March 15, 1960, new types of medals were introduced. The drawings on the front and back sides of the gold and silver medals of the 1960 model were the same as on the medals of the 1945 model, and the clarifying words “in learning and work” appeared in the inscription and it became: “FOR EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN STUDY, WORK AND FOR EXEMPLARY CONDUCT."
Both medals increased in diameter to 40 mm and began to be made from non-precious metals: the gold one from L90 tombac, and the silver one from nickel silver MH19. The surface of the medals was covered with the thinnest layers of precious metals, 5 microns thick. The method of electroplating or electroplating was used (0.307 g of gold and 0.167 g of silver were used for the medal).
After the adoption on December 18, 1968 of the Resolution “On changing the procedure for awarding gold medals to those graduating from secondary schools and establishing a certificate of merit for those graduating from these schools,” the awarding of silver medals was temporarily discontinued.
Now, in order to be awarded a gold medal, it was necessary to have annual grades of “5” in all subjects while studying in grades 9-10, pass final exams with a grade of “5”, behave exemplarily and actively participate in public life schools.
1977 medals
After the adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR on October 7, 1977, changes were made to the coat of arms of the RSFSR - a red five-pointed star with a gold edge was added to the upper part of the wreath. Some changes also occurred in the coats of arms of other union republics. In this regard, innovations regarding state symbols appeared on the coat of arms side of school medals. There were no other changes to the medals of this sample.
In 1985, by a resolution of August 6, the Council of Ministers of the USSR rehabilitated the silver medal, which began to be awarded to graduates based on the results of the 1985-1986 academic year. The Mint began to mint silver medals similar to the gold medals of 1977, but with the inscription: “FOR SUCCESS IN STUDY, WORK AND FOR EXEMPLARY CONDUCT.” Apart from the removal of the word "excellent", there were no changes in size or design compared to the 1977 model.
The composition of the alloy from which silver medals were made also changed. Tombak began to be used instead of cupronickel. The thickness of silver plating increased to 6 microns.
These examples of medals were awarded to students until the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
ORDER
On approval of the Procedure for issuing the medal "For special achievements in teaching"
In accordance with (Collection of legislation Russian Federation, 2012, N 53, art. 7598; 2013, N 19, art. 2326; N 23, art. 2878, art. 3462; N 30, art. 4036; N 48, art. 6165; 2014, N 6, art. 562, art. 566; N 19, art. 2289; N 22, art. 2769; N 23, art. 2933)
I order:
Approve the attached Procedure for issuing the medal “For special achievements in learning.”
Minister
D. Livanov
Registered
at the Ministry of Justice
Russian Federation
July 7, 2014,
registration N 32997
Application. The procedure for issuing the medal "For special achievements in learning"
Application
1. This Procedure determines the rules for issuing the medal “For special achievements in learning” (hereinafter referred to as the medal), a sample of which is approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
_______________
Part 10 of Article 34 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2012 N 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation” (Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation, 2012, N 53, Art. 7598; 2013, N 19, Art. 2326; N 23, Art. .2878, art. 3462; N 48, art. 6165; 6, art. 566; art. 2289; , Art. 2933).
2. The medal is awarded to persons who have completed mastery educational programs secondary general education (hereinafter referred to as graduates) who have successfully passed the state final certification and have final grades of “excellent” performance in all academic subjects studied in accordance with the curriculum, organizations that carry out educational activities, in which they passed the state final certification.
The medal is awarded to graduates in a ceremonial ceremony simultaneously with the issuance of a certificate of secondary general education with honors.
_______________
In 2014, persons entitled to receive the medal “For special achievements in learning” in accordance with Part 10 of Article 34 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2012 N 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation”, the said medal is awarded no later than October 1 2014 ((Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation, 2014, No. 22, Art. 2769).
3. A corresponding entry is made about the issuance of a medal in the registration book of issued medals, which is maintained by the organization carrying out educational activities.
4. The medal is issued to the graduate personally or to another person upon presentation of an identification document and a power of attorney issued in accordance with the established procedure, issued to the specified person by the graduate, or, at the request of the graduate, is sent to his address through public postal operators by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt . The power of attorney and (or) application for which the medal was issued (sent) are kept in the graduate’s personal file.
5. If a medal is lost, a duplicate will not be issued.
The medal “For Special Achievement in Education” is a badge of honor for graduates of 11th grade who received a final “5” in all subjects of the school curriculum in the last two years of study. More recently, the gold medal “For special achievements in learning” opened the doors of all universities, however recent years its prestige has significantly lost ground.
What is the essence of the gold award for successful completion of school?
This is what a modern gold medal looks like
The medal for excellent academic achievement has been awarded since 1828. During this period, the award underwent both external and regulatory changes. For modern graduates, the medal is issued with the coat of arms of Russia and an enamel ribbon in the colors of the state flag on the obverse. The reverse indicates that the award was issued “For special achievements in learning.” The medalist's certificate is embossed in gold. Since 2014, the medal has not been awarded at the federal level, but regions retain the right to reward excellent students in this way.
Award conditions
Medalists' Ball
A gold medal at school is probably the first cherished trophy that students dream of. However, over the years of study, some progressively move towards their goal, while others come to terms with the fact that stable high grades are not their strong point and are looking for how to express themselves in other areas of school life. Both have the right to their own path, which by no means guarantees a cloudless future.
This is interesting. According to statistics, the most difficult place to earn a gold medal is in Sakhalin - every 596th student receives a trophy. For comparison: in the Stavropol Territory, every 29th graduate becomes the owner of the award “For Special Achievements in Education”.
So, in what case can a student count on a high reward after completing secondary education?
- If he has high final grades in all subjects in grades 10 and 11. Previously, the requirement was stricter - a high score was required not only in final grades, but also in semester and annual grades. Therefore, nowadays it is easier to get a gold medal.
- If the pedagogical council of teachers of the educational institution decided to award the graduate, and on its basis, as well as on the basis of the order of the school director, the administration of the educational institution agreed on the issue with the staff of the local education department.
- If the candidate is not studying externally.
What additional help will you get a medal?
A gold medal is a worthy reward for work in education
The main condition for receiving a high reward for academic success is, of course, a final grade of “five” in all subjects of the school cycle. But there are also a number of requirements that will help schoolchildren become the owner of the coveted trophy at the graduation party:
- Active public position in the life of the educational institution. The fact is that the decision on the award is first made by the school’s pedagogical council on the basis of the academic work and personal qualities of the candidate. Therefore, it is very important to engage in extracurricular activities (subject Olympiads, conferences, competitions, KVN, etc.).
- Over the last two academic year the student did not have recertifications in subjects to improve his score.
- The student studied the entire scope of the school curriculum in person. However, exemption from physical education due to health reasons is allowed.
- The candidate for the medal was not exempt from the final certification.
Advantages of medalists
Today, medalists participate in the introductory campaign on equal terms
For many years, receiving a gold medal meant benefits when entering a university: the applicant was accepted at any educational institution based on the interview. Since 2009, a law has been adopted on equal conditions for enrollment in universities based on the average score, which is the sum of the certificate score and the points obtained when passing the Unified State Exam. A medal is just an advantage if the average grade is the same for several applicants. Since 2015, this condition has acquired additional value, since enrollment in a university occurs after the applicant has submitted the original documents on graduation. That is, if previously a former student first assessed his place in the ranking of universities, and then determined which of them he would study at, now the graduate is forced to play “blindly.” In this case, of course, having a medal provides a kind of insurance in case the applicants have the same score.
