Secondary Education
When graduating from primary school around the age of 12, students enter secondary education. Here they have to choose a course that they want to follow, depending on their skill level and interests.
Secondary education consists of three cycles (Dutch: graden; French: degrés):
- First cycle (year 1 and 2)
- Second cycle (year 3 and 4)
- Third cycle (year 5 and 6)
The Belgian secondary education grants the pupils more choice as they enter a higher cycle. The first cycle provides a broad general basis, with only a few options to choose from (such as Latin, additional mathematics, technology). This should enable students to orient themselves in the most suitable way towards the many different courses available in the second and third stages. The second and third cycle are much more specific in each of the possible directions. While the youngest pupils may choose at the most two or four hours per week, the oldest pupils have the opportunity to choose between different "menus": like Math-Science, Sociology-Languages or Latin-Greek. They are then able to shape the largest part of the time they spend at school. However, some core lessons are compulsory like the first language and sport, etc. This mix between compulsory and optional lessons grouped in menus make it possible to keep class structures even for the oldest students.
Read more about this topic: Education In Belgium
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—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)