53rd High School of Athens

1. Education in Greece today
A small revue

2. The Greek educational system is mainly divided into three levels,
a) primary,
b) secondary and
c) tertiary
with an additional post-secondary level providing vocational training via specified Institutes
(I.E.K and S.E.K.).
Primary education is divided into kindergarten lasting one or two years,
and elementary school spanning six years (ages 6 to 12).
Secondary education comprises two stages:
I. Gymnasio (variously translated as Middle or Junior High School), a compulsory three-year
school, after which students can attend
II. Lykeion (an academically oriented high school) or EPA.L (vocational high school)
Higher Tertiary education is provided by
a) Universities and Polytechnics (A.E.I),
b) Technological Educational Institutes (A.T.E.I.) and
c) Academies which primarily cater for the military and the clergy.
Undergraduate courses typically last 4 years (5 in polytechnics and some technical/art schools,
and 6 in medical schools), postgraduate (MSc level) courses last mainly 2 years and doctorates
(PhD level) from 3 to 6 years.

3. All levels are overseen by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. The Ministry exercises
centralized control over state schools, by prescribing the curriculum, appointing staff and
controlling funding. Private schools also fall under the mandate of the Ministry, which exercises
supervisory control over them.
An elementary school class in northern Greece build of stone some 60 years ago

4. All levels of education are catered for by both private and public schools. State-run schools and
universities do not charge tuition fees and textbooks are provided free to all students.
There are also a number of private tutors schools, colleges and universities operating alongside
the state education and providing supplementary tuition. These parallel schools (Greek:
φροντιστήριο, frontistirio) provide foreign language tuition, supplementary lessons for weak
students in secondary education as well as exam preparation courses for the competitive
Panhellenic national examinations for entering Universities etc..
Students and teachers during the morning gathering

5. Primary education
1) Kindergardens are the first level of primary education and refer to pupils aged 4 to 5.
2) Elementary Schools which are called "Dimotiko" (demotic, meaning municipal), a carryover
term from a time when such schools were run by local communities and are compulsory
education, divided in six classes/years", from first to sixth, respectively for ages 6 to 12
In the first two years pupils are not officially graded, and parents obtain feedback about their
performance via oral communications with teachers. Grading begins in Year 3, and written exams
are introduced in Year 5. Graduating from one year to the next is automatic, and pupils with
deficient performance are given remedial tutoring.
Pupils of a music school in
Chania, Crete holding
traditional and modern
music organs.

6. A normal school-day starts at 8.15 and finishes from 14.00 to 16.15 depending on the school. The
school year always starts on September 11 and ends on June 15. The students have summer
vacation (about 3 months), Christmas vacation (2 weeks) and Easter vacation (2 weeks).
Furthermore, students take usually another two days off in order to celebrate their two national
holidays (28/10 and 25/3).
Basic subjects include:
Modern Greek Language and Literature,
Mathematics,
Environmental Studies ,
Physical Education
Music,
Art,
Theatrical Studies,
English,
Physics,
Geography ,
History,
Religion,
Social & Political Studies
Typical elementary school class in Greece
during lunch brake

7. Secondary education
Γυμνάσιο (Gymnasium - Middle School)
which is compulsory education and is divided in three classes respectively for students aged from 12 to
15 years old.
A normal school-day starts at 8.15 and finishes at 14.10. The school year always starts on September
11 and ends on June 30 including written exams during the last month (mid-May to Mid June). The
students have summer vacation (about 3 months), Christmas vacation (2 weeks) and Easter vacation (2
weeks). Furthermore, students take usually another two days off in order to celebrate their two
national holidays (28/10 and 25/3).
One should mention that there is a certain number of Gymnasiums that are open only during the
evening, from 19.00 to 22.30, especially for students that work during the day and have the same
curriculum as the day-schools.
The neoclassical building of the
Venetokleion Gymnasium in Rhodes
dates back to 1909

8. There are 7 types of gymnasiums in Greece:
I. General Gymnasium (entering there from the primary school is automatic)
II. Athletic Gymnasium (to enter this type of school students must pass certain exams on a sport)
III. Musical Gymnasium (to enter this type of school students must pass exams on a musical instrument)
IV. Art Gymnasium
V. Experimental Gymnasium (to enter this type of schools students must pass certain exams)
VI. Church Gymnasium
VII. Gymnasium for students with special needs
Basic subjects include:
Modern Greek Language and Literature,
Ancient Greek Language
Mathematics,
Environmental Studies ,
Physical Education
Music,
Art,
Theatrical Studies,
English and a second foreign language,
Physics,
Biology
Geography ,
History,
Religion,
Technology and Computer Studies,
Home Economics
Project
The historic Zosimaia School (nowadays Gymnasium
in Ioannina) in Western Greece, in neoclassical
architecture, built in 1828.

