'Education in the United Kingdom' is a
devolved matter, and there are separate education systems in
England,
Northern Ireland,
Scotland and
Wales.
Education (although not necessarily in the form of school attendance) is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5-16, though the
UK Government announced in January 2007 plans to change this to 5 - 18 in
England. Most English, Welsh and Northern Irish state (but not independent) schools usher students through nursery school, one of two primary school tracks, and one of two secondary tracks, of which
sixth form is optional. Most children and young people in the UK are educated in
state funded schools financed through the tax system and so parents do not pay directly for the cost of education.
Curriculum
Main articles: National Curriculum
Education in
England,
Wales and
Northern Ireland follows the
National Curriculum which was introduced by the
British government under the
Education Reform Act 1988. The National Curriculum includes the core subjects
English,
Mathematics, and
Science and the foundation subjects:
design and technology,
information and communication technology (known as ICT),
history,
geography,
modern foreign languages (MFL),
music,
art and design and the subjects of the basic curriculum,
physical education,
citizenship plus compulsory
religious education (RE) which has a unique place in British law.
Welsh is also a core subject in Wales.
Scottish Gaelic may be taught to some pupils in Scotland.
The
Scottish curriculum has emphasised breadth across a range of subjects, while the English, Welsh and Northern Irish system has emphasised greater depth of education over a smaller range of subjects at secondary school level.
The National Curriculum has five 'key stages:'
★ Key stage 1: up to age seven (Years 1 and 2)
★ Key stage 2: age seven to eleven (Years 3, 4, 5 and 6)
★ Key stage 3: age eleven to fourteen (Years 7, 8 and 9)
★ Key stage 4: age fourteen to sixteen (Years 10 and 11 - preparation for academic
GCSE and equivalent vocational qualifications
GNVQ,
BTEC,
DIDA etc. )
★ Key stage 5 (unofficial): age sixteen to eighteen (Years 12 and 13) - the
A-level academic qualifications (AS and A2), also Higher
GNVQ and
BTEC qualifications, or sixth form college courses.
The English School System
Primary school
It is normal for a single teacher to teach pupils within a class all subjects of the National Curriculum (see above) and the other basic subjects (Religious Education, Physical Education, Citizenship). Until recently foreign languages were not introduced until secondary school. Now all primary school pupils will receive an introductory course in a modern European language.
The teachers are also responsible for teaching them independent thought, group work and develop their social conscience, meaning to teach them how to behave well in society. There are tests known as SATs and are taken at the end of Key Stage 1 [Infants] and Key Stage Two [Juniors].
Secondary School
In some schools, especially for subjects such as
Mathematics, Science and Modern Languages, schools stream pupils on ability, otherwise pupils are taught with the other members of their form; all students study the same subjects and they are
English,
Welsh for pupils within Wales as it is compulsory at GCSE level, Modern Foreign Languages, usually
French,
German or
Spanish,
Geography,
History, Citizenship/Guidance/PSHE,
Religious Education,(R.E short course is also compulsory for all
Welsh students as later at GCSE level. Welsh pupils may also take it is combined a short course
Welsh to form one GCSE, this is then accepted as a foreign language at all European universities) , Design Technology,
Music, Information and Communications Technology, Drama and
Physical education. There are also vocational subjects which students may choose to learn, they are; hairdressing and beauty, construction, woodwork, travel and tourism, business studies and other more minor subjects. In Grammar and Public schools, it is more common for traditional subjects- such as Greek and Latin, to be additionally taught. All students between the age of fourteen and sixteen in
England and
Wales sit the
General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations, whereas the students in
Scotland sit the
Standard Grade at the fourth year of their schooling. The
Standard Grade is broadly equivalent to that of the
English General Certificate of Secondary Education. Students who do the
General Certificate of Secondary Education usually sit five examinations at the minimum, generally sit around nine or ten examinations, and sometimes up to twelve or thirteen depending on what the school can provide. At GCSE level the following subjects are mandatory: English, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Religious Education, Citizenship, Information and Communications Technology. Schools then offer other subjects that the students can choose to do. Students sitting
Standard Grade examinations sit eight. Thereafter, students may choose to leave school or to continue school. Unlike the systems on Continental Europe, a student in the
United Kingdom automatically progresses to the next level of year and do not repeat the year even if the student fails his or her examinations. Increasingly, gifted and talented students are entered for examinations early, e.g. Mathematics is sometimes taken a year or a few terms early and then another GCSE such as Statistics or an
FSMQ is taken in the remaining time of the year. Additionally, in some schools, students who fluently speak a GCSE Course Language [French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Urdu etc.] are allowed to take this GCSE early, possibly in Key Stage 3 to enable them to take an additional GCSE when entering Key Stage Four.
