My school
Dear readers, today we continue the quest of new knowledge about Bulgaria. In today's article I have decided to get deeper into the educational system which the country has established, is using/applying, and continues to develop for the better. In 1921, Bulgaria established its educational system, created based on free education. Up until today, the majority of the schools in Bulgaria are public schools.
The duration for which we attend school is 12 years. School education in Bulgaria starts at the age of 7. At the parents'/guardians' approval , 6-year-olds may enter school if their physical and mental development allows this. Education is divided into 4 stages. The basic stage of education is divided into the primary stage (grades 1-4) and the lower secondary stage (grades 5-7). Secondary education is divided into the first secondary stage (grades 8-10) and the second secondary stage (grades 11-12). In the twelve years of schooling, we have several national exams. These exams are taken by all students in the country who are in a particular grade. Most important are the ones in 7th and 12th grade. In 7th grade, we, in a way, craft our future. The exams are in Bulgarian language, literature, and Math. Throughout the whole school year, we prepare ourselves to take the test, which is usually in June. The marks you receive on the test are important because, at the end of the school year, you have to decide what your school from 8th to 12th grade will be. There are hundreds of schools but only a few of them are the country's best. To be accepted into the school which you have picked you need to have a specific, proper for the school, score. That is where it gets complicated. For the most famous and wanted schools there are most applications and the competition is very fierce.
My school, Second English High School “Thomas Jefferson”, is one of the top schools in the ranking list. I might even say that it exceeds all else due to the modern facilities, beautiful school building, nice atmosphere, and most importantly the school life which the headmistress of the school,Ms. Emilia Lazarova, and the faculty chosen by her, provide for the students. That is exactly why the school was first on my list and why I worked so hard to achieve a high score. Thanks to the knowledge I acquired in Second English Language School, I got the chance to win the competition held by ASSIST, which required not only English competencies, but also overall educational culture. The school provides only a specific number of student spots - 13 girls and 13 boys per class. That is what makes the fight for each one of those spots so severe.
Most elite schools are language high schools - English, German, Spanish, and French. Another very popular one is the Mathematic High School in Sofia. Of course, we also have very efficient Art, Music, and Sports high school academies. The most famous private school in Bulgaria is the American College of Sofia. There are many choices for the students in terms of picking their future schools, but the decision has to be made before 7th grade.
Now a little about my life as a high schooler. In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, most schools use a shift schooling method - during one of the semesters the students attend school from 7:30 a.m. to approximately 12:30 or 1:20 p.m., depending on the count of classes on a particular day. During the other semester, we attend school from 12:30 or 1:20 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. Those shifts are due to the number of students and the division into many smaller classes. Half of the student population in a term will attend school in the morning, while the other in the afternoon, and will switch for the second semester. Most often we have between 20 and 30 students per class which means that one grade is made of several classes. It is most common for the periods to last 40 minutes, and in a school day, we attend 7 different classes. We have a 10-minute break between each of them and our lunch break is 20 minutes long. In my school, we have a wonderful cafeteria that serves freshly baked breakfasts like croissants or other pastries. There is also a broad choice of snacks and drinks. If we want we can also walk to a store in very close proximity to the school or buy sandwiches or other things from the cafes in front of the school. In grades 8th to 10th we do not have free classes or electives. In my high school, in 8th grade, we mainly focused on English with 18 hours per week. We also have Math, Bulgarian Language, Literature, Art, PE, Music, and Philosophy. In 9th and 10th grade Chemistry, Biology, Physics are included, and our second language, which for me and my class was German. In 11th and 12th grade we pick our main two subjects and dive deeper into them during the next two years but we, of course, continue to attend our English, Bulgarian, Math, German, and PE classes. In those two years, we also take up Civic Education classes. In 12th grade, we have our last national exams (which have a huge impact on our high school transcripts).
As you can see, the educational system, when compared, is very different. That is why I hope that today you have learned something more about the world and the life of others your age so far away.
Ms. Emilia Lazarova
Faculty of “Thomas Jefferson” High School
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