Published on: 2026-09-01
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Sergey Sobyanin opened the building of school No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs in the Presnensky district. It was renovated under the “My School” program.
“Many generations of wonderful students have studied here. And of course, it was necessary to make the school worthy so that it could continue the best traditions. There was an option to simply close it, as it did not meet all the standards. But we decided, on the contrary, to revive this wonderful educational space. I hope you liked it,” said Sergey Sobyanin during a meeting with the students.
Among the educational institutions opened on September 1, there are 100 reconstructed and 20 new schools, including five schools with preschool groups, and 25 new kindergartens. 115 thousand children will study in the new schools. They will accommodate every 10th student in Moscow. This is a record figure for recent times, and possibly for the entire history of the city.
In total, about 1.6 million pupils, schoolchildren, and students will be studying this academic year in the schools, kindergartens, and colleges of the capital. Approximately 95 thousand children have entered the first grades of Moscow schools.
“Today, about 1.6 million Muscovites came to colleges, schools, and kindergartens. We have prepared 547 educational institutions for the start of the school year. We are opening 145 new or fully renovated school and kindergarten buildings. Among them is School No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs in the Presnensky district, reopened after reconstruction,” wrote Sergey Sobyanin in
Source: Mayor of Moscow’s channel on in the “Max” messenger
By the beginning of the school year, 547 schools, colleges, and supplementary education institutions under the capital’s jurisdiction were prepared Department of Education and Science (a total of over 4,100 buildings). In addition, in the summer of 2026, maintenance was carried out in more than 1,500 school and kindergarten buildings.
Schools and colleges in Moscow received 76 thousand units of new digital equipment for the new academic year. This includes interactive panels, laptops, as well as server and network equipment. Necessary conditions for organizing children’s meals have been established in all educational institutions. In addition, specialists checked the operability of security and safety systems.
City program “My School”
In addition to building new educational institutions and creating schools of the future, Government of Moscow is implementing the “My School” program. This is an unprecedented in scale project to renovate existing school buildings.
The “My School” program has been operating for three years. Today it has reached full capacity. In 2024, four schools were renovated, and in 2025 — 51 buildings. In September 2026, 100 renovated schools began operating. Another 85 buildings are planned to open in 2027.
During the reconstruction of the space, schools are completely changing:
– common spaces begin to be used more efficiently: instead of narrow corridors, constantly closed assembly halls, and underutilized libraries, open recreation zones, multifunctional event venues, and media libraries are created;
— modern furniture and next-generation equipment are installed in the buildings, which radically improve teaching in the natural sciences, engineering, and IT profiles: this year alone, schools and colleges in Moscow received 76 thousand units of digital equipment;
— For the educational buildings, a modern design is being developed taking into account the specifics of the buildings; this year, two additional options were prepared, so now schools can choose one of three solutions, which allows adding individuality to the buildings.
Schools located in historic buildings are renovated according to individual architectural designs with elements of restoration. In 2026, such work was carried out at school No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs. As a result, the institutions become modern, open, bright, and comfortable, with an atmosphere that is friendly and motivating.
Reconstruction of School No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs
The historic building of School No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs in the Presnensky district (Leontyevsky Lane, house 19/2, building 1) was built at the end of the 19th century. The area of the four-story building with a basement is over eight thousand square meters.
“The building on Leontyevsky Lane was constructed at the end of the 19th century. Specialists began its renovation under the ‘My School’ program in spring 2025. The individual project took into account the need to preserve the architectural uniqueness and the historically established appearance of the structure,” added Sergey Sobyanin.
Source: Mayor of Moscow channel on in the messenger “Max”
The complete reconstruction of the school began in the spring of 2025. Before starting the work, specialists developed an individual project taking into account the need to preserve the architectural uniqueness and historically established appearance of the building. It included unique architectural and artistic solutions. In addition, special requirements were applied to the interior finishing, furniture, and equipment.
Natural materials and carefully selected decorative elements were used to renovate the school. This allowed highlighting the architectural value of the building and ensuring a long service life.
During the works, specialists replaced the engineering communications, door and window units, installed partitions, performed floor screeding, and interior finishing. In addition, they carried out landscaping of the school grounds.
The main focus was on organizing a modern educational environment for children and teachers. In accordance with the “My School” program, the renovated building was equipped with universal and specialized classrooms, a study room with the ability to be divided into two spaces by a transformable partition, a modern media library with areas for group and individual work, a multifunctional multipurpose space for events, lectures, and exhibitions, as well as dining and sports halls.
The interiors were designed in muted color tones with accents such as acoustic panels, bright furniture, and design elements. The use of glass partitions and doors ensures natural lighting and makes the space more open.
The sports complex on the school grounds includes a multifunctional field for mini-football, volleyball, and basketball, playgrounds for children of various ages, as well as areas for parking bicycles and scooters. Additionally, there is a quiet relaxation zone.
The renovated building of School No. 1520 on Leontyevsky Lane reopened its doors on September 1. It serves students in grades 5 through 11. The children continue with in-depth study of specific subjects (mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, informatics, foreign language, literature, history, social studies), as well as education within the framework of city projects “Mathematical Vertical,” “Mathematical Vertical Plus,” “Entrepreneurial Class in a Moscow School,” and “IT Class in a Moscow School.”
The building continues to house the school media center “Kaptsovka”, the school history museum, the theatrical school-studio “Piero”, and the dance theater “Victoria”.
