Milojka Štrukelj Primary School

Milojka Štrukelj Primary School in Nova Gorica opened its premises on Delpinova Street on 1 September 1961. Before that, classes were held in barracks in Grčna, originally used by workers from labour brigades and early enterprises. The school is named after the partisan Milojka Štrukelj (1925–1944).

At the opening, the first headmaster, Miroslav Nakrst, stated for the school magazine Čriček:
“The eight-year primary school was established in 1958. Before that, pupils attended four-year primary schools and four years of lower secondary school. In the first years, classes were held in the student dormitory building in Grčna. Teaching took place in two shifts, and the conditions were poor. The buildings were unplastered and cold. In 1961 we moved to a new building, which, however, did not have a gymnasium.”

Originally, the left wing housed 24 classrooms and offices for the primary school, while the right wing accommodated the Nova Gorica grammar school. On 19 June 1962, the school was officially named after Milojka Štrukelj (1925–1944), a Slovenian activist from the National Liberation Struggle, born in Solkan. She grew up in a progressive Slovenian family, played the piano, roller-skated and skied. She was known as a cheerful girl who enjoyed learning and understood the importance of knowledge. After completing primary school, she enrolled in the grammar school in Gorizia. In 1941, she joined the resistance movement. The Italians arrested her and imprisoned her in Gorizia, where she was interrogated for four months. She was later transferred to the Regina Coeli prison in Rome, where she spent another four months, and then moved between various prisons until the Italian capitulation. After her release, she rejoined the resistance. While attending a party school in Cerkno, the Germans attacked on 27 January, during which she lost her life.

Memories of the new school building were also recorded by Nadja Koglot Puppis in her book Nova Gorica: Her and My Youth (2008):
“We were not particularly enthusiastic about the new school, as it had neither a gymnasium nor playgrounds. Being a sporty generation, even if by circumstance, it never occurred to us to simply sit and study. Since nothing had yet been built for the grammar school, we began, on a recently ploughed field, to build a playground under the strict guidance of our physical education teacher. /…/ In this way, we built all the playgrounds ourselves and soon had our first PE classes and serious training sessions there. /…/ All this novelty [in the new premises – editor’s note] unsettled us a little. The desks were small, narrow, somewhat fragile, and covered with green laminate. There was only a small space at the side for a schoolbag. There was nowhere to hide; we were like on a stage, entirely exposed to our teachers.”

As Nova Gorica grew, the number of children increased, creating a strong need for additional school space. In 1981, a new primary school—today known as Fran Erjavec Primary School—was built. Despite this, overcrowding at Milojka Štrukelj Primary School persisted. In 1986, a branch school in Ledine was opened for the lower grades (today for pupils in the first three years). Over time, the central school underwent numerous extensions and renovations. In 2005, it gained a new sports hall, and in 2006 new classrooms, workshops, a modern library with multimedia facilities, and a computer classroom.

Avtor: Jasna Fakin Bajec

Kraj: Nova Gorica

Vir:

• Koglot Puppis, Nadja. 2008. Nova Gorica: njena in moja mladost. Ljubljana: Trip.
• Radijska kronika – na današnji dan. 17. marec: Rodila se je aktivistka NOB Milojka Štrukelj, MMC RTV SLO, https://www.rtvslo.si/radiokoper/na-danasnji-dan/17-marec-rodila-se-je-aktivistka-nob-milojka-strukelj/417449 (Ogled: januar 2020).
• Milojka Štrukelj, Modmaping. Vir: https://www.novagoricaart.si/osebnost/milojka-strukelj/ (ogled: 5. 11. 2024). 

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