Higher school (é«ÂçÂÂå¦校, Kà Âtà  Gakkà  or æ§å¶é«ÂçÂÂå¦校, Kyà «sei Kà Âtà  Gakkà Â) was an institution of higher education in Japan, which was a preparatory institution for imperial universities and national medical colleges until the educational reform in occupied Japan.
Apart from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, higher schools were the most prestigious pre-university higher education institutions in Japan and provided liberal arts education based on instead of specialised education.
The higher schools have now been converted or merged into universities. Despite the same name, Kà Âtà  Gakkà  (é«ÂçÂÂå¦校), higher schools are completely different to high schools (æ°å¶é«ÂçÂÂå¦校, Shinsei Kà Âtà  Gakkà Â) after WW2.