In early May 2018, the results of the first Ranking of LGBTQ+ Youth Friendly Schools were published. More than four thousand young people from Warsaw participated in the survey then.

The 2023 ranking was held for the fifth time. In terms of the number of people it is the largest edition by far. The project's work is coordinated by 16 people in the regions, and the campaign is supported by 14 media patronages.

The main goal of the survey is to enable secondary school candidates to choose the school that is friendly, open and tolerant.

In this year's Ranking, there was a the question concerning the key criterion young people use when choosing a school. The results indicate that students care about the school's openness, accepting atmosphere and concern for mental health (25%) as much as they care about the educational level of their chosen institution (25%).

It often happens that schools supporting the LGBTQ+ community are also open to any diversity. Cognately, schools where discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is reported are also intolerant in other issues.

Young people's responses show that as many as 81% of them support LGBTQ+, but at the same time 35% of young people notice lack of acceptance at school. This means that awareness and education are increasing in process of time as more and more young people use Internet or turn to NGOs. Anti-discrimination workshops are still rare in Polish schools, and only 17% of people declare that they take part in them.

The National Ranking of LGBTQ+ Friendly Schools reached more than 2,000 schools. Nearly 20,000 male and female students rated their institutions on the openness and safety of their LGBTQ+ peers.

The winner of the 2023 Ranking was the "Collegium Gedanense" Secondary School in Gdansk. Second place went to Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijay Sinhji's "Bednarska" 1st Civic Secondary School in Warsaw, and third place to Jan Śniadecki's 30th Secondary School in Warsaw.

The following school were ranked next:

• Paweł Jasienica's 2nd Civic Secondary School with International Branches in Warsaw
• Adam Mickiewicz's 1 st Secondary School in Olsztyn
• 38 th Bilingual secondary School in Poznan
• Emilia Sczaniecka 4th Secondary School in Lodz
• Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1st Secondary School in Kedzierzyn-Koźle
• Mikołaj Rej’s 7th Public Secondary School in Krakow
• Jacek Kuroń’s Multicultural Secondary School in Warsaw

Only three schools from smaller towns made it into the top 30:

• Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1st Secondary School in Kedzierzyn-Koźle (7th place)
• 17th Secondary School in Gdynia (27th place)
• Secondary School with Bilingual Branches in Boguchwała (30th place)

This is a significant decrease in the involvement of schools from smaller towns and villages compared to previous years.

New installation outside the Ministry of Education and Science

A school-shaped installation was erected outside the Ministry of Education and Science on May 10, 2023. It depicts the Ranking's values as well as the values that are important to young people.

These are:

• openness
• acceptance
• attention
• proficiency
• empathy.

"These are the values that are still lacking in Polish schools. Instead of focusing only about the students' results we must also concentrate on the pedagogic role of the institution. The education law obliges schools to ensure safety. We have to be aware that it means both physical as well as psychological safety such as protection from discrimination," says Dominik Kuc, coordinator of the Ranking.

The fifth edition of the LGBTQ+ Friendly Schools Ranking is held under the patronage of the European Commission in Poland, the mayors of Warsaw, Lodz, Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Swidnica and Opole as well as the marshals of the Lubuskie, Zachodniopomorskie and Pomorskie provinces.

How do students feel about the Ranking of LGBT+ Friendly Schools?

"Thanks to the ranking, I didn't have to rely on the opinions of other students, and those varied dramatically. The map of equality gives an overall perspective on individual institutions. The ranking of LGBTQ+ Friendly Schools is primarily a chance to find a school where I would be treated as an individual. We spend at least four years in secondary school. Each of us would like to spend this time in a friendly atmosphere, learning, making friends and memories. Students can find a safe space, free from violence or objectification owing to the Ranking. I'm glad to see that there are more and more safe schools," says Mateusz Trzaska, a 3rd year secondary school student, coordinator of the Ranking in the Świętokrzyskie region.

Ewa Ulicz, a mother of four, has a similar opinion. For her, choosing a school for her children was primarily dictated by psychological safety. As a parent she requires school to be safe, open to diversity and capable of teaching empathy and respect- she said in an interview with the Rankings coordinators.