Further education (FE)
Students may choose to attend the
Further Education Colleges where a student might follow the
National Vocational Qualification programme instead of A levels or does the Scottish Vocational Education Committee courses. Further Education Colleges, however, are open to everyone, and those who wish to re-sit their examinations to improve their school-leaving qualifications as well as adult returners. Some specialist further education colleges known as
Sixth Form Colleges focus on school level qualifications.
Higher education (HE)
The Scottish student entering the university may be aged seventeen and must have done at least four subjects at Higher Grade (equivalent to an English Advanced Subsidiary Level), some take up to 8, and achieve a minimum grade of two Bs and two Cs. The English student completes the
Advanced Level in (usually) 3-4 subjects, generally taken at age 18 in preparation for admission.
Students who attend the English universities do a three year course to earn a degree whereas those who attend the Scottish universities do a four year course, though there are variations on the time involved depending on the type of degree studied for. There are also sandwich courses in which the student may need to do a year more. The sandwich courses offer work placement which allows the students to work for a short period of time before they complete their courses. English universities specialise the subjects throughout the entire courses. Scottish universities, in contrast, do not specialise the subjects until the third year.
Students who study in a Scottish university may leave after their third year; however, only an ordinary degree is awarded. Those who finish at the fourth year are awarded an honours degree. All universities award a
Bachelor Degree to the students who have completed their undergraduate courses; however due to historical reasons the Scottish ancient universities in the United Kingdom which are the
University of St Andrews,
University of Edinburgh,
University of Aberdeen and
University of Glasgow (as well as the
University of Dundee) award a Master of Arts (MA) degree to the arts students who have completed their undergraduate courses. Nonetheless, it is equivalent to a
Bachelor Degree, and science and divinity undergraduates receive a Bachelor award. The so-called
Oxbridge universities (
Oxford University and
Cambridge University) which are amongst the
world's oldest universities are generally ranked at or near the top of all British universities.
Academic degrees are usually split into classes: first class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class (II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third class). In many universities ordinary degrees are often confined to vocational courses such as medicine and dentistry, or awarded when a student hasn't passed enough modules to be awarded the honours degree.
The US education system was modelled on that of Scotland and as such a Scottish Master's and an English/Scottish Honours Degree is at a similar level to a US Masters. It is only the 'ordinary' grade bachelors that is equivalent a US bachelors.
Operations
Although the
Secretary of State for Education and Skills is responsible to
Parliament for education, the day to day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of
Local Education Authorities.
Education is devolved to the
Scottish Parliament and the assemblies in
Wales and
Northern Ireland.
Pastoral Care and Sanctions
The United Kingdom as a whole follows a policy of ''
in Loco Parentis'' in which all teachers are to assume the role of the parent once a child is on the school grounds. In this wise, teachers in the UK often take on pastoral care roles, attending to the mental and physical welfare of their pupils, in the role of form tutor/teacher. Secondary schools have pastoral care systems usually through Heads of Year, or in more traditional schools through the
House System.
The fairly common sanctions at schools are
detention and
exclusion.
Corporal punishment was only completely abolished in state schools in
1987.
Many British schools, public or state, require pupils to wear
uniforms.
