18 Interesting Facts about Schools around the World

How much do you know about schools around the world apart from different curriculums? There are many things beyond the books and buildings that you probably don’t know about it. Have a look at some interesting facts about schools from around the world, which might just make you look at it with a new perspective.

1. Phumachangtang School in Tibet at the Top of the World

Phumachangtang, on the plateau of the Tibet autonomous region, is referred to be the world’s highest town. Phumachangtang is a primary school in Tibet, situated at 5, 373 meters above sea level. It’s only primary school is also the closest of its kind to the sky. 

About 5,373 meters over sea level, it is 200 meters higher than the base camp of Mount Qomolangma, the world’s highest mountain, known as Mount Everest in the West.

2. The King’s School, Canterbury, is reputedly the oldest in the World

The King’s School in Canterbury was founded in 597 CE after St. Augustine arrived in England. It is considered to be the oldest school in Europe. History of The King’s School Canterbury, there is a strong sign that the school was run as part of Canterbury Cathedral during the Middle Ages.

The school has a strong academic curriculum that is continually adapting to encompass the ever-changing demands of modern education. The wide-ranging co-curricular program has been developed to provide opportunities for all pupils to discover their passions and encourage them to develop their talents. Art, Music, and Sport play a large role in school life, and numerous other activities to suit all tastes.

3. A school in the Philippines is made completely of recycled Pepsi bottles

Pepsi partnered and the My Shelter Foundation to make this school of plastic bottles in San Pablo, Philippines. Around 9,000 bottles were collected each 1.5 and 2-liter bottle was stuffed with adobe (sand, clay, and water with a bit of straw, twigs, or manure thrown in). Thousands of volunteers hired by Pepsi collected the used bottles, helped to raise awareness of the Philippines classroom shortage, and engaged in building the structure.

4. The world’s largest school in terms of pupils is the City Montessori School in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

City Montessori School is the world’s largest school. It consists of around 56,000 students and 4,500 staff across 17 campuses in the city of Lucknow. Established in 1959 by Dr. Jagdish Gandhi and Dr. Bharti Gandhi, CMS students from Montessori to Class XII achieve some of the highest exam results in India.

There are more than 32,000 students attending the school daily. It possesses over 1,000 classrooms, 3,700 computers, and goes by thousands of pounds worth of stationery and books each year.

5. There was an elementary school in Turin, the smallest school in the world

The school in Alpette, Turin, is considered to be the smallest in the world, with only one student and a teacher. The student admits that sometimes feels lonely in class and imagines other students attending classes with them.

Administrators have decided to keep it open as long as there is at least one student at the school.

6. The kids in Holland begins school on their 4th birthday so there is always someone new in class

Primary education in Holland includes general primary education, special primary education, and special education for children with learning and behavioral difficulties and children with learning disabilities. Primary education is designed for all children aged 4 to about 12 years.

While this does imply that older pupils get more time to settle in and make friends. It does at least imply that pupils should be at a similar development level at the time their first day at school rolls around.

7. In France, Meal-time is considered part of the curriculum

Children are supposed to learn not only about different foods and where they come from (schools try to source locally) but also to display good manners and behavior.

8. In South Korea, students are expected to stay and assist clean and tidy the classroom when lessons are over

Pupils who are in first graders clean and maintain their classrooms, serve lunch to their classmates and even clean the toilets. It is not a government order, but every school reflects this national trend with little variations. In fact, this practice may be close to some in other parts of the world. As it is shown in many anime series representing Japanese school life.

9. No school until age seven, that is one of the oldest ages around the world to start school in Finland

School is not compulsory until the age of seven. There are no national tests, no inspections, no selective schools, and very few private schools. For every 45 minutes of studying, students enjoy 15 minutes of play.

10. In Russia, the first day of school is called ‘Knowledge Day’ (September 1st). It starts on 1 September even if it’s a weekend or a holiday

Knowledge Day may be known as 1st September as that is the day all children in Russia, Soviet republics, and former Eastern countries excluding Romania go back to school even if it is a weekend.

The morning normally begins with a school assembly during which 11th-graders (the oldest students) take the first-graders by the hand and guide them into the school while ringing a ceremonial bell.

11. Floating Schools in Bangladesh, there are more than 100 boat schools and all of one have internet access, a library, and are solar-powered

In Bangladesh, annual flooding can obstruct school for hundreds of thousands of pupils. In some areas, roads are impassable during the rainy season from July to October, when rivers rise as much as four meters or 12 feet. Hence, the need for boat schools. The inside of the boat is tied with narrow benches which in turn are filled with children. The children sit shoulder-to-shoulder facing a blackboard in the back of the boat.

12. In Colombia, Children ZipLine Over A Large Canyon Just To Get To School

Children in a small village in Colombia only have two choices when it comes to making the commute to their school. They can either make a two-hour hike down the side of a mountain to cross through a canyon or they can save some time and zip line. 

The cable that moves the children to school hangs about 754 feet above the canyon and is about half a mile long. During the journey, the children on the zip line can reach up to 55 miles per hour as they zip over the canyon and to town. Very young children are not permitted to use the zip-line alone. Hence, they travel with the cable with their parents or an older sibling. If the children did not travel this way, they would have to walk through the rainforest and it would take two hours to go to school.

13. In Germany, Cat Shaped School Has a Slide for a Tail

The whimsical Kindergarten Wolfartsweier School is built like a big white cat. When pupils enter the school, they enter the building by the mouth of the cat. Once inside, it’s just like any other school. But there’s at least one more perfect feature that students can enjoy: the cat’s tail found at the back of the building doubles as a slide!

14. In Chile, summer vacations begin in middle December and end in early March

The summer holiday is a school break in summer between school years. And the break in the school academic year. Students are on holiday between eight and nine weeks, but not staff, depending on the country and district. In the US, summer break is nearly two and a half months, with students typically finishing the school year. 

15. In Germany, First Graders students get a special treat on their first day of school that is a Schultute

A Schultüte is a colorful and decorated cone that is given to students on their first day of first grade. A school cone is prepared by a students’ parents and filled to the edge with goodies such as small school supplies like pens, pencil cases, erasers, toys, and candy, etc. These bundles of gifts extract excitement in students during one of the most important days of their childhood – the day that school begins.

16. In Japan, small kids take the subway and run tasks alone, with no parent in sight

In Japan, Students, cleaning their own classroom and school is a part of their school education. Students as young as first graders travel to school alone,  clean and maintain their classrooms, serve lunch to their classmates, and even clean the toilets. There are no janitors or canteens in schools.

17. In Kenya, preschool education is not compulsory

Pre-primary or early childhood development and education class before joining the primary school for kids.

In Kenya, Primary education starts the first phase of the formal educational system. It begins at six years of age and runs for eight years. Before the development of schools in the early 1970s, the beginning age did not matter. But, as school enrollment grew in the late 1980s, a starting age for attending school became important.

18. France schools have the longest school day and also the shortest school year from August to June

In French students go to school four days a week. They got about two hours each day for lunch. And they have more vacation than their equivalents almost anywhere in the West. The French school day starts around 8:30 and ends at 4:30 p.m., even for the youngest, despite studies proving the capacity of young children to learn deteriorates as the day goes on.