Primary and secondary schools

Education in Lithuania is compulsory for children from 7 (the calendar year when the child reaches the age of seven) to 16 years of age. Municipal schools are free of charge.

To enroll at a school, the pupil is required to submit the following documents:

• Application form;
• Document certifying learning achievements (a document attesting completion of educational curriculum or part of it abroad), which needs to be translated into Lithuanian (the requirement to have the translation approved by the notary public depends on each school’s internal procedures);
• A medical check-up certificate (required to present each year);
• Other documents as indicated in the school admission procedure (each school establishes its own individual requirements for the documents to be submitted). Schools give priority to the children whose place of residence is registered within the area serviced by schools; therefore, you may be required to submit a certificate as proof of your place of residence.

For a child under 14, a request for school admission has to be submitted by one of the parents (guardians), and from 14 years of age, the child is required to write an application him/herself (in some cases, different procedures may be adopted by schools).

How can a child coming from abroad continue education in Lithuania?

Upon returning from a foreign country, school-age children are admitted to schools in accordance with the general education curriculum following the general procedure applicable to any other child of school age residing in Lithuania. Migrants’ children (children of foreigners and citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, arriving or returning from a foreign country to live in Lithuania) are entitled to receive an additional 30 percent funding in addition to the student’s basket they are entitled to (a student’s basket is the allocation of funds per student earmarked by the state and distributed by municipalities). The additional funding for migrant children, allocated for no longer than one school year (or for a longer period in cases where student achievement is poorer than expected), should cover the expenses of specialists to help the student’s faster integration into classes of peers.

The curriculum that the pupil completed abroad is assessed by the school of your choice. Upon the student’s submission of the documents certifying his/her attendance of foreign schools, the school commission decides which part of the Lithuanian schooling programme it corresponds to. If necessary, the school in question may test the learning attainments acquired by the student and make recommendations for further learning.

The children with no proficiency in Lithuanian, prior to attending general education school, have an opportunity to learn the Lithuanian language in a special leveling class to bridge the language gap.

Admission may be carried out throughout the school year. However, it should be borne in mind that admission procedures are set by each school individually, therefore you should contact the school with specific questions such as a list of the documents to be submitted, admission dates and deadlines, a certificate confirming the registration of your place of residence, etc.

Schooling in the English language

The opportunity to study in English is provided by:

• American International School in Vilnius (private school); 
• Jonas Jablonskis gymnasium in Kaunas (billingual (English-Lithuanian) classes for 9-12 grades);
• Guliverio akademija in Vilnius (private bilingual (English-Lithuanian) school, 1-8 grades); 
• Jurgis Dobkevičius pro-gymnasium in Kaunas (International Baccalaureate program for 1-8 grades);
• Erudito licėjus in Kaunas and Vilnius (private school, English schooling for 5-18 years old children);
• Klaipėda ‘Universa Via’ International School (private kindergarten-school, English schooling for 3-11 years old children; older children who speak only English get individual attention, interpretation and similar assistance).

Senior class students wishing to continue their studies in English, have the possibility to be granted an International Baccalaureate diploma (hereinafter referred to as the IBO) in the following schools in Lithuania: 

• Vilnius Lyceum; 
• American International School of Vilnius;
• Kaunas Jesuit gymnasium; 
• Šiauliai Didždvaris gymnasium;  
• Tauragė ‘Versmė’ gymnasium;
• Kaunas Jonas Jablonskis gymnasium;
• Erudito licėjus.

Within the International Baccalaureate programme, English is used as a medium of instruction for all subjects, with the exception of the Lithuanian language and literature. IBO is a two-year programme (with the exception of the IB Primary and IB Middle School offered by the Vilnius International School) for 11-12th grade students. Below is the list of eligibility conditions:

• Applications to be submitted until April 30;
• Entrance examinations are held;
• In the IBO schools, the principle of territorial preference is not applied;
• Submission of documents certifying completion of basic education;
• Examination fee for IBO is around 600 Euros.

In addition to the above-mentioned schools, there are other schools in Lithuania (both private and public) offering advanced English language training, for instance VIMS – International Meridian School, Queen Morta School.

The students choosing the French language have the option to attend the The French International Lyceum of Vilnius.

In such schools, English, French or German is used as a medium of instruction for part of the subjects, and is provided for students of different age groups. In ethnic minority schools, the language of instruction is Russian, Polish or Belorussian, with bilingual education programmes introduced.

Private school tuition costs range widely. 

Vilnius Lithuanians‘ House gymnasium (Vilniaus lietuvių namai) offers the programmes of primary, basic and secondary education. The purpose of Vilnius Lithuanians’ House is to provide general, formal and informal education to children of exiles of Lithuanian origin, descents of political prisoners, foreigners and citizens of Lithuania who have come for a short time or returned to live permanently in the Republic of Lithuania, and children of Lithuanian citizens living abroad. The school also supplies the assistance to other schools and teachers as well as assists in teaching the Lithuanian language. Tuition, accommodation in a dormitory and meals are free of charge – all the costs are covered by the state. 

Material prepared according to the information of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania.