Greece's education system has undergone changes over the years, with the last major change occurring in 2000 when senior high schools split into lyceums and technical vocational schools. The Greek education system includes nursery school starting around age 3, primary school from ages 6-12, and gymnasium (junior high school) as the last mandatory level. After completing 9 years of basic education, students can choose to stop or continue their education at lyceums, technical vocational schools, or vocational schools, which have different structures and focuses to prepare students for university or careers. Graduating students must pass school exams to attend public university faculties in Greece.

1. The Greek Educational System
Greece’s Education System has
undergone several effective changes
throughout years. Its last change was in
2000, when senior high
multidisciplinary schools were split into
lyceums and technological vocational
schools.

2. School life starts early in Greece since
parents are obliged to enroll their children
in “Νηπιαγωγείο”, which is known as
nursery school or Kindergarten, usually at
the age of 3.
The Greek kindergarten consists of
two consequent grades, which pupils
necessarily attend, in order to be
promoted to primary school level.

3. “Δημοτικό” (Demotikon) is the
elementary or primary education school,
and consists of six grades.
Greek pupils enter the primary school
approximately at the age of six.
A school year consists of three
semesters and marks begin
from 0 to 10.

4. Gymnasium (junior high school) is the
first level of secondary education, and
the last obligatory one. A student is
needed an elementary school’s
discharge paper to attend this school.

5. It consists of three grades, and the
promotion to each sequent level requires
qualification in final exams at the end of
each school year, only for the primary
subjects.
A school year also consists of three
semesters but unlike the previous
education level, students are evaluated
with marks from 0 to 20.

6. After completing 9 years of total
education and receiving the medium
baccalaureate, Greek students choose
either to stop or continue their
secondary education.
In the public sector, there are 3
options: Lyceum, Technical Vocational
School and Vocational Educational.

7. In the first grade of Lyceum, all students
attend the same subjects. School exams
exist like in the junior high school for the
qualification to the next grade.
The second grade is when students are
needed to choose a separate thematic
direction of subjects that corresponds to
their future preference of faculty in the
tertiary education, while still attending a
variety of common general subjects.

8. In this third year, students are asked
if they wish to change their previous
grade direction or not.
At the end of this year, national
exams are held to decide the number
of qualifiers to public tertiary
education.

9. Technical Vocational Schools are very
popular among students who do not
want to be “overloaded” with the
“heavy” subjects of the Lyceum, and wish
to obtain a specialty after completing the
attendance. The attendance of Technical
Vocational Schools also lasts 3 years.
Technical Vocational Schools include
some common subjects with the Lyceum
since the 1st grade.

10. During the 2nd grade, students are
needed to choose 2 specialty
correlative subjects, depending on
the local school’s availability.

11. Vocational Educational Schools
are a branch of post-junior secondary
education that offer the opportunity to
attend a sole cycle of subjects
corresponding to a specific manual
profession such as Car Engineering,
Plumbing, Electrics, Refrigerant. The
attendance lasts only 2 years.

12. School exams are needed in order to
attend public university faculties.
Irrespective of the direction that a
student has chosen, he/she may apply
for entering any type of faculty, after
he/she has had his results received. All
the faculties of the tertiary education are
divided to 5 groups: Humanities,
Sciences, Health Sciences, Economics and
Military Schools.