High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and also Australia) to describe an institution which provides all or part of secondary education. The term High School originated in Scotland Great Britain with the worlds oldest being the Royal High School (Edinburgh) in 1505,[1][2] and spread to the New World countries as the high prestige that the Scottish educational system had at the time led several countries to employ Scottish educators to develop their state education systems. 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 parts of Australia and Canada, high school is synonymous with secondary school, and encompasses the entire secondary stage of education. High school can also be the point in life for many students where they mature and develop a deeper sense of understanding about themselves and the people around them. Alternatively, some students will undergo this transitional stage later on in life when they enter college or university, although this is usually a continued progression that originates in high school.