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Educational System
Great Britain has three administrative systems of public education - one for England and
Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland. The three systems differ mainly in terms
of the administration of charges, but the organisation of the education system is similar.
Education in Great Britain is compulsory and free for all children between the ages of
five and 16. At the age of 16 about two thirds of pupils leave school and start working, with
around 30 percent staying at school until the age of 18. There are around 30,000 state schools
and 2,000 private schools, with about 93 percent of all children attending state schools and the
rest studying at private schools. The main education system is divided into three main stages:
primary, secondary and higher, as well as nursery schools or kindergartens which small children
can attend. The entry age for nursery schools is three.
Primary School
Between the ages of five to 11 children start attending primary schools for six years. This
level of education has two sub-stages: infant and junior school. Infant school is attended between
the ages of five and seven, while junior school is between seven and 11. Children learn English,
mathematics, science and technology, history, geography and religious knowledge and take
standards tests at 7, 11 and 14. Children transfer from the primary school at the age of 11 with
Secondary education taking either five or seven years.
Around 8 percent of all pupils attend private schools; with 4 percent not going to school
at all. The legislation in Great Britain allows parents to educate their children at home if they can
prove they have the ability to do it properly. The biggest share of pupils - around 88 percent go
to comprehensive schools and study the same National Curriculum. There are no vocational
schools, or special art or music or technical schools in Britain.
All primary state schools in the UK are co-educational and free. All schools are under the
jurisdiction of the Department for Children, Schools and Family and are receiving periodic
inspections by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Private schools are inspected by
the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
Secondary School
Most secondary schools have sixth form departments providing one or two year courses.
Some students go to a designated sixth form college, where the atmosphere is less like at school
and where they are treated as adults. At the sixth form stage students are highly specialised in
three or four subjects, which aims to prepare them to enter the third level of education system.
Secondary education encompasses the next level of education between the age group of 11-16
years. Here, students will be pursuing a common set of courses and take the GCSE exam
conducted at the end of secondary education.
Nearly 88 percent of secondary school pupils in England go to comprehensive schools, as
do all pupils in Wales. These take children of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary
education for all or most of the children in a district from 11 to 16 or 18. All children in Scotland
go to non-selective schools.
Children start primary school in Scotland at the age of four and a half - five and a half
depending on the child's birth date. The Scottish system is the most flexible in the UK, students
frequenting primary school for seven years, then the secondary schools for 2 year between 11
and 12. In Scotland, pupils take standard exams at the age of 15-16 years old, sometimes earlier,
to eight subjects including compulsory exams in English, mathematics, a foreign language, a
science subject and a social subject. Students can then spend a year studying further for higher
grades (Highers), after which they can go on to study at university. Often students leave school
or college with a broad knowledge on a wide range of topics.
At the end of the sixth form students take much harder exams called A Levels
(Advanced). Around 10 percent of all pupils take the A Levels exams in three subjects only.
There are five grades of pass A, B, C, D and E. Most of the exams are written. All students take
the same exams on the same dates in May and June and the results are released in August. All
universities require the A Level qualifications. International students often enter the education
system at this point, e.g. taking an A-level course in preparation for further or higher education in
the UK.
Undergraduate
An undergraduate degree normally takes three years to complete but can take longer if
they include an industrial placement, an additional subject or a year abroad. They are also
specialised from Year One. Types of undergraduate degree include:
Postgraduate
Students who receive good grades in their undergraduate degrees may choose to take a
Masters degree, which takes a minimum of one year to complete. Types of Masters Degree
include:
M Sc (Master of Science)
MA (Master of Arts)
M Ed (Master of Education)
LLM (Master of Law)
MBA (Master of Business Administration)
School day
School lasts from 9 am until 3.20 pm. Lessons are 1 hour and 15 minutes long. There is a
break in the morning at 11.40 am which lasts 20 minutes. At break time, students usually eat
a snack. Lunch is at 1.15 pm until 2 pm. Students stay in school and they either
bring their own lunch in a lunch box or they can buy lunch from the school
canteen. Number of students can vary from 500 students in primary school to
1500 students in secondary school.
With those things being said, we can say that the British educational
system is one the most, if not the most, popular and appreciated
educational system in the world, with a long history and with some of
the oldest and the most well-known universities, colleges and schools,
with top students and great teachers.