EDUCATION ------
POLAND AND ITALY
Polish education structure
Education in Poland is compulsory; every child must receive education from the age of 6 years until they are 18 years old. It is also mandatory for 6-year-old children to receive one year of kindergarten, before starting primary school. Primary school lasts eight years (grades 1–8), and students take final exams (math, polish language, english or german language) at the end of eighth grade. After graduating from primary school, students usually choose to go to secondary school (also called highschool), which lasts 4 years. They can also choose to educate themselves towards a specific profession, and receive work experience and qualifications through apprenticeships. After finishing secondary school and passing the final exam, which is called the matura, one can go for a higher education at a university or college, etc.
Italian education structure
Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age, and is divided into the five following stages: nursery school, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school and university. Education in italy is free and free education is available to children of all nationalities who are residents in Italy. Italy has both a private and public education system. Primary school, is commonly preceded by three years of non-compulsory nursery school. It lasts five years. Until middle school, the educational programme is the same for all students: although one can attend a private or state-funded school, the subjects studied are the same.
THE DIFFERENCES
Both in poland and in italy students start classes at 8 a.m., are given homework and write tests. There are also many differences:
- italy has 6 days of school a week, but also much longer holidays (3 months);
- poland on the other hand has 5 days of school per week and holidays lasting 2 months;
- secondary school in italy is divided into 2 parts (lower and higher);
- in Poland primary school lasts 8 years straight. In Italy primary school is divided into 2 cycles (5 years and 3 years)