What is "arsakeio"

Arsakeion (Greek: Αρσάκειον), or Arsakeio (Αρσάκειο), is the name of a group of co-educational independent schools in Greece, administered by the Philekpaideutikē Etaireía (Φιλεκπαιδευτική Εταιρεία, "Society of the Friends of Education"), a non-profit organization. The Arsakeion comprises six schools, with campuses in Psychiko, Ekali (Tosítseion campus), Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina, and recently Tirana, Albania, with more than 9,000 total students. Plans are under way to build campuses in Komotini and in Cyprus.

The Philekpaideutikē Etaireía was founded in 1836, when Ioannis Kokkonis, Georgios Gennadios and Michail Apostolidis created a school where young girls could be educated after the difficult years of the Greek War of Independence. The school was endowed by the magnate Apostolos Arsakis and was named after him. Initially it was a girls-only boarding school located at Panepistimiou Street in downtown Athens, purposed to train young teachers and send them (before 1913) to Macedonia, in order to help survival of the Greek language and culture. Following Arsakis' death, the school was further endowed by Baron Michael Tositsas and his widow, Helen.

Combining a tradition of educational excellence along with appeal to more affluent families, the school flourished and created campuses in Patras (1891), Psychiko (1933), Thessaloniki (1936) and Ekali (1972). The schools started enrolling boys in 1982. The original building on Panepistimiou Street now houses the Council of State.

A campus in Tirana, Albania was inaugurated in 1999; it is being expanded with class and dormitory space.