School system

Czech republic

School attendance is compulsory from the age of 7 till 15. Schools are mainly state schools but there are also some private and church schools. Handicapped children are educated separately. Pre-school education begins at the age of 6 months when children may attend crèches until the age of three, but usually the mothers stay with them at home. From 3 to 6 years children attend kindergartens. Primary education starts at basic schools and lasts 9 years. Children receive an education foundation: writing, counting and reading skills, Czech language and literature, basics in physic, biology, civics etc. Secondary education lasts usually 4 years- from the age of 15 till the age of 19. Secondary education may be divided among secondary grammar school, secondary special school(technical s, s. of economics, agriculture s, music s., etc), vocational schools which prepare young people for practical profession. Tertiary education starts at the age of 19 and lasts usually from 4 to 6 years. Students may attend various universities or colleges(philosophical faculty, medical faculty, technical college etc.). Students end their secondary education after passing their graduation exam. They have to pass an obligatory exam in Czech and one foreign language and must choose from two optional subjects studied during previous 4 years. Then they usually sit for an entry exam at some university or college. Students are evaluated by marks from 1 to 5. One is the best and five is the worst.

Great Britain

Key Stage One: children 5-7 years

Every day all British children have literacy and numeracy. At the age of 7 all children have a test to see how well the children are learning.

Key Stage Two: children 7-11 years

They sit another major test at the age of 11. Often this helps to decide which class the child will go into in secondary school.

Secondary school: children 11-16 years

Pupils are sent to the nearest secondary school to their home. If the school isn¢t very good, then parents can apply to a different school. All secondary schools offer the same curriculum. The pupils are tested again at 14 years of age. The results help them to decide which subjects to choose for their GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams. These exams are taken at the age of 16 and are the first major exams. After the GCSE pupils can either leave school and find a job or study for their ¢A¢ levels.

Sixth form or College: pupils 16-18 years

Sixth form is often at the school or most towns have a special college that 16-18 years olds can go to. Pupils study for their A level exams over two years, and in order to go to university they must pass these exams. In the first year 5 or 6 subjects are studied. in the second year they study the best 3 or 4 subjects. If they pass the exams they gain an A level in each subject.

Colleges: