HISTORY
Right after the intercommunal fighting between the Turks and
Greeks in December 1963, the School was originally founded on 27th January
1964 by late Mr. Hasan Nevzat and two devoted teachers- Mr. Behzat Gürsel
and Mr. Mahmut Islamoglu- all teaching members at the English School on the
Greek side. The School was established as a "private school" in
a rented house in the Kösklüçiftlik area and later extended
into a ruined church with four classrooms. The school was primarily set up
as an English medium school designed on its model on the Greek side, preparing
students for the London GCE examinations. It was then called Kösklüçiftlik
English School. Eventually, the school moved to the Victoria Girls
High School near the Atatürk Square and then transferred to the old Commercial
Lycee next to the Haydarpasa Mosque. In 1968 it was turned over to the Türkish
Education Office and its name was changed to the English
College. Until 1973, the School did not award a diploma to its graduates.
Due to the changes made in the entrance to Turkish Universities, the school's
name was re-changed to Turk Maarif Koleji (
1973) and the School was authorised
to also award high school diplomas to its graduates. The school moved to the
present building after 1974 and continued to progress and flavorish in many
ways. After 1991, the secondary school part (first forms, second forms and
third forms) moved to another building (as a separate school - called Bayraktar
Turk Maarif Koleji) and currently only the high school part (fourth, fifth
and sixth forms) is present.
Headmasters of the school to date:
Mr. Hasan Nevzat (1964 - 1967) - Deceased
Mr. Selim Inan (1967 - 1969)
Mr. Sacit Nereli (1969 - March 1980)
Mr. Vural Asicioglu (March 1980 - Sept 1980) (Acting Headmaster)
Mr. Sinasi Tekman (1980 - March 1990) - Deceased
Mr. Recai Deren (March 1990 - June 1990) (Acting Headmaster)
Mr. Erdogan Sensoy (1990 - 1993)
Mrs Emine Beton (1993 - 2001)
Mr. Fehmi Tokay (2001 - .......)
TMK now has 600 students and 75 members of staff.
Having come a long way and through difficult times, in 2003-2004 academic
year, TMK is very proud to celebrate its 40th anniversary.