The 1st of September marks the beginning of the new school year in Estonia. This year 14,700 children started first grade in Estonia, receiving their Aabits book and wearing their 'kooli tekkel' (school cap) for the first time with pride. Approximately 160,000 Estonian pupils will be attending general education this year, 26,000 students will commence vocational education and more than 47,000 students are enrolled at the country's universities. Estonia has one of the best education systems in the world and ranks number one in Europe for reading, mathematics, and science.