Tallinn Real School celebrates its 145th anniversary and formally opens new academic building

The new academic building of Tallinn Real School, a municipal school in Estonia's capital, will be formally opened during celebrations marking the school's 145th anniversary. Classes have been held there since September. Construction cost about €32.7 million, roughly €10 million more than planned, according to Estonian public broadcaster ERR.

Interior and teachers' input

The interior features oak veneer, with walls and furniture in light shades or terracotta. Terracotta also links the new building with the historic main building, which is 142 years old and whose floor tiles were of the same colour. Architects and interior designers took teachers' advice into account.

Daniel Kaazik, head of academic work and a physics teacher, said teachers could state their wishes on how classrooms and shared areas would be arranged. The school now has three physics classrooms and four laboratories. The old building was designed for 300 pupils, while the school now has 950–1,000, an increase not foreseen in its plans. For the first time, the school has enough space for its own pupils.

The third floor houses the school's competence centre, where the school wants pupils from across the city to carry out practical work. Ceilings are designed to absorb noise, which matters because the school teaches children from grade 1 to grade 12. Primary grades have a separate floor. The building has several terraces and a courtyard for sports, while the new gym is underground. Digital devices are banned in the school canteen.

Costs

The new building and renovation of the historic block cost about €32.7 million: €25.5 million for construction, €4.2 million for furniture and equipment, and €1,040,628 for design. When construction began in 2024, total investment was estimated at €22.3 million, but only the new extension was counted then. The historic main building also turned out to need work, and archaeological excavation costs rose from an expected €300,000 to about €1.4 million, explained Oliver Eglit, head of the city's Property Department.

The project was designed by the architectural bureau Molumba.