In 2024, the Saby Foundation built and gifted Astana a new building for Specialized Lyceum No. 9 “Zerde,” designed for gifted children. This became the lyceum’s first modern campus, fully compliant with international educational and environmental standards.
The educational complex, covering over 10,000 sq. m., was constructed as part of the Saby Foundation’s systematic philanthropy program. Approximately 3,000 sq. m. are allocated to sports and recreational areas. The new building provides all the conditions for comfortable and creative learning: modern classrooms and laboratories, STEM rooms, a library with a reading hall, spacious recreation areas with panoramic windows, coworking zones for students and teachers, a robotics lab, and a sewing workshop. The construction cost amounted to around 4 billion tenge.
Lyceum “Zerde” has long held a leading position in Kazakhstan’s education system. The school specializes in in-depth study of physics, mathematics, and natural sciences in Kazakh and English. Over the years, the lyceum has produced 123 “Altyn Belgi” (Golden Certificate) recipients, 99 graduates admitted to prestigious universities around the world, and 161 Nazarbayev University scholarship holders, and it is also recognized among the country’s top olympiad schools.
Another confirmation of the lyceum’s high educational standards is the achievement of 11th-grade student Ayala Makhanbetali, who this year received admission offers from ten leading universities worldwide, including Harvard University, Brown University, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, and MIT.
Notably, these invitations came directly from the universities themselves. Since the eighth grade, Ayala has participated in international educational and research projects and, alongside her studies, works at a Canadian company. It was her academic level and research skills that formed the basis for invitations from the world’s top universities.
From our side, we are delighted to see how the Saby Foundation’s investments in modern educational infrastructure and support for gifted children contribute to significant achievements and sustainable results.