Personal aptitude, ideas about the future, job market prospects, and references from acquaintances — all of this matters when a pupil decides where to go to secondary school.
In Slovakia you can apply to these types of secondary schools:
An overview of schools in one place can be found on the portal Find a school | ePrihláškyOpens in a new window of the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.
Submit the secondary school application electronically, conveniently from home, and track its progress on the portal Apply to school in a few clicks | ePrihláškyOpens in a new window. You can also submit it on paper using the form Opens in a new windowthe ministry publishes at the beginning of the calendar year.
Warning: In 2026 it was possible to submit the application through some school information systems (e.g. EduPage). We will update the method of submitting applications for the following year in due time.
If the pupil attends a primary school, the secondary school application is submitted to the director of the primary school the pupil attends. The primary school director sends the application to the secondary school.
If it concerns a pupil who is not a primary school pupil, applications are sent directly to the chosen secondary school. Certified copies of primary school report cards must also be sent together with the application.
Fill in on the application:
When to submit the application
The deadline for submitting applications, the dates of entrance exams, and the date results are published depend on the specific school year, and we recommend confirming these dates directly with the primary school or on the website of the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.
You can submit an application to more than one school
In the application you can state:
If the application allows indicating a ranking of fields by preference, the evaluation of the ranking and its notification to the relevant secondary school is carried out automatically through the central register. The method of evaluating the ranking is determined by the school director.
If the application does not allow indicating a ranking of fields by preference, confirm to the chosen secondary school within 3 working days of receiving the admission decision that the pupil will start studying. Other admission decisions for schools and fields of study listed in the application lose validity.
The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic has determined the subjects the secondary school entrance exams consist of. These are core subjects for individual types of secondary schools, which can always be found updated on the website of the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.Opens in a new window
The form of the entrance exam, its content, scope, and admission conditions are announced and published by the secondary school director.
You may also encounter a so-called sports talent verification, which applies to secondary sports schools. We therefore recommend monitoring the currently published entrance exam dates as well as sports talent verification dates.
The director of a secondary vocational school may determine criteria for admitting applicants without an entrance exam or without part of it: to the 1st grade of lower secondary vocational education and to the 1st grade of secondary vocational education. If it concerns an apprenticeship field in the dual education system, the criteria are determined by the school director together with the employer at whom the pupil will be trained.
Note: Dual education combines theoretical education with practical training directly at the employer’s practical training workplace. A pupil may also carry out practical training in a workshop.
The secondary school director may admit an applicant without an entrance exam if they achieved at least the following success rate in external testing:
a) 90% in each teaching subject separately, if it concerns admission to the first grade of a complete secondary general education programme, or
b) 80% in each teaching subject separately, if it concerns admission to the first grade of a complete secondary vocational education programme.
This does not apply to fields that require verification of special abilities, skills, or talent (for example a talent exam).
For an applicant to be admitted to secondary school:
If applying to:
An applicant cannot be admitted if they:
The secondary school director publishes on the school’s notice board and website a list of applicants according to the results of the admission process, with a pre-assigned numerical code for the applicant. The results of the admission process can be found on the portal Apply to school in a few clicks | ePrihlášky.Opens in a new window
Good to know
If an applicant was not admitted to any secondary school, they can submit another application. This is the so-called second round of entrance exams, which schools announce for unfilled places in the 1st grade. Whether a school opens a second round is published by the director on the school’s website.
Information about vacancies can be found:
The second round does not apply to eight-year education programmes.
