High school is an important part of the education process. It gives students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and professional skills and prepares them for the labor market or future university studies.
Moreover, students in secondary school continue to develop social and communication skills, gain experience, find new interests, and build relationships with their peers. Secondary school broadens the general knowledge that students have acquired in elementary school.
Choosing an appropriate high school might be a challenging task for an applicant and/or their parents. It is necessary to take into account the previous successes, skills, interests, and plans of the applicant. In the Czech Republic, applicants may pick one of several hundreds of fields of study taught at vocational schools, grammar schools, art schools, etc.
What are the important criteria when choosing a high school?
The following aspects should be considered when choosing a high school and field of study:
- Difficulty of studies – Different types of high schools have different levels of difficulty of studies. One of the first aspects to consider is whether you want to study a 3-year program with an apprenticeship certificate, or a 4-year program concluded by the maturita exam.
- Where to go after high school – If a student wants to pursue their studies at a university, it is necessary to choose a field of study concluded by the maturita exam. If a student wants to get prepared for a specific occupation (trade), a 3-year program with an apprenticeship certificate is more suitable. After successfully completing a 3-year program, students can find a job in the field. They can also continue their studies if they are interested in passing the maturita exam.
- Interests and skills – If an applicant is interested in a particular field of study, e.g., technically, medically or economically oriented, they may choose a high school specialized in the area. Children with artistic, musical, or dancing talent might choose an art school (conservatory).
- Locality – When choosing a school, you should also consider how far it is from your home. According to the location, you can decide whether it is better to commute on daily basis or find a dormitory.
- Special educational needs – It is advisable to choose a school providing required support for students with special educational needs (health, mental, sensual, or other impairments).
High schools offer a wide range of fields of study. You might refer to the database of high schools. It allows you to browse schools according to various filters (field of study, future occupation, study form, locality).
Even if you make a decision about the field of study and school, it can be difficult to select a particular school only based on the information provided on its website. We recommend looking up information about student fairs to find out when (and if) a fair is held in your region. It is also useful to find out when the school you have selected organizes an open day.
- High school fairs are usually held once per year. It is an event where prospective students can find out information about multiple schools at one place. The individual schools are represented by stands where information brochures are provided, and school representatives answer questions from prospective students. Schola Pragensis in Prague or Posviť si na budoucnost in Pilsen are two examples of numerous High school fairs held every year in the Czech Republic.
- High schools organize open days to let prospective students discover the facilities and the offered fields of study. Visitors can walk around the school building and see different classrooms, laboratories, workrooms, and other spaces where theoretical and/or practical classes take place. Teachers and other school employees can answer questions from the visitors and provide further information about the school, fields of study, admission procedure conditions, and other topics. Open days offer a great opportunity to prospective high school students to gain an insight into what the school looks like, to get to know its environment, and to gather more information useful for the school selection process.
Information about high schools in the Czech Republic you should know
- Most high schools admit students who have completed compulsory education, i.e., after completing the 9th grade at an elementary school. This is different for multi-year grammar schools and conservatories where students are admitted earlier, and a part of their compulsory education is completed within the high school studies.
- Most fields of study offer 4-year programs. As has been said, this does not apply to multi-year grammar schools and conservatories where the study programs are longer. In addition, vocational and practically oriented schools offer 2- or 3-year programs, depending on the school type and the field of study.
- Schools with fields of study concluded by the maturita exam admit students upon a successful completion of the unified entrance exam. Schools may also require applicants to pass an additional exam (as specified in the admission conditions).
- Art schools and sports grammar schools organize talent exams. Applications to these types of schools must be submitted earlier (before November 30).
- Schools that do not require applicants to pass the unified entrance exam (3-year programs with an apprenticeship certificate and programs with no certificate or maturita) publish the admission conditions in the admission procedure requirements. Study programs with no certificate or maturita and lower secondary education programs with an apprenticeship certificate are available only to applicants who have received a recommendation from a school counselling center (ŠPZ).
- Studies are concluded by the maturita exam or a final exam, depending on the school type.
School types in the Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, there is a wide range of high schools that differ in terms of the specialization, length of studies, admission procedure requirements, or completion requirements.
Secondary technical schools (industry, arts, health, hotel, business) represent an optimal solution especially for students interested in a specific field of study who intend to find a job in areas such as transport, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medical care, tourism, economy, and more. The studies most often take 4 years and are concluded by the maturita exam. Upon a successful completion of the studies, the graduates find a job on the market or pursue their studies at a post-secondary technical school or a university.
High schools of art are intended for students talented in an artistic discipline (painting, singing, playing a musical instrument, dancing). An art school focused on music or dancing is called a conservatory.
Applicants are selected based on their results in a talent exam. Like with multi-year grammar schools, the studies can take 8, 6, or 4 years.
Vocational schools are a good choice for students who are interested in a particular field of study and want to learn a trade. The schools offer theoretical as well as practical classes. The studies take 3 years, and the graduates are awarded an apprenticeship certificate upon a successful completion of the final exam. After finishing the school, graduates can start working or continue a study program concluded by the maturita exam. Among the most popular vocational fields of study, we may cite car mechanic, cook / waiter, locksmith, bricklayer, plumber, car electrician, or baker. Lower secondary education graduates are also awarded an apprenticeship certificate. However, further studies are more complicated given the previous lower study requirements. A lower proficiency in the Czech language should not be the reason to choose a lower secondary education study program.
Grammar schools provide comprehensive education concluded by the maturita exam. Graduates continue their studies at a post-secondary technical school or a university, or they start working. Depending on the length of studies, grammar schools can be divided into 4-year schools and multi-year (i.e., 6- and 8-year) schools. Applicants are required to pass the unified entrance exam in the Czech language and mathematics. Schools might also require them to pass additional parts of the entrance exam.
- 4-year grammar school. The studies take 4 years. Students start upon completing the 9th grade of an elementary school. Applicants who have completed their compulsory education abroad can submit a request to replace the Czech language and literature exam with an interview in Czech.
- 6-year grammar school. The studies take 6 years. Students start upon completing the 7th grade of an elementary school. This type is less common than 4- and 8-year schools.
- 8-year grammar school. The studies take 8 years. Students start upon completing the 5th grade of an elementary school. The first 4 years are referred to as lower grammar school and are needed to complete the compulsory education. The second 4 years are called upper grammar school.
Secondary education without the maturita exam or apprenticeship certificate
In addition to what has been said, there are also high schools and secondary technical schools without the maturita exam or apprenticeship certificate or special schools. The studies take 1 or 2 years. Graduates are awarded a final certificate. Special schools do not provide specialized education. Rather, they focus on acquiring skills useful for everyday life and simple work activities. This type of school is intended for disadvantaged children. Studying at a special school requires a prior recommendation from a school counselling center (ŠPZ). We certainly do not recommend special schools to children whose only disadvantage is not being speakers of Czech.