Gymnasium (; German plural: Gymnasien), in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being Hauptschule (lowest) and Realschule (middle). Gymnasium strongly emphasizes academic learning, comparable to the British sixth form 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.Federal Statistical office of Germany, Fachserie 11, Reihe 1: Allgemeinbildende Schulen – Schuljahr 2009/2010, Wiesbaden 2010
