Atakum Anatolian Imam Hatip High School

Atakum Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, is an educational institution located in the Atakum district of Samsun province, operating under the authority of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education. The school serves its students at the Alanlı Neighborhood campus, 14 kilometers from the center of Samsun city and 5 kilometers from the center of Atakum district.^【1】

The institution began operations in the 2011-2012 academic year under the name "Adnan Kahveci Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi". In the 2012-2013 academic year its name was changed to "Atakum Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi". During the 2014-2015 academic term, with the opening of Arabic preparatory classes with a capacity of 70 students, it became the first project school in the Black Sea region.

In the 2015-2016 academic year, with the addition of an English preparatory class alongside the Arabic preparatory class, it became the only project school in Türkiye offering preparatory classes in both languages. In the 2017-2018 academic year, by incorporating the Science and Social Sciences project, it became the first school to simultaneously implement three distinct projects. In the 2020-2021 academic year, an independent building within the school campus began operating as the İmam Hatip Hafızlık Proje Ortaokulu.^【2】

The institution is a state school under the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education. Its mission is defined as fostering an understanding of religious education grounded in respect for humanity, thought, freedom, ethics, and cultural heritage.

Its vision is to cultivate individuals who can evaluate cultural heritage, interpret lived experiences, and generate solutions to problems. Institutional communication processes are supported by a fiber-optic internet infrastructure under the Fatih Project.^【3】

The school implements full-day education, with class hours running from 08:10 to 15:30. The curriculum consists of three main divisions: a five-year Arabic Preparatory program, a five-year English Preparatory program, and a four-year Science and Social Sciences program. Foreign language instruction is provided in English and Arabic.^【4】

Student admissions are conducted within specified quotas. Current quotas are set at 60 students for the Arabic division, 60 for the English division, and 68 for the Science and Social Sciences division. Although the school’s minimum admission scores vary by year, in the 2017-2018 academic year the minimum scores were recorded as 456.954 for Arabic preparatory classes and 459.718 for English preparatory classes.^【5】

The school campus comprises a total of 46 classrooms. For educational and social activities, there are six meeting halls, three multipurpose halls, two sports halls, two chemistry laboratories, two physics laboratories, and four Information Technology (IT) classrooms. The institution has two libraries with a collection of 8,648 books and five cafeterias.

Heating needs are met through a natural gas system. Under accommodation services, there is a dormitory building with a capacity of 208 female and 208 male students. Access to the campus is provided by tramway, the R9 ring line, school buses, and private vehicles.^【6】

The teaching staff consists of a total of 71 teachers. Administrative and managerial operations are carried out in accordance with standards set by the Ministry of National Education.^【7】

A total of 621 students are currently enrolled at the institution. The student profile includes both academic and hafızlık project-focused students at the middle school and high school levels. Thanks to dormitory facilities, both female and male students from various regions are able to receive education.^【8】

Sports activities at the school include archery, taekwondo, wrist wrestling, cross-country running, table tennis, football, volleyball, and basketball. Academic and scientific activities include TÜBİTAK exhibitions and project competitions.

The institution has achieved national and international successes such as third place in the Taekwondo European Championship, second place in the MMA World Championship, a silver medal at the TÜBİTAK Science Olympiads, first place in the Turkey Arabic Poetry Reading Competition, and first place in the Oxford Big Read newspaper creation category. It has also secured provincial-level rankings in chess, bocce, fencing, and various athletics disciplines.^【9】

Academic simulations such as MUN (Model United Nations), ATA Meclis (Turkish Grand National Assembly Simulation), and ATAG20 (G20 Summit Simulation) are conducted within the school. Original projects such as "4 Languages 4 Magazines", "School TV", "1 School 3 Languages", and "İmam Hatipliler in TYT Camp" are implemented.

On the international level, the school continues initiatives under ERASMUS+ (KA102, KA229, KA219), e-TWINNING, "be interesTED", and TEDx projects. Language education programs include overseas initiatives targeting the United Kingdom and Jordan.^【10】

• Won a silver medal in the computer science category of the TÜBİTAK Science Olympiads.
• Achieved fourth place nationally in competitions held under TEKNOFEST.
• Won first place at the provincial level in wrist wrestling.
• Secured third place at the provincial level in girls’ table tennis competitions.

• Achieved ninth place as a team in the MEB International Robotics Competition.
• Won second place nationally and first place provincially in the TÜBİTAK High School Students Project Competition.
• Secured second place at the provincial level in the Arabic Text Performance Competition.
• Achieved first place at the provincial level in the 18 March Martyrs Commemoration Run, third place in the Atatürk Commemoration Run, first place in girls’ table tennis, and second place in the inter-school chess tournament.

• Won first place nationally in the Arabic Poetry Reading category of the Arabic Knowledge and Activities Competition.
• Achieved first place nationally in the Newspaper Creation category of the Oxford Big Read Competition.
• Won first place at the provincial level in the "Young Guardians of the Qur’an" Hafızlık Competition.
• Secured first place at the provincial level in the İHH Humanitarian Aid Foundation "Competing Classes in Goodness" project.
• In sports, achieved first place at the provincial level in girls’ table tennis team, first place in the 19 May Chess Tournament (under 18), second place in the 29 October Republic Day Run (youth male team), third place in the public marathon (5000 m), and fourth place in bocce.

• Won first place in Turkey in the Impact Hub Turkey entrepreneurship competition.
• Achieved second place regionally and first place provincially in the "Young Guardians of the Qur’an" Hafızlık Competition.
• Won first place at the provincial level in the Arabic Knowledge and Activities Competition and third place in the girls’ Arabic poetry reading category.
• In sports, achieved first place in the Republic Day Run, second place in cross-country running, second place in the Atatürk Commemoration Run, and thirteenth place in freestyle wrestling at the provincial level.

• Achieved third place nationally in the Arabic Debate Competition.
• Won third place in the Taekwondo European Championship.
• Secured first place at the provincial level in the "Young Guardians of the Qur’an" and "Young Call" Hafızlık Competitions, third place in the "Young Voice Beautiful Recitation of the Qur’an" Competition, and second place in the Arabic Knowledge Competition.
• Achieved third place nationally in the Türkiye Aviation Pilots Foundation Photography Competition and first and third place at the provincial level in the Ensar Foundation Türkiye Values Awards.
• In other sports and cultural achievements, won first place in wrestling at the provincial level, second place in table tennis team, third place in the Atatürk Commemoration Run, third place in fencing, and first place at the district level in poetry reading.

• 2014-2015: Won second place globally and first place nationally in the 60 kg category of the MMA Semi Contact World Championship. During the same period, the school secured first place at the provincial level in school sports shooting and first place at the district level in poetry competitions.
• 2013-2014: Won the Republic Cup in the Atakum regional football tournament and secured third place at the provincial level in table tennis.
• 2012-2013: Achieved fourth place nationally and first place provincially in wrist wrestling, second place at the provincial level in the Arabic Knowledge Competition, third place in the wrestling tournament, and second and third place in individual star table tennis.
• 2011-2012: Won third place in the Black Sea region and first place at the provincial level in the TÜBİTAK Project Competition with a sociology study titled "The Imam Figure in Turkish Cinema".^【11】