EDUCATION SYSTEM IN SLOVAKIA - TYPES OF SCHOOLS BY LEVELS
Slovak education system isn’t difficult to understand even though it’s different than american or british. Here in Slovakia, we have kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, gymnasiums, and high schools.
In America (I think), how we call it, translation of how we call it
Kindergarten is for children from 3 to 5/6 years. Children arrive sometime between 7:00am and 9:00am, they leave from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. They have breakfast at home, but in kindergarten they have desiata – a small meal between breakfast and lunch, lunch, and olovrant – a small meal between lunch and dinner. Children in kindergartens play most of the time, but they also learn some basic stuff (days of the week, moths, etc.), they sing some songs, they draw, sometimes they go on a walk… After lunch children have to sleep for cca 2 hours. Every child have to bring his own pajama and pillow.
Children from kindergarten on a walk:
Elementary school is for children from 6/7 years to 15 years. The 1st class begins 8:00 or 8:15 (it’s up to school). The 6th class ends sometime between 13:20 and 13:40 (it depends on the length between classes). Children in first grade learn how to read, write, basic math, English, arts, gymnastics, ethical education/religious education (parents choose), music education. In higher grades more classes are added – chemistry, biology, German/Spanish language, geography, Slovak language and literature, history, IT, Civic education, physics...
Children in each grade are divided into classes (eg. 1.A, 1.B, 1.C, 1.D) and they have their home classroom, where they spend most of the time and teachers come to them.
In ordinary classroom there is about 20 children. In some schools children are divided to smaller groups by their skills for subjects like math and languages.
1st grade timetable:
9th grade timetable:
After 5 years in elementary you can decide to go to 8 year gymnasium (there are 4 year gymnasiums too, but they are not that common). Many people want to go to gymnasium but not everyone will get there – you have to pass admission test. People say that gymnasiums are harder, not everyone can do it, gymnasiums are considered as prestigious schools. Some gymnasiums specialize on some subject (eg. Math or languages) so students learn in that class a lot more.
4th grade of gymnasium = 9th grade of elementary school timetable:
Middle school is after 9 years of elementary school and it’s for children from 15/16 years to 19 years – graduation. I think every middle school has a specialization on something.
Slovak high schools are like American universities. You can go there right from middle school or you can wait for as long as you want and go there (of course you don’t have to go there at all).