Thesis is dedicated to systematic and comprehensive analysis of the formation and development of real secondary schools in Ukraine (1872-1917 yy.). The study revealed special conditions and origin of real secondary schools: industrial production growth, which required specially trained staff, increased trade and relations with other countries, attention to the individual abilities of students, their ability for natural sciences and physics and mathematics, which gave much wider choice of profession, etc. The author underlines the reasons that determined the need for activity and further development of real secondary schools: social and political reasons (riots among students and pupils, political propaganda, spreading in real schools, changing views of the ministry of education on the value of real secondary schools in the context of school reform, general social and political activity), social and economical reasons (the content of economic policy and provide of various industries with professional staff), pedagogical (formation of a new vision of goals and objectives of school education - spreading the idea of real education in society). The result of the study shows the stages of formation and development: First phase (1804-1860) - the genesis of a real secondary education elements. Due to the huge development of industry in the country and a great need for professionals, the elements of a real education were actively spread. The priority was given to natural sciences, physical sciences, new languages, restricting the teaching of the ancient classical languages. Second phase (1860-1866) - establishing the real gymnasiums as comprehensive secondary schools. During this period there was a reform of school education with a new statute of high schools (1864), and this created a secondary school of this type as a real gymnasium. Third phase (1866-1880) - reorganization of the real gymnasium into real school, which is characterized by the conduct of counter reforms in education. The decree "On the transformation of the real gymnasium into real school" prohibited to those who completed a course of real secondary schools, to enter the universities. Fourth phase (1880-1905) - waves of modernization of real secondary schools. At this stage there was noticeable reorganization of secondary school as an independent secondary school ("The project of general plan of a normal industrial education in Russia" (1886), the decree "On the real secondary schools" (1888), "Statute project of real secondary schools" (1901) in the status of professional secondary schools ("The main conditions of the organization of secondary schools" (1902)) and then the returning of the status of general educational institutions in 1904. Fifth phase (1905-1917) is characterized by instability processes in the functioning of real schools in the context of school reform of that period under the influence of society (the search of the optimal model of secondary school), "Project of high schools and preparatory schools" (1910), Ignatiev's project of comprehensive school reform (1915, decree "On the high schools and real secondary schools for combined teaching of children of both sexes" (1917), "On the transformation of eight and seven- class gymnasiums and real secondary schools" (1917). In 1917 after the October revolution real secondary schools were abolished.