Primary school
In
England,
Scotland and
Wales, children under the age of five can either choose to go to the parent and toddler group where a parent must be there to supervise their child, a nursery school, where a child can enter at the age of three or four and a fee is normally charged, or a playgroup, where a child can go to play before starting school. At the age of five, which is the official age to go to school in England and Scotland, a child attends a local school where the school is obliged to accept the child without any conditions. Children may also be sent to a state or coeducational school, or a high reputation or religious school. The school time usually runs between 0900 hours and 1500 hours. Children go to school from Monday to Friday for three terms and have thirteen weeks of holiday, mainly at Easter, Christmas and in the summer. Class sizes vary; there are usually between twenty-five and thirty pupils, thirty being the maximum. For a practical class, the class sizes are smaller due to safety reasons.
Secondary school
Children in both England, Scotland and Wales attend their secondary education at the age of eleven. They go either to a comprehensive school, a grammar school or an independent school (also known as private schools, or in the case of a few prominent independent schools, public school, which in
England is a privately-operated school). All of these types of schools may be single sex or co-educational, however the vast majority of comprehensive schools are co-educational. Comprehensive schools, by law, cannot discriminate on ability of students, though can operate as religious institutions, admitting mostly pupils of the particular religious denomination. Grammar schools are fairly rare, remaining widespread in only five counties - see
Grammar schools in the United Kingdom. Every student has a Form Tutor who is responsible for all his or her registered children, and a Guidance teacher who he or she is responsible to the programme and students' development - generally the Head of Year(s). School hours are generally between 08.30 hours and 15.30 hours, though schools set their own hours. Children go to school from Monday to Friday for three terms and have thirteen weeks of holiday which are
Easter,
Christmas and the summer, with a week breaking up each of the three terms (Half Term).
Higher Education
Students who wish to enter higher education must do either Advanced Level in England or
Highers in Scotland. Students typically enter the university at ages seventeen in Scotland and eighteen in England, respectively. Most students must use the
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to apply the universities, however for some subjects there are different admissions services, such as NMAS for Nursing and Midwifery Diplomas.
Many students in Scotland opt to remain in School for a 6th Year, and take Advanced Highers (Previously Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) as the Scottish system uses the End of February for determining admission age many students are 17 when they start University despite staying for the 6th year)
For people who wish to enter higher education after some time out of education, who do not have the normal academic qualifications required for entry may study on an Access course, which is a course designed to prepare students for higher educations, typically offering a mix of modules at level 2 (equivalent to GCSE) and level 3 (equivalent to A level), normally including maths and English, as well as other modules related to the degree programme the student wishes to undertake.
In Scotland, Scottish nationals do not need to pay for university tuition fees, it is paid for on their behalf by the
Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Nowadays, students often take a
gap year after leaving sixth form college. Many students go to work, thus the universities in the United Kingdom generally welcome this phenomenon, and as a result, universities would accept a deferred entry.
History
Education in the four countries began with church organising schooling.
In England and Wales, between the
Dissolution of the Monasteries and the
19th century most schools were established by private benefactors and operated as
educational charities.
Universal
education in Scotland began in 1561, with state funding from the outset, a tax to fund schools in 1633 and the
Education Act 1696 aiming to establish a school and a schoolmaster in every parish. The state became involved in construction of schools in England and Wales in 1833, with the
Elementary Education Act of 1870 setting the framework for universal education. Compulsory education was introduced in 1872 in Scotland along with the formation of the
Scotch Education Department, and in 1888 in England and Wales. The "
Balfour"
Education Act of 1902 brought most schools in England and Wales under
Local Education Authority control.
The "
Butler"
Education Act of 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. Initially schools were separated into primary schools (infant schools age 5 to 7 and junior schools age 7 to 11), and secondary schools (split into more academic grammar schools and more vocational secondary modern schools). Under both Labour and Conservative governments of the 1960s and 1970s most secondary modern and grammar schools were reorganised as comprehensive schools.
References
See also
Main Articles of different countries and systems
★
Education in England
★
Education in Northern Ireland
★
Education in Scotland
★
Education in Wales
School inspection organizations
★
Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) (
England)
★
Estyn (
Wales)
★
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (
Scotland)
★
Education and Training Inspectorate (
Northern Ireland)
Other UK education related articles
★
Grammar schools in the United Kingdom
★
Independent school (United Kingdom)
★
List of schools in the United Kingdom
★
School governors
★
British universities
★
UK topics
★
Reform
External links
★
Statutory assessment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
★
Reform
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