UNITED STATES 1) elementary/grade school - Pledge of Allegience, public x private schooling, compulsory, essential subjects (Math, Science, English), marks A-F 2) Junior high/middle school - grade 6 - 9 3) High school - both vocational and academic lectures freshmen, sophomores, juniors (take SAT(Scholastic Aptitude Tests) - 4 hours long, tests skills of critical thinking, Math, language, writing) and seniors - completion is celebrated with graduation ceremony - graduates in gowns toss mortarboards 4) university - more than 2000 universities/colleges, local community colleges, state universities, private elite institutions (Ivy League Schools - eg Yale, Princeton, Harvard) Bachelor degree -designed to take 4 years Master's degree - another 2 years PhD - doctorate GREAT BRITAIN - 1) nursery school/ playgroup 3/4 - 5 years 2) primary school - 5 - 11 years - infant schools - basic skills - reading, writing, maths junior schools - at 7, more complex subjects - history, geography, science 3) secondary school - 11 - 16 years old, broader range of lectures - eg foreign language (or extended English) GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education - 8/9 exams - Humanities, Foreign Language, English, Science, Maths 4) sixth-form college - first year ends with an exam - 4 subjects - if you pass, you have AS levels second year - A-level (Advanced GCSEs) 5) University Vocational education - vocational courses, apprenticeships CZECH REPUBLIC - 6-15 nine-year elementary school, secondary school (grammar school)