Complete school education lasts 11 grades (classes). Incomplete (basic) education lasts 9 grades (classes).
Russian Schools give students a general education. Schools that provide only standard course of general education, called «general schools» and schools that give depth knowledge of individual disciplines or introducing addition to the required courses may be called differently (‘school with profound studying of subjects «,» Lyceum», «Gymnasium»).
Education in public schools (including schools with profound studying of subjects) is officially free. Currently, a full course of study at the Russian school takes 11 years.
Standard terms of the mastering of educational programs by level of general education:

Level I (primary general education) — 4 years

According to current rules, pupils are accepted in the first Grade, if they were 6 years old by March 1 in the admission year.
Middle school takes 4 years — from the 1st to the 4th grade. It provides the minimum basic set of knowledge and skills, which are necessary for life and any work: reading, writing, elementary math, handicraft.
Each form in middle school has its own one secured teacher who is responsible for the class, and leads almost all subjects (except for physical education and music). The form has their own room, where all the classes, except those which require a special place or equipment. Lessons typically less than four per day.

Level II (basic general education) — 5 years

Within five years, from 5th to 9th grade, students are enrolled in middle school. The main middle school course gives basic knowledge of the main fields of sciences. The basic school education is carried out according to the standard object-cabinet system: each course (class, lesson) leads the teacher — in the discipline expert (sometimes two or more), which has a private room, and a form during the school day goes from room to room. In addition, every form belongs to the tutor (class teacher) — one of the school teachers, which is officially responsible for the form, education in general.
At the end of p school students take the state (final) certification in the form of OGE: mathematics, Russian language and two more at the option ( exam is considered as passed if a result of a mark is not lower than «satisfactory»). After the OGE each student receives a document “ Atestat” — a certificate of basic general education — confirming the fact of learning and having grades in all subjects studied. Upon completion of the middle school some pupils will stay and go to high school, some of them will go to study at secondary special educational institutions.

Level III (complete general education) — 2 years

The main purpose of high school is preparation for university entrance. In Russia these are the last two years of study: Grade 10 and Grade 11.
The course includes further study of the subjects previously studied in primary school, as well as a small number of new disciplines. Currently another attempt to switch the high school to specialized education (when a student chooses the direction of a more in-depth study of subjects, according to his own aptitudes). The set of possible training profiles provided by the school may vary.
Workload in the upper grades of up to seven lessons per day.
Upon completion the general education students pass the Unified State Examination (USE). Students must pass the math and Russian language. Passing the exam in other subjects is voluntary, and the students selected are usually those items that are required for admission to the chosen university.
Every student, who has successfully completed the last stage of education, receives a certificate of general secondary education — a document confirming the knowledge in the state of standard volume. The certificate specifies the final grades for all studied subjects