High school is a term used in parts of the English-speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education, but not always the highest years of basic education, which can be called a "secondary school" or "secondary college" or other terms, depending on the nation or region (see below: Usage by country). The phrase "high school" is often incorporated into the name of the related institutions.

The term (as "high school") originated in Scotland, with the world's oldest being Edinburgh's Royal High School from 1505. The Royal High School was used as a model for the first public high school in the United States, the English High School founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1821. The precise stage of schooling provided by a high school differs from country to country, and may vary within the same jurisdiction. In all of New Zealand and Malaysia along with parts of Australia, Bangladesh and Canada, high school is synonymous with secondary school, and encompasses the entire secondary stage of education.

Secondary school (the term "high school" is most often associated with English-speaking countries, though the two are far from synonymous) is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place. It follows elementary or primary education, and may be followed by university (tertiary) education.

There are many different types of secondary school, and the terminology used varies around the world. Children usually transfer to secondary school between the ages of 10 and 16 years, and finish between the ages of 16 and 19 years, though there is considerable variation from country to country.

The following descriptions and definitions pertain to state-funded education unless otherwise stated.

In Australia secondary school is called high school, from Year 7 to Year 12 in every state but Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, where high school is started in Year 8. In Tasmania, high school consitutes Years 7 to 10 with college (senior secondary) consiting of Year 11 and 12.

Coordinates: 60°23′39″N 5°19′44″E / 60.3941°N 5.3289°E / 60.3941; 5.3289 Tanks Upper Secondary School (Norwegian: Tanks videregående skole) is an upper secondary school in the centre of Bergen, Norway.

The school opened in 1850 as Den Tankske Skole, funded by an endowement established by merchant Hans Tank and his wife around fifty years earlier.

The school building is 150 years old and in bad shape. Due to this the school will move to new buildings in 4 years time^[when?].