Japanese school

Education structure
School education is divided into three levels:

Elementary School (Shō Gakkō, 小学校):

duration - 6 years;

students' age: 6-12 years;

Education is compulsory and mostly free.

Middle School (Chū Gakkō, 中学校):

duration - 3 years;

age of students: 12–15 years;

Education is compulsory and mostly free.

High School (Ko: to: Gakko:, 高等学校, or abbreviated as Ko: ko:, 高校):

duration - 3 years;

students' age: 15–18 years;

Education is not compulsory, but more than 98% of schoolchildren attend it;

Education is paid (there is state support for low-income families).

Academic year and schedule
The school year begins on April 1st.

The structure of the year is three trimesters with holidays:

summer holidays - 1 month;

Winter and spring breaks are short.

School days are usually from Monday to Friday, sometimes on Saturday.

Duration of lessons:

primary school - 45 minutes;

Middle and high school - 50 minutes.

Number of lessons per day:

primary school - up to 4 lessons;

middle and high school - up to 6 lessons.

Curriculum
In primary school they study:

Japanese language (including calligraphy);

arithmetic;

natural history;

music;

art;

physical education;

Fundamentals of life (grades 1–2);

humanities and natural sciences (grades 3–6);

labor (grades 5–6).

In middle and high school the following are added:

foreign languages ​​(especially English);

mathematics (algebra, geometry);

physics, chemistry, biology, geology;

geography, history of Japan, world history;

sociology, ethics, political science, economics;

informatics;

specialized subjects in specialized schools (industrial, agricultural, commercial disciplines, etc.).

Features of the educational process
Grading: A letter system (A–F) and a 100-point scale are used. Some exams require a minimum score of 90%.

Exams:

upon admission to an educational institution;

when moving to the next class;

2-3 times a year starting from 7th grade
Homework: None in elementary school