Education in Lindenholt

According to the Lindian constitution, Education in Lindenholt is one of the main concerns of the government. To this end, the ministry of education offers primary and secondary education free of charge for all students within the country. Children aged from 5 through 16 are required by law to attend school; for students younger and older than the mandated age groups there are voluntary forms of schooling, ranging from kindergartens for the youngest to university programmes for adolescents.

The vast majority of Lindian schools are public schools, owned by the state. While private schools exist, they must conform to strict standards and conditions for accreditations by the government. A select number of private schools are wholly government funded, meaning that while they are private institutions, students' tuition is wholly paid for by the government. In most cases this concerns international schools, schools operating with instructions in a foreign language or schools that offer alternative education methods such as or the.

The mean years of schooling for Lindian students is nearly 13 years as of 2020. By the time they leave the education system, students will likely have attended a kindergarten (ages 2-6), primary school (6-12) and secondary school (12-16 or 12-18). Tertiary education exists in the form of universities and vocational schools. Which of these a student will attend is based on the type of secondary education they complete.

Pre-elementary education
Most students start their education by attending a (peuterspeelzaal). Attending kindergarten is not compulsory, as they exclusively serve children aged 2 through 4. At age 5 children are required by law to attend the so-called kleuterklas, literally "toddler class". While some kindergartens offer this class, children generally transfer to an elementary school at this point.

Elementary education
The first two years of elementary education are spent in the kleuterklas. Here children aged 5 through 6 are taught the very basics of writing, arithmetic and reading. Teachers ensure that children learn fundamental social skills and slowly get used to a classroom setting. Students are promoted to the first grade if their teacher is confident they have reached the required level of pedagogical development. Typically this takes place in the academic year that children turn seven.

In the first grade children are taught arithmetic, reading and writing. It is expected students have already memorized the alphabet, can count to a hundred and know how to write their own name. By the end of the year students should be proficient in reading and writing basic sentences as well as being able to solve addition and subtraction problems.

From the second grade onward the curriculum will also spend considerable time on the use of proper spelling and grammar. Mathematical concepts such as multiplication, (long) division, fractions and percentages are introduced one by one each year. Most schools also introduce subjects such as geography, history and science from the 4th grade onward.

Primary schools have six grades, seven if the kleuterklas is included. Nominally, students reach the age of 12 in their final (sixth) year of elementary education.

Students pass to the next grade if their teacher believes the student is proficient in all the taught subjects of that year. Generally, tests are kept to a minimum and homework is rare.

Bridge years
Upon completing the sixth grade of elementary school, students can enrol in to a secondary school. The first two years of secondary school are collectively referred to as the "bridge years" (brugklas). In some cases, elementary schools also offer bridge years.

The two bridge years are meant to establish which style of secondary education best suits a pupil. During these bridging years, all students follow the same curriculum.

Students are graded twice for each subject; once at a practicum level and once at the lyceum level. Generally the practicum level grade establishes whether a student has understood the very basics and practical applications of a course. Such proficiency could be demonstrated by correctly answering specific questions on a test or even through turning in a (practical) assignment. The lyceum grade is usually determined by testing a student's ability to innovate upon the given information and by probing whether the student has a deeper understanding of the subject.

The government has no official admission requirements for those that wish to continue their secondary education at the lyceum level. Despite this, schools are not restricted from imposing their own selection procedure. According to a survey performed in 2018, 58% of secondary schools required their bridge year students to only have sufficient (6 out of 10 and up) averages for all their lyceum level grades. Around 30% of schools have stricter requirements, whereas the remainder has no or more lenient conditions for entry.

Lyceum
Students start their first year of lyceum after their bridge years. In most cases this means the student is fourteen years of age. If completed in the nominal timeframe, a student is eighteen when they finish the lyceum. The lyceum's curriculum prepares students for a university education. There are four academic years, the first two of which feature a general curriculum shared by all students while the final two years consist of elective courses.

For the third year and fourth year students can assemble their own curriculum. Mathematics and the Lindian and Rewish language courses remain compulsory for all students. Students that do not have a natural science (physics, chemistry, biology) in their curriculum must follow the "general natural sciences" course. A similar condition applies to students that lack social sciences (history, geography, economics, social studies) in their selection: they must enrol in the "general social sciences" course. Finally, a curriculum must contain at least least 36 hours of lessons.