School Structure
The gymnasium is a secondary school which prepares the student for higher education at a university. They are thus meant for the more academically minded students, who are sifted out at about the age of 10–13. In addition to the usual curriculum, students of a gymnasium often study Latin and Ancient Greek.
Some gymnasiums provide general education, others have a specific focus. (This also differs from country to country.) The four traditional branches are:
- humanities education (specialising in classical languages, such as Latin and Greek)
- modern languages (students are required to study at least three languages)
- mathematical-scientific education
- economical and social-scientific education (students are required to study economics, social studies and business informatics)
Today, a number of other areas of specialization exist, such as gymnasiums specializing in economics, technology or domestic sciences.
In some countries, there is a notion of progymnasium, which is equivalent to beginning classes of the full gymnasium, with the rights to continue education in a gymnasium. Here, the prefix "pro" indicates that this curriculum precedes normal gymnasium studies.
Read more about this topic: Gymnasium (school)
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