Education

The education system

Czech

There are all types of education – preschool, elementary, secondary, university and postgraduate.

Preschool education

crèches - for little kids up to the age of 3

kindergarten - also called a nursery school, for kids from 3 to 6 years

Elementary education

State/private

Compulsory school attendance takes nine years, usually from the age of 6 till the age of 15.

They are usually

It is divided in two cycles. The first cycle is from the age of 6 to 10. They learn to write, read and count, basics of sciences. The second cycle is from 6th grade usually form 10 to 14.

The school year usually starts on September 1st and ends on June 31st.

The students have many holidays during the school year, such as Autumn, Christmas, Spring Break, Eastern and so on.

The classes usually take 45 minutes and are followed by a 10 or 5 minute break. The students have also a lunch break that takes 45 minutes.

To evaluate the results of students' work, there is a classification scale of grades from 1 (the best) to 5 (the worst) applied in the Czech Republic.

Pupils obtain (obdrží) a summary classification (vysvědčení) that state the received grades for each subject.

Secondary education

State/private

The secondary education usually lasts for 4 years.

It ends with a school-leaving examination (Maturita) which is required by all universities and colleges.

Pupils can stay in dormitories by the time of their education.

There are many types of secondary schools:

grammar schools - the students gain general knowledge, and they get ready for universities

secondary technical schools - schools that give students special education, for example music schools, art schools, agricultural schools and so on. (

vocational schools(učňák) - they train students for special jobs and do not expect the students to go to universities.

Universities

includes advanced vocational and university education.

Higher vocational education deepens general and professional knowledge and takes three years in the daily form, practice included.

University education is available to all applicants with completed secondary education (i.e. leaving exam) that successfully pass the entrance exam.

The best-known university is probably Charles University in Prague, founded during the reign of the Czech king Charles IV in 1348.

GREAT BRITAIN

Nursery

3 – 5 years old the children sing, play with toys, paint, draw, run, jump and do other activities. They learn how to communicate with other people and they get ready for real school. Nurseries in Britain are often very expensive.

primary school

they go there at the age 5 – 11 years old.

Students are valued by grades from A to F (f means that the student failed). The university calculates a grade point averadge

It consist of two stages

– Key Stage One is for children 5-7 years old. The Children have literacy and numeracy for an hour each. At the age of 7 they receive a test to see how well they are learning (infant school).

– Key Stage Two is for children 7-11 years old, they learn to work more independently, at the age of 11 they have another test (junior school).