Grammar schools in Serbia
By Konstantin Levushkin · 1 minute read · Updated on June 3, 2024
Grammar schools, or gymnasiums, expand and deepen the knowledge acquired in primary school and prepare students for university admission. The education lasts for four years. Subjects such as psychology, logic, Latin, sociology, philosophy, and law are added to the primary school curriculum. It is considered that education in a gymnasium is quite challenging compared to primary schools.
General Type Gymnasiums
Typically, in gymnasiums, students can study in a general department or choose one of the tracks (smer): a natural science track (prirodno-matematički smer) or a socio-linguistic track (društveno-jezički smer). These differ in the number of hours allocated to social sciences and humanities versus natural sciences.
You can compare the general type programs and the two main directions in this regulation, almost at the bottom of the page.
Specialized Departments
Some gymnasiums have departments for students with special abilities in certain subjects. There are 8 such “profiles,” as well as bilingual classes, in which at least 30% of instruction is conducted in a foreign language. Lists of schools with such departments can be found on the relevant sections of the Ministry of Education website and on our map.
To enroll in such a specialized department, a separate exam must be passed. Lists of schools with specialized departments and examples of entrance exams can be found on the Ministry of Education website.
The curricula for specialized departments significantly differ from the general ones. For example, at the mathematical departments there is no Latin or second foreign language, fewer hours for history and other social sciences, and four times more hours for mathematics and computer science (2000 versus 560 in the general department).
IB in Serbian State Gymnasiums
The International Baccalaureate program is implemented in three gymnasiums in Serbia. More about this program in our article about international schools.
- “Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” Gymnasium, Novi Sad
- Tenth High School, Belgrade
- “Svetozar Marković” Gymnasium, Niš
Graduation Exam
To obtain a diploma, in the final year of gymnasium, students must pass a final exam (maturski ispit).
The content and order of the exam are regulated by the ministry and are usually described on the gymnasium’s website (example).
The graduation exam consists of two parts: a general part and an elective part.
The general part consists of two written exams:
- Serbian language and literature and a foreign language for the socio-linguistic direction
- Serbian language and literature and mathematics or English for the natural science direction.
- In specialized departments, the second exam is written on one of the specialized subjects.
The elective part of the exam is a thesis or independent research on one of the topics in one of the educational disciplines. The list of topics is determined by teachers, but in many gymnasiums, students can propose their own topics. Examples of topics for the thesis can be seen on the Zemun Gymnasium website.
Important. The results of the graduation exam do not affect university admissions. To enter a Serbian university, applicants must pass exams specific to the university.
