Highschool system
Secondary education usually lasts for 4 years and at grammar and specialised schools it is finished with a school-leaving examination which is required by all universities and colleges. This examination is taken in four subjects at grammar schools (Czech, a foreign language and two optional subjects chosen from foreign languages, science subjects or humanities) and in five or more subjects at specialised schools.
The examination is held in May and is mostly oral except Czech language in which an essay is written about a month before. The oral part of the exam takes about two hours, half an hour for each subject. A student chooses one of 25 to 30 topics by drawing a number and after 15 minutes' preparation he/she speaks on the topic and solves given tasks.
After the graduates have passed their school-leaving exam they receive the School-Leaving Certificate and they can apply for study at universities and colleges.
At the age of 15 pupils can choose among a variety of secondary schools:
grammar schools with general and rather academic education which prepare students for university study,- special schools which include technical colleges, specialised in building, chemistry, engineering etc., business academies, agricultural schools, nursing schools, music and art schools which offer professional education
- vocational schools training would-be workers for practical jobs