Primary and Secondary Schools in Poland

Primary and secondary education in Poland is built on an eight-year primary school followed by several types of secondary school. Schooling is compulsory for 12 years, from the last year of pre-school until the age of 18, and most pupils attend public schools, which are tuition-free. For international families, the choice is usually between a Polish public school, a non-public Polish school and an international school teaching in English.

SpainExchange lists three schools in Poland in this category, two in Gdansk and one in Katowice.

How the school system works

According to Eurydice (last updated September 2026), pre-school education is compulsory for 6-year-olds, and grade one of primary school starts at the age of 7. The eight-year primary school (szkoła podstawowa), usually for pupils aged 7 to 15, has two stages: grades 1 to 3 (early school education) and grades 4 to 8 (teaching by subject). At the end of grade 8, all pupils take a compulsory external examination, and its results influence admission to secondary school.

Secondary education has four main types of school:

• 4-year general secondary school (liceum ogólnokształcące), for students aged about 15 to 19
• 5-year technical secondary school (technikum)
• 3-year Stage I sectoral vocational school (branżowa szkoła I stopnia)
• 2-year Stage II sectoral vocational school (branżowa szkoła II stopnia)

Graduates of the liceum and technikum can take the external school-leaving examination (egzamin maturalny) to obtain the Matura certificate, which gives access to higher education. In the 2024/25 school year Poland had 2,470 general secondary schools for young people with 760,400 pupils. The school year has two semesters and ends on the last Friday in June; classes in the final year of secondary school end earlier because of the Matura.

Public, non-public and international schools

Public schools provide tuition-free education with open access. Non-public schools must teach the national core curriculum but may charge tuition fees and set their own admission rules in their statutes. International schools may combine a foreign curriculum with the Polish core curriculum.

The schools on SpainExchange show this range. The British International School Gdańsk (BISG) is a non-public school with about 500 pupils, teaching in English and combining international curricula with the Polish podstawa programowa (core curriculum). In its final two years it offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme; the school states that it is the only non-public school in the Tri-City area to do so. The Gdańskie Liceum Autonomiczne is a liceum where each student chooses a study profile in the first year, for example medical, mathematics and physics, or economics with Chinese, and studies the profile subjects at extended level for at least three years. In Katowice, the II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Marii Konopnickiej runs a bilingual section with Spanish under the patronage of the Embassy of Spain.

Admission

For public secondary schools, pupils and parents choose the school; when there are more applicants than places, schools consider the eighth-grade examination results and marks in Polish, mathematics and two other subjects. Specialised sections may add tests: candidates for the bilingual Spanish preparatory class at the II LO in Katowice take a language aptitude test, and then study Spanish for 18 hours a week from scratch. Non-public and international schools set their own procedures; BISG, for example, admits IB students on the basis of school reports, entrance exams in English and mathematics, and an interview.

Costs

Public schools are free. Non-public schools charge fees: for 2026-27, BISG lists monthly fees, paid ten times a year, of PLN 3,400 for Class 1 and PLN 4,500 for the IB classes, plus resource and registration fees. IB examinations are charged separately, currently €90 per subject according to the school.

How to choose a school

• Language: Polish public school, bilingual section or English-medium international school
• Final qualification: Polish Matura, International Baccalaureate or, in Spanish bilingual sections, preparation for the Spanish Título de Bachiller
• Admission: check entry tests, deadlines and documents needed for pupils coming from abroad
• Cost: public schools are free; non-public schools charge monthly fees and extra charges
• Location: compare cities such as Gdansk and Katowice for commuting and housing

Frequently asked questions

At what age do children start school in Poland?

Grade one of primary school starts at the age of 7, after one compulsory year of pre-school education at age 6.

How long is secondary school in Poland?

The general secondary school (liceum) lasts four years and the technical secondary school (technikum) five years. Both can end with the Matura examination.

Are schools in Poland free?

Public schools are tuition-free. Non-public and international schools may charge tuition fees.

Can my child take the International Baccalaureate in Poland?

Yes, at schools that offer the IB Diploma Programme. In Gdansk, the British International School Gdańsk offers it in the last two years of secondary school.