Education in RussiaChildren start s

Education in Russia
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. During 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 Educa­tion. 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