Academy

The is Konoha's training center for Academy Students before they become Genin. Known teachers at the Konoha Ninja Academy include Iruka Umino, Shikamaru Nara, and formerly Mizuki.

Appearance
This building can be identified by the tree in front which has a swing on it (on which Naruto Uzumaki is sometimes seated). Classrooms in the academy are large and have high ceilings, based on a theory that larger classrooms lead to expansive education, expanding even to the blackboard itself. In front of the blackboard is a podium, situated far from the students' desks and put in a position where the teacher can view everyone at once. The large windows in the classrooms can be used as exits in case of emergency.

Curriculum
Aside from the obvious lessons one would learn from a Ninja Academy, all students receive a general education, such as reading, writing, maths (Udon is seen doing maths problems in one episode), the sciences, geography etc. Shown in a flashback during Sakura Haruno's and Ino Yamanaka's match during the preliminaries in the 'Chunin exams' arc, kunoichi of tomorrow are taught things about other cultures, how knowledge of things like flower arranging will help them to blend in during an infiltration mission. Students also have to study the Rules of the Shinobi.

Taught by Chunin instructors, all ninja potentials are lectured on tactics and strategies. They are instructed on the basics of traps. They are taken through the handling of ninja weapons and tools, like Shuriken and Kunai, learning how to throw and wield them through target practice. Academy students are taught about Chakra and how to control their Chakra, (if they have the ability to do so). Students are then taught Hand Seals and the basic levels of:
 * taijutsu classes serve as the Ninja Academy's equivalent of Physical education class, (Moegi's least favorite class during her time at the Academy). In Taijutsu class, student are engaged in physical activities to help broaden their bodies and develop their stamina. Here they learn to develop their strength, their speed and learn the fundamentals of Martial Arts.
 * Ninjutsu classes provide the bulk of what potential ninja learn at the Academy. The subject of Ninjutsu encompasses techniques that uses chakra and allows the user to do something that they otherwise would be incapable of doing. Techniques such as the Transformation Technique and the Clone Technique are examples of E-Rank techniques taught to students at the Academy that will build up to what they'll learn from their Jonin-sensei.
 * Genjutsu classes are not touched much upon in the series except what Genjutsu is. When learning about Genjutsu, students are advised to determine if they are trapped in a genjutsu, and then how to release themselves from it.

When they have graduated, the academy graduates are separated into squads of three Genin-wannabes, and are assigned to a Jonin-sensei. At this point, they are tested once again, this time by their Jonin teacher; if they fail, they are sent back to the academy, or may even be dropped from the program at the teacher's discretion.

Student Body
The best student of any graduating class is awarded the title the "Number One Rookie"; known Number One Rookies include Neji Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha. On the bottom end of the pecking order of any graduating class is the "Dead-Last", the name given to the student who performed the worst out of their class; known Dead Lasts include Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki. According to Might Guy, he was the Dead Last of his graduating class when he went to the Academy. Kakashi Hatake was himself the 'Number One Rookie' of his own graduating class.

Graduation
Graduating from the Academy usually consists of taking both a written exam and a practical exam, administered by a Chunin instructor, to earn enough marks to pass. Graduation is considered a 'coming-of-age' for the students, upon graduating, students receive a forehead protector or 'hitai-ate', proof of their achievement. As mentioned above, graduating students are then separated into squads of three Genin and assigned to a Jonin-sensei to instruct them further, and, at this point, they will be tested once again by their Jonin teacher to assess whether they would be able to handle the demands that will be made of them as ninja (i.e. the dynamics of teamwork).

Students who don't pass the tests set by their Chunin-sensei may be held back for another year. However, students who do pass the tests set by their Chunin-sensei, but later fail the tests administered by their assigned Jonin-sensei, may either be sent back to the academy or else, depending on their performance, dropped from the program at their Jonin-sensei's discretion.

Although students are only instructed in the use of basic level Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, knowledge of these techniques are ultimately not pivotal to their success as ninja; students like Rock Lee, who graduated knowing only Taijutsu, and Naruto Uzumaki, who failed to perform the Clone Technique, an E-Rank technique, but could effortlessly perform the Shadow Clone Technique, a B-Rank Jonin-level technique, are both examples of this.

Other Ninja Academies
Graduation requirements vary from academy to academy. In Konoha, the graduation exam is comprised of some sort of written test, as well as knowledge of basic techniques. Some limited details about the other Hidden Village Ninja Academies have also been disclosed:
 * The Suna Ninja Academy: Not much has been mentioned about the previous curriculum, but during the final Pre-Shippūden filler arc in Part I of the anime it was revealed that the Ninja Academy at Suna has adopted a new training program that emulated that same training program as the Konoha Ninja Academy, and in Part II the success of the new training program was commented upon.
 * The Kiri Ninja Academy: At one point in its past, the Kiri Ninja Academy final graduation exam consisted of pitting all of the Ninja Academy's graduates against each other in a battle to the death, with the winners/survivors graduating. After Zabuza Momochi, not yet himself a graduate, imposed himself into the fight and slaughtered all one hundred of that year's students, the practice was discontinued in favor of more humane and less depopulating methods.

Trivia

 * Although the Japanese name for the Ninja Academy is simply, it's written with the kanji for.