If you grew up in Sofia, especially in its southern districts, the name ‘Kirov’ is probably familiar to you. And we’re not talking about a street or a bus stop, but one of the capital’s most iconic technical schools – today’s Vocational High School of Electrical Engineering and Automation.

The story begins in 1951, when the Model Technical School of Electrical Engineering was founded. At the end of that same year, the school was named after the Soviet politician Sergei Mironovich Kirov, to mark the anniversary of his death.

The building housing the school was allocated to the technical college in 1963. It covers an area of 9 decares and comprises more than 75 classrooms, workshops and a sports hall. The school in the capital is proud to be the first in the country to introduce a five-day school week; furthermore, it has built a seaside holiday camp in Ahtopol, opened a shop and workshop for the sale and repair of electrical goods produced during practical training lessons, and so on.

In 2003, the name was changed and ‘Kirov’ officially became the Vocational School of Electrical Engineering and Automation – a slightly longer name, but the spirit of the school remains the same.