9. Secondary education
Λύκειο (Lyceum - High School)
which is non compulsory education and is divided in three classes respectively for students aged from
15 to 18 years old.
A normal school-day starts at 8.15 and finishes at 14.10. The school year always starts on September
11 and ends on June 30 including written exams during the last month (mid-May to Mid June). The
students have summer vacation (about 3 months), Christmas vacation (2 weeks) and Easter vacation (2
weeks). Furthermore, students take usually another two days off in order to celebrate their two
national holidays (28/10 and 25/3).
Exactly as it was mentioned for Gymnasium, there is a certain number of Lyceums that are open only
during the evening, from 19.00 to 22.30, especially for students that work during the day and have the
same curriculum as the day-schools with an addition of an extra 4th class, which means a duration of
four years instead of three in order to graduate.
An photo of the students of
a modern Lyceum in
Greece just before the
school year ends

10. There are 7 types of Lyceums in Greece:
I. General Lyceum (entering there from Gymnasium doesn't require exams)
II. Vocational Lyceum (entering there from Gymnasium doesn't require exams)
III. Musical Lyceum (to enter this type of school students must pass exams on a musical instrument)
IV. Art Lyceum
V. Experimental Lyceum (to enter this type of schools students must pass certain exams)
VI. Church Lyceum
VII. Lyceum for students with special needs
Basic subjects are almost the same as in High School although more detailed:
Modern Greek Language and Literature,
Ancient Greek Language,
Mathematics,
Chemistry,
Physical Education
Theatrical and Art Studies,
English or another foreign language,
Physics,
Biology,
Economics,
Political Sciences,
Sociology,
History,
Religion,
Computer Studies,
Project
Students of the
53rd High School
of Athens visiting
the National
Archaeological
Museum of
Athens

11. Students attending the second class of the General Lyceum, besides the compulsory lessons,
should choose between 2 Orientation Groups: the Humanities and Science Studies in order to
pave the way to the Panhellenic Exams.
Students attending the third and final class of the General Lyceum, besides the compulsory
lessons, should choose between 3 Orientation Groups: the Humanities, the Economical and
Science Studies, which necessitate certain extra lessons.
As mentioned above, the students must take the Panhellenic national Examinations to proceed
to the Higher Tertiary education. These exams are held after the students have received their
Apolytirion (the main school-leaving certificate for secondary education). The students pass into a
specific Higher Educational Institute based mainly on the Orientation Group chosen.
A modern day Lyceum building in Athens

12. As far as the vocational education is concerned they share many similarities with the Lyceum in terms
of the division of classes and the daily program. Nevertheless, a student that chooses the so called
“Epaggelmatico Lykeio”, attends many lessons of technical issues like Technology, Mechanics,
Hydraulics etc. instead of Humanities, Social studies or Sciences.
Graduates from the vocational education have also the right to enter Technological Educational
Institutes (A.T.E.I.) and also can acquire a license to work in the field of their study in the job market.
Secondary education school in the Greek countryside

13. Other post – secondary and non compulsory education includes private or public Vocational
Training Institutes (I.E.K. and S.E.K.). Students that attend these kind of Institutes doesn’t have
the right to enter the Higher Tertiary education, but can acquire a license to work in the field of
their study in the job market, enhancing their graduate title they had acquired in Lyceum.
Feeling confident while writing on the board!

