>>7
First of all, you should be talking about countries and not "Europe" as a whole, because school systems differ from country to country.
Secondly, it is not anything like in the US. Here in Germany, for example, there are 4 different types or categories of "high schools" to accommodate children of varying capabilities and interest in learning. Or, in other words, children are split up after elementary school based on their ability. This ensures that the.. slower kids don't end up holding back the ones willing to learn.
Among the highest level of high schools - they're called "Gymnasium", by the way, though it has nothing to do with the English word - there also tend to be specializations. Some of them are oriented towards language, others towards science, etc. This allows the most capable children to be better prepared for subsequent university education based on their interests. Of course they still offer a high level of education in all fields, regardless of specialization.
A few of my friends from back when I was in high school went to the States for an exchange year. Based on what they said about their experiences in American high schools during that year I would say that even the lowest level of high schools, the so called "Hauptschule" ("Mainschool"), is on par or better than the average high school in the US. From what I heard from friends who went for exchange years to France on the other hand, I heard that their schools are even more demanding than the best of the German ones. English schools are said to be very demanding as well.
So no, it is not "much the same way" here in Europe. Not at all. At least not in the civilized countries.