page_title: Education in Portugal
section_title: 2º Ciclo - 2nd Cycle
hierarchical_section_title: Education in Portugal / Pre-higher education / Basic education / 2º Ciclo - 2nd Cycle
caption_attribution_description: English: André Soares school in Braga, Portugal.
context_page_description: Education in Portugal is free and compulsory until the age of 18, when students complete their year 12. The education is regulated by the State through the Ministry of Education. There is a system of public education and also many private schools at all levels of education. The first Portuguese medieval universities, such as the University of Coimbra, were created in the 13th century, and the national higher education system is fully integrated into the European Higher Education Area.
  The basic literacy rate of the Portuguese population is 99.44. According to INE, only 3.7 million Portuguese workers completed basic education.
  According to the Programme for International Student Assessment 2015, the average Portuguese 15-year-old student, when rated in terms of reading literacy, mathematics and science knowledge, is placed significantly above the OECD's average, at a similar level as those students from Norway, Poland, Denmark and Belgium, with 501 points. The PISA results of the Portuguese students have been continuously improving, surpassing those of a number of other highly developed western countries like the US, Austria, France and Sweden.
context_section_description: 5th and 6th years
  Portuguese Language
  Mathematics
  History and Geography of Portugal
  English (levels 1 and 2)
  Natural Sciences
  Visual Education (Visual arts)
  Technological Education (Crafts)
  Physical Education
  Music Education
  Catholic (or other confessions) Moral and Religious Education (facultative)
caption: André Soares Basic School of the 2nd and 3rd Cycles, Braga
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