14. Tertiary education
Higher Educational Institutes are consisted of two parallel sectors:
1) the Universities and Technical Universities (A.E.I.) and
2) the Technological Educational Institutes (T.E.I.).
In addition, colleges collaborating with foreign universities can offer undergraduate and
postgraduate foreign programs of study in Greece, under the proper registration with the Greek
Ministry of Education. Usually, these programs are provided following franchise or validation
agreements with universities established in other European Union countries or the USA, leading
to degrees which are awarded directly by those universities. In some cases these institutions are
wholly owned and operated branch campuses of foreign institutions.
The 19th-century University of Athens historic building designed by Christian Hansen. It was
once the only University building but now serves as a ceremony hall and rectory.

15. Studying in the Universities or the Technological Educational Institutes requires a success in the
nationwide “Panhellenic” Exams taking place every year at the end of the school year in which
only students of the senior classes of Lyceum or graduates of past years can take part.
Students during “Panhellenic” Exams in May – June. These exams mark the high
note of the 12 years education for almost every student and its family

16. All the Higher Tertiary state-accredited universities in
Greece are public. The duration of the undergraduate
degree programs for most disciplines is 4 years (full-
time). Programs in engineering, dentistry,
pharmacology, agronomics, forestry, along with some
programs in fine arts, have a duration of 5 years.
Medicine is the only discipline with a duration of
studies of 6 years.
All the Higher Tertiary state-accredited Technological
Educational Institutes in Greece are public.
Technological Educational Institutes were initially
established in 1983. They currently offer a 4-years
(full-time) undergraduate degree programs equivalent
to Honours Bachelor's Degree and since 2008 they are
also allowed to run on their own postgraduate that
lead to a Master's Degree and PhD programs.
The military, police and ecclesiastical Academies and
the military, maritime and touristic Schools offer
higher education with 4 or 2 years of studies and their
graduates are equivalent to the graduates of
universities. However, they operate under different
terms from the universities and among other
differences they have is that they are not allowed to
run graduate programs on their own.
Students of the Metsoveion Technological
University protest with passion against the
military dictatorship of Greece in 17
November 1973 in a day that is celebrated
as a school holiday since then.

17. These are the Universities and Technological Universities of Greece
Agricultural University of Athens
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Athens School of Fine Arts
Athens University of Economics and Business
Democritus University of Thrace
Harokopio University
Hellenic Open University
International Hellenic University
Ionian University
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
National Technical University of Athens
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Technical University of Crete
University of the Aegean
University of Crete
University of Ioannina
University of Macedonia
University of Patras
University of Peloponnese
University of Piraeus
University of Thessaly
University of Western Macedonia
The Ionian University in Corfu

18. These are the Technological Educational Institutes
of Greece
Advanced Technological Educational Institute of
Athens
Alexander Technological Educational Institute of
Thessaloniki
Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological
Education
Technological Educational Institute of Chalkida
Technological Educational Institute of Crete
Technological Educational Institute of Epirus
Technological Educational Institute of the Ionian
Islands
Technological Educational Institute of Kalamata
Technological Educational Institute of Kavala
Technological Educational Institute of Lamia
Technological Educational Institute of Larissa
Technological Educational Institute of Western
Greece
Technological Educational Institute of Piraeus
Technological Educational Institute of Serres
Technological Educational Institute of Western
Macedonia
Students wait for the course to begin

19. These are the Academies and Schools of Greece
Hellenic Military Academy
Hellenic Naval Academy
Hellenic Air Force Academy
Military School of Corps Officers
Military Nursing School
Hellenic Police Academy
Hellenic Fire Academy
Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens
Ecclesiastical Academy of Thessaloniki
Ecclesiastical Academy of Vellas
Ecclesiastical Academy of Crete
Academy of Mercantile Marine
The following schools require only 2 years of study
Hellenic Army School of Non-Commissioned Officers
Hellenic Air Force Academy of Staff Non-Commissioned
Officers
Hellenic Air Force Academy of Technical Non-
Commissioned Officers
Hellenic Air Force Academy of Air Navigators
School of Police Constables
School of Chief Firemen
School of Tourism Education of Rhodes
School of Tourism Education of Agios Nikolaos
Students of the Hellenic Military Academy
during the parade of the National Holiday

20. Another quality production (hehe) of
Mrs. Lambroupoulou Elisabeth
Mrs. Pappa Helen
worldwide famous teachers
of the 53rd High School of Athens

21. Bonus pic “for your eyes only”
Modern greek art all the way down the West Coast!