Children start school at the age of

Children start school at the age of six in Russia. The course of studies at school is eleven years now: four years of primary school and seven years of secondary school. Previously it was only ten years: three years of primary school and seven years of secondary school. Children under the age of six are taken to creches and nursery schools.

There is a wide choice of schools nowadays: state schools, private schools, lyceums and gymnasiums. The majority of schools is free of charge, but in some (usually private ones) parents have to pay for the

education of


their children. In ordinary schools parents sometimes pay

for


additional


subjects in the


curriculum, such as


a foreign


language or

arts.


Though


it is generally


not a demand, most


children


can already

read and write when they start their school: this makes education much easier for them.

In primary school there are three or four lessons a day, they usually are Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. A lesson lasts forty minutes. Dur­ ing the first term children get used to learning and adapt to school regulations. Beginning with the second term of the first year at school,

children also take Handicrafts, Drawing,


Music


and Physical Educa­

tion. The list of subjects under study is


further


extended during the

second, third and fourth years and includes the World History of Arts, Fundamentals of Security, History, Geography, and others. At primary schools all lessons are usually conducted by one teacher.

At


the


age of ten children pass to the second stage of education,

known


as


secondary school. In secondary school there is a wide variety

of subjects under study, and teachers specialize. The transition from primary to secondary school is sometimes difficult for children. After finishing the ninth form and getting the Certificate of Basic Secondary