There are 3 levels of education in the formal school system in Vietnam: Pre -school, Primary education, and Secondary education. The Secondary education consists of lower secondary education and upper secondary education. Primary and lower secondary education are compulsory in Vietnam. Children start going to primary school at the age of 6 and after 5 years they move to lower secondary school where they study for 4 years. The upper secondary education lasts 3 years, from the age of 15 to 17. In order to study at a university, students have to pass the national examination held in early June every year for the GCSE. The academic year is divided into 2 terms. It lasts 9 months from September 5th to the end of May. The first term is from September to December and the second term lasts from January to May. Finally, students have a 3-month -summer holiday after the second term.
