School medals have long been used to recognize students’ efforts and serve as a symbol of achievement. The silver medal is making a resurgence, but for years the gold medal has been the highest honor. Teachers, parents, and students have all started talking about this change.
The silver medal’s return is widely welcomed by the public, who see it as a just means of recognizing the efforts of students who may not place first but nevertheless achieve academic excellence. It offers a compromise, motivating more students to set lofty goals without giving the impression that success at any particular level is all that matters.
This post will discuss the reasons behind the silver medal’s resurgence, how it fits into the modern educational framework, and what it means for students aiming for academic achievement.
- How medals appeared and disappeared
- How many fours can a future medalist get
- To get the medal "For special success in learning" this year, you had to:
- There are no exact instructions on this matter yet. Today we know that for this you need to:
- Video on the topic
- "More expensive than gold?": silver medals will be returned to schools in the Altai Territory
- 🔺Points for the Unified State Exam will also be added for a silver medal – benefits when entering a university #USE #school #admission
- Silver medals are being returned to schools
- Silver medals will return to Russian schools
- WILL BE RETURNED IN SCHOOLS SILVER MEDALS 🥈 #news #popular #medal #school #graduation
How medals appeared and disappeared
Nearly 200 years have passed since the first Russian school medals were authorized by the "Charter of district and parish gymnasiums and schools" in 1828. Graduates who scored above average in every subject covered in the gymnasium course were given medals.
By the way, those medals weighed 25 g and were actually made of 990 gold. As a result, the silver ones were 925 silver.
Medals for exceptional students were eliminated after the revolution, along with many other things. Only after the Great Patriotic War ended are they remembered; starting with the 1944–1945 school year, gold and silver medals were awarded again. True, they weighed just 11 g now, having shed a significant amount of weight, and they were only coated in precious metal instead of being made of gold and silver. But that’s not the primary concern!
A gold medal was awarded, just as in the 19th century, to a graduate who demonstrated excellent behavior, "outstanding success," and received As in every subject. Those with one or two fours on their school certificate received silver medals.
Only "gold" medals remain after the cancellation of silver medals twice, in 1968 and 1985, and in 2014 and 2023.
In contrast to the tsarist medals, the Soviet ones granted benefits upon admission to universities in addition to acting as proof of merit. An examination was initially not required for admission to an institute if one had a gold and silver (secondarily) medal. If one passed the first entrance exam with a "A," they could later enter without competition with a medal. In less prestigious institutions, an interview may also be sufficient. A student who received a school medal also qualified for an increased scholarship and a postponement of military duty until graduation.
School medals have finally lost their precious metal content since 1960. Furthermore, their significance has quickly begun to fade in the post-Soviet era. For instance, medalists are not entitled to any benefits under the 1992 "On Education…" law of the Russian Federation.
The former advantages—being accepted into a university on the basis of an interview score or a perfect score on the initial entrance exam—came back in 1996. But after ten years, when the Unified State Exam era began, medals lost significance until, in 2009, all federal benefits for medalists were terminated; the medal once more became an academic achievement award, just like it did in Tsarist Russia. It’s true that there were bonuses for the medal, which are specific to each university and will be covered in more detail.
From 2014 onwards, it was officially referred to as a single federal medal "For special achievements in studies" rather than gold or silver. Such a medal has only been given to exceptional students since 2014.
The medal has the Russian tricolor and a double-headed eagle on one side, and a laurel wreath and the words "For special achievements in teaching" on the other.
School medals are becoming more popular again, with the "silver" medal taking center stage. A lot of schools are reintroducing silver medals as a result of changes in the educational system to honor students who perform well academically but fall short of the top spot. This rebirth encourages students to aim for excellence and recognizes those who are on the verge of reaching the pinnacles of success. The silver medal’s return is a step in the right direction toward promoting more equitable acknowledgment of students’ accomplishments and efforts.
How many fours can a future medalist get
The Ministry of Education tightened the requirements for receiving medals a few years ago after realizing that an increasing number of them were being awarded. Indeed, only the final "fives" were considered when awarding A’s nowadays, even though in the Soviet era you had to confirm your A’s by passing multiple exams (usually seven!)… As a result, in order to receive a medal, you must now demonstrate your knowledge by receiving at least 70 points in math and Russian in addition to receiving a passing mark in the other subjects.
To get the medal "For special success in learning" this year, you had to:
- study for all A"s in both semesters of grades 10 and 11, and graduate from grade 11 with final grades of "excellent" in all subjects;
- pass the Unified State Exam in Russian and advanced-level mathematics with a result of at least 70 points for each, or 70 points for the exam in Russian and 5 points in basic-level mathematics;
- or pass the State Final Exam and get 5 points in compulsory subjects.
Regarding the silver medal, who will be eligible to apply starting in the following year?
There are no exact instructions on this matter yet. Today we know that for this you need to:
- get no more than two Bs in each semester and no more than two Bs per year in grades 10 and 11 (according to other sources, it is enough not to get Cs in the first semester of grade 10);
- successfully (satisfactorily) pass all the Unified State Exams;
- have in your portfolio successful performances at district and city Olympiads, active participation in the public life of the school.
On this issue, we will keep an eye on any new laws!
We therefore rush to reassure parents who are concerned about their children’s academic performance, beginning with the first grades: only grades earned in grades 10 and 11 matter in order to receive a medal (and generally a “good” certificate)!
Nobody cares about those Cs you got in middle school anymore. Grades are grades, of course, but prospective medalists must acquire a foundational understanding of earlier study years.
This is intriguing: Nowadays, what are medals made of? Since they were cold stamped from the same copper-zinc alloy, the gold and silver that were awarded were actually brass. There are two types of medals: gilded and ungilded. In the first example, the gold medal has a galvanic coating of 999.9 gold, while the silver medal has the thinnest silver coating. The gold on the school medal is minuscule—two microns thick.
| School Medal | Details |
| Silver Medal | Recognizes high academic achievement, second to the gold medal, recently reinstated in many schools. |
| Gold Medal | Awarded for the highest level of academic performance, still the top honor in schools. |
| Reintroduction of Silver | The silver medal is making a comeback to recognize students just below the top performers, motivating more students. |
The silver school medal’s return is a big step toward honoring the efforts and accomplishments of students who don’t quite make it to the top but still show excellence and dedication. More students will have the opportunity to be proud of their academic achievements thanks to this reintroduction.
Giving out gold and silver medals encourages students to aim for excellence on a personal level. More students will feel that their efforts are valued in this setting, which will foster a culture of inclusion and equitable recognition within the educational system.
In the end, returning the silver medal honors the efforts of individuals who might otherwise go unnoticed and emphasizes the value of tenacity and reliable performance. It serves as a reminder that there are various types of success and that each accomplishment is deserving of praise.
