On 6 September 2025, Polska Macierz Szkolna (Polish Educational Society) celebrated its 120th anniversary. The gala took place in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, and among those attending were representatives of the Frederic Chopin Polish Saturday School in South Croydon. Two of them were honoured with the gold PMS badge.
120 years of Polska Macierz Szkolna
Polska Macierz Szkolna continues the tradition of the educational society founded in 1905 in Warsaw, in the Russian partition. It was established during the school strike, when Polish pupils demanded to be taught in their mother tongue, and it set up Polish schools, libraries and reading rooms. Today the organisation supports Polish Saturday schools in the UK, which for decades have been teaching children from Polish families the language, history and culture of their ancestral homeland. The anniversary was an occasion for people involved in Polish education in the British Isles to come together.
The anniversary in the Painted Hall
The venue made for an exceptional setting. The Painted Hall is famous for its Baroque wall and ceiling paintings by Sir James Thornhill, on which the artist worked from 1707 to 1726; the interior is sometimes called Britain's Sistine Chapel. The hall was built as the dining hall of the Royal Hospital for Seamen, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and since 1997 the whole complex, together with historic Greenwich, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Against the backdrop of these paintings, speeches were delivered to guests gathered at round tables, and those honoured posed for photographs on stage holding their certificates.
Warm congratulations to our school's representatives on their gold PMS badges!
