Vocabulary Related to School

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. Whether you’re preparing for a Cambridge exam like B2 First, C1 Advanced, IELTS or just want to sound more natural when talking about your school experience, having the right vocabulary is key. In English, we don’t just “study” and “learn”—we revise for exams, hand in assignments, and sometimes even fall behind or catch up! Vocabulary Related to School

Here, you will find a full range of school-related vocabulary with common collocations, useful phrasal verbs, and everyday idioms native speakers use while talking about education. Every word comes with an accurate explanation and examples in the form of sample sentences for easier remembering. So, if you want to speak about school life confidently and naturally, let’s dive in and hit the books!

General vocabulary

Word/phrase	Meaning	Example sentence
Curriculum	the subjects studied in a school	The national curriculum includes Maths, Science and English.
Assignment	a task given by a teacher	I have to hand in my history assignment by Friday.
Tuition	teaching or instruction	Private tuition can be expensive but effective.
Discipline	Self-control or order in a classroom	The teacher praised the class for their discipline.
Assessment	evaluation of a student’s work	Continuous assessment is used instead of final exams.
Lecture	a formal talk or lesson	We had a two-hour lecture on British history.
Deadline	the latest time by which something must be submitted	I stayed up all night to meet the deadline.
Enrol / Enroll	to register officially	I’ve just enrolled in a course on British literature.
Scholarship	financial aid for students	She won a scholarship to study at Oxford.
Extra-curricular activities	activities outside academic studies	Drama club is one of my favourite extra-curricular activities.

Vocabulary Related to School

Useful collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
Sit an exam	to take an official test, usually in school or university	I’m sitting my final history exam next week.
Do well in school	to perform successfully in schoolwork or studies	My brother always did well in school, especially in science.
Fail a subject	to not pass a school subject or exam	She failed maths last year but passed it on her second try.
Hand in homework	to give your completed homework to the teacher	We had to hand in our homework before the bell rang.
Get good grades	to achieve high marks or scores in school	If you want to get good grades, you need to study regularly.
Attend classes	to be present during lessons or lectures	He rarely attends classes and now he’s behind on all his work.
Miss a lesson	to be absent from a class or not take part in a lesson	I missed a lesson and now I don’t understand the topic.
Revise for exams	to review and study material again before a test	I stayed up late revising for my English exam.
Take notes	to write down important information during a lesson or lecture	I always take notes in class to help me remember things later.
Drop a subject	to stop studying a particular subject, often by choice	I dropped geography because I found it boring and difficult.

Vocabulary Related to School

School-related phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
Drop out	to leave school or university before finishing	He dropped out of university after the first year.
Catch up on	to do something you missed	I need to catch up on the lessons I missed.
Hand in	to submit (e.g. homework)	Don’t forget to hand in your essay by Monday.
Look over	to quickly examine or review	I just looked over my notes before the test.
Get through	to succeed in an exam or challenge	I wasn’t sure I’d pass, but I got through in the end.
Go over	to review or revise material	Let’s go over the main points before the exam.
Fall behind	to not make progress as fast as others	She fell behind in class after being ill for two weeks.
Catch up with	to reach the same level as others	He studied all weekend to catch up with the class.
Sign up for	to enrol in a course or activity	I’ve signed up for a photography workshop.
Work out	to find a solution or understand	I couldn’t work out the answer to the last question.

Vocabulary Related to School

Idioms about school and learning

Idiom	Meaning	Example sentence
Learn something by heart	to memorise	I had to learn the poem by heart for class.
Pass with flying colours	to pass very successfully	She passed her final exams with flying colours.
The teacher’s pet	the teacher’s favourite student	Tom is definitely the teacher’s pet in our class.
A quick learner	someone who learns fast	She’s a quick learner and picked up Spanish in weeks.
Hit the books	to start studying seriously	I’ve got exams next week – time to hit the books!
Draw a blank	to fail to remember	I drew a blank during the oral exam.
Learn the hard way	to learn through experience or mistakes	He learned the hard way that you can’t cheat in exams.
Make the grade	to be successful (usually in school or work)	Not everyone makes the grade in medical school.
Play truant / Skive off	to skip school without permission	He was caught playing truant again.
Put your thinking cap on	to start thinking seriously	We need to put our thinking caps on for this puzzle.

Vocabulary Related to School

Reading text – The Last Term

It was the beginning of the final term, and the atmosphere at Eastwood High was a mix of excitement and anxiety. Everyone was busy preparing to sit their final exams, revise for assessments, and hand in coursework. Teachers reminded students daily not to leave things to the last minute, but naturally, some still did.

Emma, who usually did well in school, was feeling the pressure. She had recently fallen behind after missing classes due to a family emergency. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t catch up on everything fast enough. “If you want to get good grades, you’ll need to hit the books every evening,” her tutor warned.

Determined to turn her luck around, Emma made a study schedule. She signed up for additional revision lessons, attended every one, and took careful notes. She even asked her friends to test her in the afternoons. Slowly, her confidence grew.

Her best friend, Josh, wasn’t quite as motivated. “I’m planning to wing it,” he said one day with a grin. “I’ll cram the night before and hope for the best.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “You might scrape through, but don’t count on it. I want to pass with flying colours.”

As the exam period approached, students could be seen everywhere, heads buried in books, whispering formulas, and rereading notes. Some students dropped subjects they no longer needed, while others tried to work out the trickiest problems during lunch breaks.

When exam week finally arrived, nerves were high. Some students looked like they hadn’t slept in days. Emma walked into the exam hall, put her thinking cap on, and took a deep breath. She read the first question and drew a blank. Her mind went completely silent.

But after a few moments, it all came back to her. She smiled to herself, picked up her pen, and started writing. She might have learned the hard way, but she had made the grade in the end.

Vocabulary related to school

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