In the Czech Republic, pre-school facilities cater to children aged 3 to 6. Compulsory education goes from the age of 6 to 15. Secondary schools cater to young people from 16 to 19. The school year runs from 1 September until 30 June. Except for the pre-school level, the Czech educational system is overwhelmingly public and free of charge. Schools that offer teaching solely in a language other than Czech will be private, and hence charge fees.

PRE SCHOOLING

It’s difficult to get your child accepted into a public pre-school facility unless he/she is scheduled to attend primary school in the following school year, you live in the city district where the facility is located and your child is able / willing to function in a Czech-speaking milieu. The official registration period is February-May via www.zapisdoms.brno.cz. However, it is advised to contact the chosen pre-schools in advance. In all other cases, i.e. children younger than 5 years of age, not speaking Czech or wanting to attend preschool in a different part of the city, you usually have to resort to a private provider. Here are some tips:

International School of Brno: www.isob.cz

Ponny: www.ponny-brno.cz

Safírka: www.safirka.cz

Agentura Skřítek: www.miniskolka-skritek.cz

Creative Kids: www.creativekids.cz

Mary Poppins: www.marypoppins.cz

Kinder-city: www.kinder-city.cz

Viki Kids Club: www.vikikidsclub.cz

You can find full list of private kinder gardens on website of BEC: www.brnoexpatcentre.eu

BUT operates his own kinder garden at the Technická campus. They take care of no more than 8 children every day. The kinder garden is open Mon-Fri 7:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m. Any child can attend the kinder garden 1–3 times a week. The subsidized price is CZK 40 per hour. The staff speaks Czech only. You can find more information here: www.skolka.agentura-provas.cz

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Matriculations for 1st class take place between January 15th and February 15th each year. It is necessary to come to the matriculation in person with the child and with the respective documents (a passport and a certificate of birth of a child). Czech is the teaching language at public schools. Registration for the following school year takes place each March-April via a www.zapisdozs.brno.cz.

The only school with English as its sole teaching language (from kindergarten to grade 13 students) is the private International School of Brno (www.isob.cz).

Primary schools with extra language teaching

Some primary schools in which Czech is the basic teaching language offer English-language classes in early years and, in later years, a limited number of subjects taught in English:

Základní škola Bakalovo nábřeží, website: www.bakalka.cz

Anglická základní škola, website: www.skolskykomplex.cz/zs/

Primary schools with an integration programme

Základní a Mateřská škola Staňkova 14, website: www.zsstankova.eu

Základní a Mateřská škola J.A. Komenského, website: www.zsnamrep.cz

Základní a Mateřská škola Chrlice, website: www.zschrlice.cz

Základní škola Labyrinth, websiste: www.labyrinthschool.cz

SECONDARY SCHOOLS / GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

Following the Cambridge Secondary 1 stage, grade 9 and 10, students at ISB follow the Cambridge Secondary 2 Programme by taking the IGCSEs (International General Certificate of Secondary Education). The International School of Brno is now also offering Cambridge International A Levels. This allows the school to open the 11th and 12th grades, making it possible for students in Brno to complete an international high school education in English.

Cambridge International AS (11th grade) and A (12th grade) Levels have widespread international recognition as high school/pre university educational qualifications.

As for Czech secondary schools, Brno has a few bilingual grammar schools with Czech/French and Czech/Spanish or Czech/English curricula to offer. These are all public schools, two of them with additional support coming from the French and Spanish governments respectively, and a Czech/English school having project funded from EU. All classes are taught in Czech at first, later a some are taught in one of the target languages. A pupil has to know Czech to study here, but his/her schoolmates have an understanding of a foreign language and the school supports multinational integration and foreign students learning Czech.

offers extended classes of the English language both in the 6-year programme as well as in the 4-year programme. For more information see: www.gymnaslo.cz.

offers some subjects in the French language in the 6-year programme. For more information see: www.gml.cz.

some subjects are taught in the Spanish language, also in the 6-year programme. For more information see: www.gyby.cz.

website: www.skolskykomplex.cz

website: www.gymglobe.cz