Types of institutions

General secondary education (ISCED 3) – without a vocational education strand offered in parallel – is provided in general secondary schools (liceum ogólnokształcące) where pupils can take the maturity exam and obtain a maturity certificate. There are also secondary schools which provide only vocational education or vocational education in parallel to general education. These include, technical secondary schools and stage I and stage II sectoral vocational schools; for further details, see the next section.

General secondary schools take young people aged 15 to 19 years. The education cycle lasts for 4 years. 

The Polish education system also includes general secondary schools for adults.

Geographical accessibility

Nearly all general secondary schools are located in urban areas. Thus, the accessibility of upper secondary schools for young people from rural areas depends on the distance between their place of residence and the nearest city or town. Parents cover the costs for their children commuting to schools.

In the school year 2024/2025, there were 2,470 general secondary schools for young people in Poland. They had 760,400 pupils in total, with female pupils in the majority (61.6%). There were 711 general secondary schools for adults, with 102,900 learners (99.2% of all learners in schools for adults). Female learners represented 47.0%. (Source: Polish Central Statistical Office, ‘Education in the 2024/2025 school year (preliminary data)’) 

Admission requirements and choice of school

A post-primary school is one of many settings where young people can participate in full-time compulsory education until they reach the age of 18. In principle, there are no restrictions regarding the choice of a post-primary school for young people. Grades I of post-primary schools, including general secondary schools, take applicants who hold a primary school leaving certificate. The decision to apply for admission to the chosen school is taken by pupils and their parents. 

Where the number of applicants is higher than the number of available places, schools consider, in particular, the results of the eighth-grader exam and the marks for the Polish language, Mathematics and two compulsory subjects/types of classes in the primary school certificate. The school head selects the two compulsory subjects/types of classes as those to be considered in the process of admission to a given class of the school.

Winners and finalists of national school-subject competitions and winners of school-subject competitions at regional or supra-regional level are admitted to the post-primary school of their choice on special terms, in the first place, regardless of the number of points they have obtained. 

Age levels and grouping of pupils/students

A class (also referred to as ‘division’ in the national legislation) is the basic organisational unit in a post-primary school. It (nominally) groups pupils of the same age who jointly follow the same curriculum under the supervision of teachers. The national legislation refers to all classes at the same level as grades. Roman numerals are used to designate classes and grades (for example, Grades I to IV in a general secondary school).

Grouping into classes is based on the age of pupils as the basic criterion and, where applicable, on the promotion of the pupil to the next grade. A class tutor/teacher supervises each class. As a rule, the same teacher holds this function throughout the period of education in school.

The legislation does not define the minimum or maximum number of pupils per class. Regulations on special and integration general secondary schools (for pupils with a disability or socially maladjusted pupils), based on the School Education Act of 7 September 1991, as subsequently amended,  (ustawa z dnia 7 września 1991 r. o systemie oświaty, z późn. zm.), provide for some exceptions. For example, the number of pupils per class in integration schools and classes should range between 15 and 20, including 3 to 5 pupils with a disability.

For some school activities or classes, pupils are further divided into groups, based on arrangements similar to those in primary schools.

Organisation of the school year

Classes in the school year in general post-primary schools are divided into two semesters (referred to in the legislation as half-year periods). The regulations on the organisation of the school year do not indicate explicitly the end date of a semester. This date usually falls during the winter break. Thus, the first semester lasts between the first day of classes (the first working day of September) and the last Saturday preceding the winter break; the second semester lasts between the Monday directly following the winter break and the last day of classes in the school year (the last Friday in June). 

There are some exceptions. The main one concerns the highest grade as the maturity exam is conducted after the completion of the final year of education. Thus, classes in the second semester for the final grade end as early as on the last Friday in April.

The dates of the winter break vary among the provinces. The break is scheduled between mid-January and the beginning of March, and lasts 2 weeks. The Head of the Regional Education Authorities (kurator oświaty) sets the exact dates of the winter break in agreement with the governor of a given province. Schools also have two shorter winter (Christmas) and spring (Easter) breaks.

Detailed information on the organisation of the school year (start and end dates of the school year, summer and winter breaks with geographical variations, public/religious and other holidays) is available in the annually updated Eurydice publication ‘School calendars in Europe’ (latest version: 2025/2026). 

Organisation of the school day and week

4-year general secondary schools, which take pupils who have finished the 8-year primary school, follow the regulations based on the Act of 14 December 2016, The Law on School Education, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 14 grudnia 2016 r. – Prawo oświatowe, z późn. zm.). The number of class or teaching hours for each grade of a general secondary school is set in the Regulation of the Minister of Education of 20 May 2024 on the outline timetables for public schools (rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji z dnia 20 maja 2024 r. w sprawie ramowych planów nauczania dla publicznych szkół)

Classes usually start at 8 a.m. and finish around 2-3 p.m. if the school works in one shift (they finish later if the school works in two shifts). Each lesson (period) lasts 45 minutes. Breaks usually last between 5-10 and 25 minutes. The duration of the school day also depends on the size of the school building, the number of classrooms and other facilities for after-school activities. Pupils go to school on 5 days a week (from Monday to Friday).