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Tichon: High School
Lesson 254 · תִּיכוֹן
Tichon covers grades 10-12 (kita yud, yud-aleph, yud-bet), ages 15-18. It centers on the Bagrut matriculation cycle, sometimes structured as a 4-year program from grade 9. Students choose academic streams: mada\'im (sciences), humanitiyim (humanities), omanut (arts), mada hach. hev. (social sciences), or special tracks (talmidim mehunim, IDF prep). Major schools by reputation include Reali Haifa, the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv, and the Israel Arts and Sciences Academy. Olim need Bagrut equivalency for Israeli university admission.
Cultural note, Tichon is the pressure cooker of Israeli adolescence. Bagrut exams loom over every grade, and IDF service starts the day after graduation. Honor schools (tichon mehuyiv) like Reali, the Hebrew Gymnasium, and IASA carry legendary status. The common stress combo: 5-unit math + 5-unit English + Bagrut bonuses + university psychometric prep. Religious students attend Bnei Akiva-affiliated yeshivot tichon (combined yeshiva + tichon, like Yeshivat Or Etzion). Most students sit ~12-15 Bagrut exams over 3 years.
High School Grades
Famous High Schools
Tichon Subjects
Academic Streams
Tichon Vocabulary
10th Grader Picks His Tichon Track
A 10th grader and his father discuss whether to pick mada\'im or humanitiyim track.