In 1997, in a Romania still searching for modern educational models, an ambitious project was born in Bucharest, built on a simple yet powerful idea: education can change destinies and shape future leaders.
Today, 30 years after its founding, the Laude-Reut Educational Complex stands as one of Romania’s most prestigious educational institutions, a benchmark for academic excellence, multiculturalism, and future-oriented education. Established as part of the international network created by Ronald S. Lauder, the Complex currently educates more than 600 students and is recognized for its outstanding academic achievements, international projects, and for nurturing generations of young people who now study and work in leading universities, institutions, and companies around the world.
A SCHOOL THAT ANTICIPATED THE FUTURE
From the very beginning, Laude-Reut set out to be more than just a school.
Alongside the national curriculum, the institution introduced fields that today define the professions of the future: diplomacy and international relations, business and entrepreneurship, media and communication, marketing, robotics, critical thinking, public speaking and debate, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
Long before these concepts became educational trends, Laude-Reut students were already debating global issues, developing business projects, creating media products, and learning to understand the mechanisms of the contemporary world.
EXCELLENCE MEASURED THROUGH RESULTS
Academic performance has been one of the defining constants throughout the school’s 30-year history.
Laude-Reut High School has achieved a 100% pass rate in the national Baccalaureate examination for 16 consecutive years and has consistently ranked among the top-performing high schools in Bucharest and Romania.
Every year, the school’s students earn awards in national and international competitions across a wide range of fields, from literature and science to computer science, biology, chemistry, and technology.
A remarkable example is the achievement of three Laude- Reut students who won the Grand Prize at Innovation Labs and secured a €150,000 investment for their startup, Pentest Copilot, becoming the youngest participants ever to receive such recognition in this prestigious technology and cybersecurity competition.
Education Beyond the Classroom
Over the years, Laude-Reut has built a unique educational ecosystem based on partnerships with ministries, embassies, universities, and international organizations.
Projects such as 2DAY AMBASSADOR and LaudeMUN have become landmarks in diplomacy and leadership education in Romania. Now in its 17th edition, the international 2DAY AMBASSADOR conference brings together hundreds of students from Bucharest and across the country, alongside ambassadors, ministers, opinion leaders, and international experts. Likewise, LaudeMUN, now in its 13th edition, offers students the opportunity to experience diplomacy and international negotiations through simulations of the United Nations.
Students participate in Model UN conferences, international forums, internship programs, and meetings with political leaders, business executives, diplomats, and cultural personalities.
Laude-Reut has demonstrated that education becomes truly meaningful when students have direct access to the real world.
Shaping Character, Not Just Performance
Beyond academic achievements, Laude-Reut has embraced a deeper mission: shaping responsible, engaged young people who understand and uphold the values of a democratic society.
Education for remembrance, combating antisemitism, promoting intercultural dialogue, and defending democratic values are all integral parts of the school’s identity.
One of the most representative projects in this regard is “Eichmann’s Trial”, an international educational and cultural initiative developed by the Laude-Reut Educational Complex together with prestigious institutional and cultural partners from Romania and Israel. Originating from the “Mock Trial of Human Rights” simulation, the project evolved into a major annual educational endeavor exploring themes such as individual responsibility, justice, Holocaust remembrance, and the defense of democratic values. Dozens of students have actively participated in the project, working alongside legal, artistic, and academic professionals, demonstrating how history can become a powerful tool for civic education and the development of social consciousness among younger generations.
At the same time, through the scholarship program “A Chance for Your Future”, carried out for more than twenty years in partnership with the Embassy of the State of Israel and the Sector 3 City Hall of Bucharest, the Laude- Reut Educational Complex offers talented students the opportunity to benefit from an elite education. For many young people, the program has represented not only access to a school of excellence, but also the opportunity to change their lives through education. It is one of the initiatives that best reflects the school’s founding mission: to identify, support, and nurture the potential of every child determined to succeed.
The Vision That Transformed a Project into an Educational Model
The story of Laude-Reut’s 30 years is inseparable from the personality of its founder, Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis – an educator, leader, and visionary who transformed a bold educational project into a benchmark of excellence in Romania.
Educated in Israel, where she studied chemistry, pedagogy, and management, Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis dedicated her entire career to education, community development, and the formation of future generations. In the 1990s, at a time when Romania was redefining its educational system and searching for new development models, she was entrusted with the mission of establishing an institution that would promote academic excellence, multiculturalism, and intercultural dialogue.
Thus, in 1997, with the support of philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder and the international network of schools he had established throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Lauder-Reut School was founded in Bucharest. What began as an ambitious educational project gradually evolved into a comprehensive educational complex – from kindergarten to high school – recognized today for its academic achievements, international projects, and contribution to the formation of future leaders.
Under her leadership, Laude-Reut continuously evolved, anticipating changes in society and the labor market. Diplomacy, international relations, business, communication, marketing, leadership, technology, and critical thinking became integral components of a unique educational offer in Romania, designed to prepare students not only for examinations but for life itself.
A defining moment in the institution’s history came in 2016, when, after nearly two decades as part of the Ronald S. Lauder international network, the school continued its journey independently under the name Laude-Reut Educational Complex. This milestone confirmed the maturity of the project and its ability to continue growing while preserving the same standards of excellence and educational mission.
Around this vision, Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis built not merely a school, but a community – one made up of students, teachers, parents, alumni, institutional partners, and members of the Board of Trustees, distinguished personalities from the fields of education, diplomacy, culture, academia, and business who actively contribute to shaping future generations.
For Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, education has never been merely about transmitting knowledge; it has been about building character, cultivating responsibility, and developing young people capable of building bridges between people, cultures, and ideas. After 30 years, her greatest achievement is not simply the existence of an elite school, but the generations of alumni who carry Laude-Reut’s values into universities, institutions, and organizations across Romania and around the world.
30 Years and a Look Toward The Future
After three decades of activity, the Laude-Reut Educational Complex is much more than an educational institution. It is a community, a laboratory of ideas, and an educational model that has demonstrated that excellence can be built through vision, perseverance, and partnership.
Its graduates study today at prestigious universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Ivy League institutions, Reichman University, and other leading academic centers across Europe, the United States, and Israel. Many of them are already pursuing successful careers in diplomacy, technology, research, entrepreneurship, business, communications, and public administration.
As it celebrates its 30th anniversary, the story of Laude- Reut is not only about the past and its achievements. It is about the future. About generations of students who will continue to learn that success means not only performance, but also responsibility, integrity, courage, and the ability to contribute to a better world.
30 years of excellence.
30 years of education that inspires.
30 years of leaders shaped for the future.
