The Czech Education System

Structure of The Czech Education System Pre-school education (from 3 to 6 years of age) Compulsory education (9 years; age 6 -15 years) Secondary education (3 types; 4 years; age 15 – 19 years) Tertiary education (universities + higher professional schools)

Pre-school Education = Kindergarten/Nursery for children from 2-3 years of age up to 6-7 years preparatory education for the future primary school (alternative schools like Montessori are becoming popular) main activities: drawing, hand-works, singing and dancing, basic knowledge about the world around us, games, playing with toys etc. optional activities (usually paid by parents but not expensive): - English in games; playing a musical instrument - sport activities : courses of swimming, skiing, ice-skating, inline roller skating, football etc. daily programme includes walks outside or sleeping after lunch usual opening times: 6:30 – 16:00

Compulsory Education = Primary school/Gymnazium Compulsory education : 9 years (age of 6 -15 years) consists of 2 stages: the 1st stage – year 1-5 (6-11 years of age, 20-25 lessons a week) the 2nd stage - year 6-9 (12-15 years of age, wider range of subjects and 27-30 lessons a week) Other possibilities for compulsory education: Pupils can leave a primary school at the end of the 5th year for an eight year gymnázium or at the end of the 7th year for a six year gymnázium after passing the entrance examination set by the school.

Compulsory Education = Primary school/Gymnazium The school year begins on 1st September and ends on 31st August of the following year (summer holidays in July and August) Lessons of 45 minutes are spread over 5 days a week The average class size is about 22 pupils of the same age (maximum is 30 pupils) Meetings with parents are organized to discuss the progress made by their children. Pupils demonstrating learning difficulties have to repeat the year. The drop out rate is 0.78 %.

Compulsory Education Primary school Subjects Subjects are divided into nine fields. The more specific areas are in brackets: Language and Language Communication (Czech Language and Literature, Foreign Language) Mathematics and Its Applications Information and Communication Technologies Humans and Their World Humans and Society (History, Civic education) Humans and Nature (Physics, Chemistry, Natural Sciences, Geography) Arts and Culture (Music, Fine Art) Humans and Health (Health Education, Physical Education) Humans and the World of Work Marks are given from 1 to 5 with 1 being the best.

Compulsory Education Primary school Holidays The main (summer) holidays: from 1st July to 31st August Other holidays: Christmas holidays - from 23rd December to 1st January autumn break – usually on 26th and 27th October spring break - a week off in February or March, depending on what area the school is located in Easter holidays – Thursday, Friday and Easter Monday

Secondary Education Structure Secondary schools in the Czech Republic can be: Public schools (fully owned by state) Privat schools (but also with a subsidiary of the state) students are usually between 15 and 19 years old uniforms are not requiered secondary education is not compulsory

Secondary Education Structure Three main types of secondary schools in the Czech Republic: Gymnázium (general secondary school) Secondary technical school (střední odborná škola -SOŠ) can be of 2 types: Professional secondary school (mainly industrially oriented) Lyceum (prepares students for professionally oriented university studies) Secondary vocational school (střední odborné učiliště – SOU – practical education)

Secondary Education Gymnazium provides a general, academic education Its main aim: to prepare students for university studies. The duration is 4 years (but there are also other types of gymnázium: for 6 years and for 8 years) At the end of their time at the gymnázium students take a final exam (maturita) 17.4 % of young people entering all types of secondary schools at the age of 15 enrol in a gymnázium. Besides that 7.95 % of the population group is enrolled in the gymnázium at a lower age. There are 346 schools of this type (nearly 1/5 of them are private ones).

Secondary Technical School - Professional secondary school usually provides a complete secondary vocational education which takes 4 years and concludes with a final exam (maturita with a special professional part) sometimes provides also lower-level secondary vocational education (2- or 3-year courses) Technical schools are aimed at more practical education in fields such as in technology, business, economics, tourism, health and education. About 40 % of teaching time is devoted to general education and 60 % to vocational technical education. Practical lessons are taught in laboratories and workshops at schools.

Secondary Technical School - Lyceum usually provides a complete secondary vocational education which takes 4 years and concludes with a final exam (maturita with a special professional part) Lyceum (also called generally professional secondary school) prepares student for university studies. The subject matters are more general than in professional secondary schools and out-of-profession subjects (such as History or Geography) are taught wider than at professional secondary schools. Types of lyceums: Technical Lyceum, Economic Lyceum, Language Lyceum, Pedagogical Lyceum, Medical Lyceum, Scientific Lyceum (Chemistry and Biology), and Military Lyceum

Secondary Education Secondary Vocational School offers apprenticeship training mostly in 3-year courses ending with a final exam and apprenticeship certificate Practical training represents about one half of teaching time and it aims at the acquisition of manual skills the number of branches used to be about 280 but the number is decreasing along with the number of students which leads to the decrease of qualified workers number in the labour market There are also 4-year courses organized by secondary vocational schools ending with a maturita final exam. The courses lead to highly skilled worker qualifications or serve as an extension study to those who continue their study after their successful apprentice training.

Tertiary Education 1. Higher professional schools 2 types: universities and higher professional schools 1. Higher professional schools similar professional education to Secondary Technical School and they are usually connected to them suitable for graduates of Gymnazium 3-year courses ending with a final exam and the possibility for graduates to use the title „Dis.“ are becoming less and less popular because of the increase of accessibility to university studies

Tertiary Education - University public, private and state (for police and military) universities study at public universities is unlimited and free (after the age of 26 years, students muy pay a fee) Bachelor degree program - lasts usually 3 years, title Bc. (bakalář) or BcA. (bakalář umění - only artistic fields of study) Maturita level is required to entry + usually the entrance exam the study ends with a final exam and a presentation of a thesis Master program – (titles Mgr.; MgA,; Ing.) lasts usually 2 years Bachelor degree level is required to entry + usually the entrance exam Physicians (title MUDr.), lawyers (title JUDr.) have longer education Doctoral Program - Ph.D. - Th.D.

ACADEMIA MERCURII Nowadays our privat secondary school provides students with four study courses: 64-42-M/040 Management of Travel and Tourism 78-42-M/002 Economic Lyceum 78-42-M/002 Language Lyceum (a new course) 79-41-K/401 Gymnasium - General

Resources: Profile of The Czech Republic´s Educational System http://www.ncee.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Czech-Education-System.pdf Schooling in the Czech Republic https://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-education/czech-education/ The Czech Education System (Embassy of CR in Dublin) http://www.mzv.cz/dublin/en/about_the_czech_republic/education_in_the_czech_republic/