Gymnasium (; German plural:
Gymnasien), in the
German education system, is the most advanced of the three types of German
secondary schools, the others being
Realschule and
Hauptschule. Gymnasium strongly emphasizes academic learning, comparable to the British
grammar school system or with
prep schools in the United States. A student attending gymnasium is called a "gymnasiast" (German plural: "Gymnasiasten"). In 2009/10 there were 3,094 gymnasia in Germany, with students (about 28 percent of all precollegiate students during that period), resulting in an average student number of 800 students per school. Gymnasia are generally public, state-funded schools, but a number of parochial and private gymnasia also exist. In 2009/10, 11.1 percent of gymnasium students attended a private gymnasium. These often charge
tuition fees, though many also offer scholarships. Tuition fees are lower than in comparable European countries.