Confucius Institute in Sofia Reaches Cooperation Agreement with “Stoyan Sariev” Educational Complex in Plovdiv

On February 12, Aksiniya Koleva, Bulgarian director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, and Chen Ying, Chinese director, visited the “Stoyan Sariev” Educational Complex in Plovdiv. The complex includes the Private Language High School “Stoyan Sariev” and the Private Primary School “Badeshte” (lit. “Future”). The Chinese and Bulgarian directors exchanged views with Georgi Sariev, General Manager of the complex; Svetla Toshkova, Principal of both schools; Vesselina Baldjieva, Primary School Administrative Principal; and Evgenia Raykova, Secondary School Administrative Principal, on cooperation in Chinese language teaching and cultural activities.

During the meeting, the Bulgarian director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia introduced the institute’s achievements in Chinese language teaching, organization of cultural activities, and Sino–Bulgarian educational exchanges, while the Chinese director introduced the institute’s Chinese teaching staff. Principal Svetla Toshkova introduced the group’s history, school management, and curriculum structure, and expressed willingness to establish a cooperative relationship with the Confucius Institute. Both sides reached an agreement to offer Chinese language courses and plan to include Chinese in the curriculum system of the two schools in the complex starting from the fall semester of 2026. A formal cooperation agreement will be signed subsequently.

After the meeting, the Chinese and Bulgarian directors, accompanied by the principal, visited the classrooms to meet students and teachers from different grades, introducing the characteristics of Chinese language learning and future course plans.

The Private Language High School “Stoyan Sariev” is known for its high-level language education and hosts a Cambridge Assessment examination center. In 2017, it was selected for the “Innovative Schools” list by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science.

The private primary school “Badeshte” provides high-quality basic education and enhanced foreign language instruction, emphasizes students’ individual development and overall competencies, and offers diverse extracurricular activities such as arts and sports.

Confucius Institute in Sofia

Text and photos: Wang Ying

Editors: Chen Ying, Aksiniya Koleva, Ding Chen

English translation: Dima Pironkova