Education System
Czech Education System
In the Czech Republic, the education is compulsory from the age of 6 to 15 and Czech educational system is public and as such free of charge. Thus, fees are charged in private schools whose founder is not the state and among which belong schools teaching in foreign language. Pre-school services as non-compulsory level of education are also paid.
Please visit Education System on euraxess.cz for comprehensive and detailed info (levels of education and required age, school year etc.).
In the South Bohemia region there is one foreign school carrying out education according to foreign educational program – Townshend International School in Hluboká nad Vltavou. Offers kindergarten and primary and secondary education.
In CB the concentration of education facilities specializing in teaching little children not speaking Czech is very low currently. Besides Townshend, there is only one kindergarten and one primary school targeted at teaching solely in English. Most of the schools accept children not speaking Czech though and they often have personnel speaking English and/or German, however communicating with children in foreign language is not the facility’s priority.
Pre-schools
Pre-school facilities are called "jesle" (nursery) and "školka" or "mateřská škola", "MŠ" (kindergarten). Acceptance into public kindergartens depends on meeting certain criteria: age of your child, city district and the child’s language.
Preference for accepting into MŠ is given logically to children scheduled for the first grade of compulsory education the following year because they need to get socialized and used to certain rules and non-parental authorities. Other criterium is the city district you live in which determinates the kindergarten your child should apply for to attend. Public kindergartens are teaching in Czech language, so if your child is unable or not willing to attend Czech speaking collective, public kindergarten is not really an option.
In a nutshell, if your child is under 5 years old, does not want to speak Czech and/or you need or want him/her to attend some other school than he/she would be obligated to depending on the city district of your residence, find private pre-school services provider.
Although the official period for registration is from February to May (via zapismscb.c-budejovice.cz/), contact the chosen pre-school in advance to increase your chance.
The BC runs its own nursery Dětská skupina Motýl (Children’s Group Butterfly) which is reserved for BC and USB employees’ children of age at least 1,5 year. The maximum capacity of the group is 12 places, out of which 9 are for BC employees’ children.
Some of the pre-school facilities in CB which are able to communicate in English:
Abacus English Preschool (fully English kindergarten)
Doma v lese (staff speaks en and de & has experience with foreign children’s integration)
MŠ Větrná
Children’s Group and MŠ Montessori Kampus
MŠ Sovička
DC Mláďátka
Jesle E. Pittera
Tip: Courses for children in family center Madlenka
Searching portal for kindergartens in CB: www.seznamskol.eu/typ/materska-skola/?kraj=jihocesky&okres=ceske-budejovice
Primary Schools
Primary school facility in Czech is called "základní škola", "ZŠ". As for the 1st grade of primary school, you must attend the matriculation between 15th January and 15th February in person with your child you want to enrol and bring necessary documents (the child’s certificate of birth and passport). The next years, registration for the oncoming school year happens from each March to April (via zapiszscb.c-budejovice.cz/).
Some tips on the primary education facilities in CB which are able to communicate in English:
Svobodná základní škola (run by Doma v lese, see above)
ZŠ Matice školské
ZŠ Montessori Kampus
Searching portal for primary schools in CB: www.seznamskol.eu/typ/zakladni-skola/?kraj=jihocesky&okres=ceske-budejovice
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