2.6 REEXAMINATION, REPEATING A GRADE

ZŠ, SŠ

At the end of each half-year term, pupils receive their report cards with their grades in different subjects. Only pupils who received a passing grade in all subjects of the national curriculum can continue on to the next grade.

MAKE-UP EXAMS

If a pupil has received a failing grade in one or more compulsory subject (the exception are subjects such as music or physical education, etc.) at primary or secondary school, they have to pass a make-up exam in order to continue on to the next grade.
If a pupil receives failing grades in three or more subjects, they are required to repeat the grade (in primary school) or their studies are terminated (secondary school).
Make-up exams take place in front of a teachers’ committee (three teachers will examine the pupil from the subject’s curriculum).

WHEN DO PUPILS TAKE THEIR MAKE-UP EXAMS:

Pupils must pass these exams by the end of the school year (31 August), the exact date is chosen by the school director.
The school director may also pick a substitute date for the make-up exams if there are serious reasons to do so (illness, the pupil failed their make-up exams etc.) before 15 September of the following school year in primary school, or by the end of September of the following school year in secondary school.
If there are any doubts as to the accuracy of the grades received at the end of either half-year term, a legal guardian may ask the school director or the regional authority to review the grades.
If the pupil does not show up for their make-up exam, they are considered to have failed.

IF A PUPIL FAILS THEIR MAKE-UP EXAM, THE OPTIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
★At primary school: the pupil repeats a grade based on the school director‘s decision.
★At secondary school: the pupil ceases to be a student of the school from the following day onward (they can reapply for admission to the same or a different secondary school and start over in the first year if they meet the admissions criteria).

!A pupil can only take a single make-up exam in one day.

★To prepare for the make-up exam, we recommend tutoring services.

REPEATING A GRADE

A primary school pupil who failed their make-up must repeat the grade.

Repeating a grade in primary school is possible only once during each stage (stage 1 = grades 1–5, stage 2 = grades 6–9). Example: a pupil who repeated 2nd grade and then failed at the end of the 4th grade – still automatically advances to the 5th grade.

! The first grade of primary school may not be repeated, except in cases of particularly serious medical reasons (effective as of 1 September 2026).