Let's go to school!!! - In Italy!

In this post we're going to talk about Italian education, better said, what kind of schools and for how many years Italian students have to study.

Logo of the Italian Ministry of Education

In Italy, compulsory education starts at 6 years old with the "Scuola elementare" or "Scuola primaria"(Primary school), this school lasts five years, hence you will end it at 11 years old.
After that, from 11 to 14 (3 years) you have to attend the "Scuola media" or "Scuola secondaria di primo grado" (lower secondary school).
In these first years you're going to study the general subjects: Italian grammar, Italian literature, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Informatics, Art, Music, Foreign language[English(mandatory), French(optional), Spanish(optional)], Physical Education and Catholic religion(optional).
Once you have completed the lower school, you have to pass a final exam, and if you do, you can start the "Scuola superiore" or "Scuola secondaria di secondo grado" (High school), this one goes from 14 to 19 (if you don't fail any year!), it lasts 5 years.
There are several kinds of high school, it depends on what you're interested in, for example i did the school about Economics and Information technology; but there are schools about Chemistry, Electrician, Mechanic, Optician, pretty much every kind of job you could get in the future; each one of these schools should prepare you for the job you want to do.
In High school the first two years are general, it means you will study just general subjects, like in lower school, but deeply explained, plus some introduction to the subjects you will study later, in fact, from the third year on, you will start studying spcific subjects according to the school you've chosen.
For example, if you chose Economics, you will start studying more in detail subjects like Business economics, Political science, Commercial law and so on.
At the end of the five years there's a final exam("Esame di maturità"), where you will be tested about all you've been studying for those years. If you pass it, you get a score like 90/100 (90 out of 100) and the "Diploma di maturità" which is a certificate that states which career you're specialized in.
So after 13 years of compulsory school (so damn long!), you're ready to go to the "Università" (College), of course just if you feel like studying some other years! which I did, but finally I'm free! :)

Long story short, Italian education is structured as follow:

1. Scuola elementare: 6 to 10-11 --> General subjects
2. Scuola media: 11 to 13-14 --> General subjects
3. Scuola superiore: 14 to 18-19 --> Specific subjects --> Final exam --> Diploma

In the next post we're going go talk about Spanish education, stay tuned! :)

Tell me if you want to know something more about school, university or if you want to add something interesting. Byee :)