This famous educational institution was attended by notable figures such as poet Marina Tsvetaeva, actress Rina Zelena, commentator Nikolai Ozerov, and actor Oleg Solyus. In Moscow, it was called the "Varenki School."

The head of the noble family von Derviz, Pavel Grigorievich, was nicknamed the railway king and the Russian Monte Cristo. He was a passionate music lover and even composed romances, among which the most famous is "Evening Bell" to the verses of I.I. Kozlov.

However, not everything was well in the family: children died at an early age. In memory of his son Vladimir, a hospital was built in Sokolniki, which also houses the family burial vault. In honor of his daughter Varvara, a gymnasium was opened in 1881 on Gorokhovsky Lane.

The creation of the gymnasium was handled by Vera Nikolaevna, as Pavel Grigorievich passed away from a stroke at the age of 55 while receiving the coffin with the body of his 16-year-old daughter in Bonn.

Initially, only girls named Varvara were accepted for study and full boarding, and their number was not to exceed 16, the age at which Varya died. But by the time Marina Tsvetaeva studied here, many daughters of Moscow merchants, nobility, and intelligentsia were already being educated in the boarding school. During the Soviet years, a school was established here (and still exists) that is accessible to all. In the late 1980s, humanitarian classes with a legal focus appeared here for the first time in Russia.

Interestingly, the building of the gymnasium has retained its original appearance. The facade on Gorokhovsky Lane remains yellowish, with the Derviz monogram and bas-reliefs of pelicans, birds symbolizing parental love and self-sacrifice.