There are more opportunities for extracurricular education. Students can attend sports clubs for basketball, volleyball, table tennis, rugby, crossfit, gymnastics, sambo, karate, aikido, and chess. Plans include opening clubs for media creativity, dance, theatrical arts, visual arts, preparation for Olympiads, and basics of programming, prototyping and robotics, and 3D modeling.
From elementary school to gymnasium
School No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs is one of the oldest educational institutions in Moscow. It is more than 130 years old. It traces its history back to the early 1890s, when the city primary school for boys named after Sergey Kaptsov (1816–1892) was established — a hereditary honorary citizen of the city of Moscow, a first guild merchant who traded silk goods in the Bolshoy Vetoshny Row. The money to create the institution was donated by his son — Alexander Kaptsov (1849–1897), a hereditary honorary citizen of the city of Moscow, a member of the Moscow City Duma, a first guild merchant.
The educational building in Leontyevsky Lane was constructed in 1892–1893 according to the project of architect Dmitry Chichagov (1835–1894). Its appearance refers to the Swedish-Norwegian courtyard that used to be located in this part of the city. The architectural design of the building resembles a Scandinavian castle with a steep roof and turrets.
In 1895–1896, an extension was built according to the project of architect Maxim Heppener (1848–1924). It housed the Xenia Kaptsova Girls’ School (1821–1895), the wife of Sergey Kaptsov and the mother of Alexander.
Both educational institutions were very popular in Moscow, popularly known as Kaptsovki. Until 1917, the Kaptsov family remained patrons of the schools, donating funds for their maintenance. From the 1920s to the 1960s, the buildings of the former schools housed general education labor polytechnic schools.
In 1964, a special English school No. 31 was opened here. It became famous when Grigory Suvorov was its principal (the school began to be called Suvorov’s), and Galina Sobenevskaya worked as his deputy for foreign languages.
In 1993, the school was granted the status of a gymnasium and assigned the new number 1520. In 1996, it was reinstated with the name of its founders — the Kaptsovs, philanthropists. In 2015, School No. 1243 was incorporated into the educational institution.
Graduates of School No. 1520 named after the Kaptsov family include the chief director of the Moscow Academic Theatre named after Vladimir Mayakovsky Andrey Goncharov (1918–2001), People’s Artist of the RSFSR Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, playwright Emil Braginsky, People’s Teacher of the USSR Leonid Milgram, poetess Yulia Drunina, actress Yulia Rutberg, directors Fyodor Bondarchuk and Rezo Gigineishvili, artistic director of the Theatre on Bronnaya Konstantin Bogomolov, writer Viktor Pelevin, and many other outstanding Muscovites.
Cooperation with universities and foreign colleagues
Today, school No. 1520 named after the Kaptsovs consists of two buildings located in Leontyevsky and Maly Kislovsky lanes. They educate 1,830 students. The staff comprises 157 employees, including 101 teachers and 23 other educational workers.
In grades 10-11, education is organized according to technological, socio-economic, humanitarian, and natural science profiles.
In order to prepare students for a conscious choice of profession, the school actively collaborates with Moscow universities. Among them are Lomonosov Moscow State University (including the Institute of Russian Language and Culture), the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, the Patrice Lumumba Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship, and the Moscow State Linguistic University.
In addition, the school has signed a cooperation agreement with the Rencheng Campus of School No. 1 in Jining City (China). The document provides for the exchange of experience in the development of new educational technologies and the improvement of teaching methods and technologies for school subjects.
Additional education: from theater to tourism
The school implements additional general development programs of various levels and directions. They cover 98 percent of the students.
In the past academic year, 179 eleventh graders graduated from the school. Of these, 74 individuals (41 percent of the graduates) were awarded federal and Moscow medals for outstanding academic achievements. Based on the results of the Unified State Exam (EGE), 82 graduates (46 percent) scored over 220 points in three subjects, including 35 who scored above 250 points. Three graduates scored 100 points in one of the EGE subjects (Russian language, chemistry, physics).
In addition, in the 2025/2026 academic year, 119 students received diplomas as winners and prize-winners of the municipal stage of the All-Russian School Olympiad. Seventeen students became prize-winners of the regional stage, and two people reached the final stage of the Olympiad.
The educational institution operates its own theater school-studio “Piero.” It holds the status of a Moscow city creative collective.
The school sports club “1520 in sports” offers students a wide range of sports sections and clubs. Those interested can also join the “Path of Discoveries” hiking club.
Special attention is paid to patriotic education. The school has established the military-patriotic club “Heirs of Traditions” and a branch of the “First Movement.” Primary school students participate in the “Eaglets of Russia” program.
Young actors of the theater school-studio took part in a festival of patriotic performances as part of the all-Russian project “School Classics” and the interregional theater festival “Spring of Victory.”
To find out how the capital has changed over the past years, what initiatives aimed at making city residents’ lives even more comfortable are currently being implemented, and what awaits Moscow and its inhabitants in the near future, you can visit large-scale special project on the portal mos.ru, dedicated to the development of key sectors of Moscow. Among them are transport, industry, healthcare, education, sports, and construction.
On the project page “Education” It tells about how educational institutions are transformed during reconstruction under the program “My School” and how the update affects the quality of education. The re-equipment of colleges allows students to acquire practical skills during their studies and obtain professions in demand on the labor market.
Subscribe to Sergey Sobyanin’s official channels in messengers “Max” and “Telegram”.
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