Education in England is overseen by the United Kingdom's Department for

Education. Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public
education and state-funded schools at a local level. England also has a tradition
of independent schools (sometimes termed "public schools") and Home schooling; legally,
parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.
The state-funded education system is divided into stages based upon age: [10] Early Years
Foundation Stage (ages 35); primary education (ages 5 to 11), subdivided into Key Stage
1 (KS1) Infants (ages 5 to 7) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) Juniors (ages 7 to 11); secondary
education (ages 11 to 16), subdivided into Key Stage 3 (KS3; ages 11 to 14) and Key Stage
4 (KS4; ages 14 to 16), post-16 education (ages 16 to 18); and tertiary education (for ages
18+).[11]
At age 16 the students typically take exams for the General Certificate of Secondary
Education or other Level 1/2 qualifications. While education is compulsory until
18, schooling is only compulsory to 16, thus post-16 education can take a number of forms,
and may be academic or vocational. This can involve continued schooling, known as "sixth
form" or "college", leading (typically after two years of further study) to A-level qualifications
(similar to a high school diploma in some other countries), or a number of alternative Level
3 qualifications such as BTEC, the International Baccalaureate or the Cambridge Pre-U. It
can also include work-based apprenticeships or traineeships, or volunteering.[12][13]
Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor's degree. Postgraduate degrees
include master's degrees, either taught or by research, and doctoral level research degrees
that usually takes at least three years. Tuition fees for first degrees are up to 9,000 per
academic year for English, Welsh and European Union students, although these are set to
rise to 9,250 for students starting from 2017.[14]
The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) covers national school examinations and
vocational education qualifications. It is referenced to the European Qualifications
Framework, and thus to other qualifications frameworks across the European Union.[15]The
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ), which is tied to the RQF, covers
degrees and other qualifications from degree-awarding bodies.[16] This is referenced to
the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area developed under
the Bologna process.[17]

Contents
[hide]

1History of English education

2Legally compulsory education

o 2.1Schools and stages

o 2.2State-funded schools

o 2.3Independent schools

o 2.4Education by means other than schooling

o 2.5Post-16 education

2.5.1Sixth form colleges / further education colleges

2.5.2Apprenticeships and traineeships

 3Higher education

o 3.1Postgraduate education

o 3.2Fees

4Adult education

5Qualifications Frameworks

6Criticism

7See also

8References

9Further reading

10External links

History of English education[edit]

Main article: History of education in England
Until 1870 all schools were charitable or private institutions, but in that year the Elementary
Education Act 1870 permitted local governments to complement the existing elementary
schools in order to fill any gaps. The Education Act 1902 allowed local authorities to create
secondary schools. The Education Act 1918 abolished fees for elementary schools.

Legally compulsory education[edit]

Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged 5 to 18, either at school or
otherwise, with a child beginning primary education during the school year he or she turns
5.[18] Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are entitled to 600 hours per year of optional,
state-funded, pre-school education. This can be provided in "playgroups", nurseries,
community childcare centres or nursery classes in schools.
The age at which a student may choose to stop education is commonly known as the
"leaving age" for compulsory education. This age was raised to 18 by the Education and
Skills Act 2008; the change took effect in 2013 for 16-year-olds and 2015 for 17-year-olds.
From this time, the school leaving age (which remains 16) and the education leaving age
(which is now 18) have been separated.[19] State-provided schooling and sixth-form
education are paid for by taxes.
All children in England must currently therefore receive an effective education (at school or
otherwise) from the first "prescribed day", which falls on or after their fifth birthday until their
18th birthday, and must remain in school until the last Friday in June of the school year in
which they turn 16.[13][20][21] The education leaving age was raised in 2013 to the year in which
they turn 17 and in 2015 to their 18th birthday for those born after 1 September 1997. [19] The
prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March. [22][23] The school year begins on
1 September (or 1 August if a term starts in August).[24]
The Compulsory stages of education are broken into a Foundation Stage (actually covering
the last part of optional and first part of compulsory education), four Key Stages, and post-
16 education (sometimes unofficially termed Key Stage 5), which takes a variety of forms
including Sixth Form (covering the last 2 years of Secondary Education in schools).
Schools and stages[edit]
Below is a table summarizing the most common names of the various schools and
stages. Grammar schools are normally state-funded but selective schools, admitting
children from 11 years old onward, but there are exceptions such as Manchester Grammar
School.

State
Fee Fee
State State funded
paying paying
Key Final Age funded funded selectiv
Year private entrance
stage exam s school Alternati e
school exam
name ve name school
name name
name

Pre-
Foundati
Nursery 3-4 preparato
on
ry

Pre-
Foundati Recepti
4-5 Primary Infant preparato
on on
ry

Pre-
Key Year
5-6 Primary Infant preparato
Stage 1 One
ry

Pre-
Key Year
6-7 Primary Infant preparato
Stage 1 Two
ry

Key Year Prep

7-8 Primary Junior
Stage 2 Three school

Key Year Prep

8-9 Primary Junior
Stage 2 Four school

Key Year 9- Prep

Primary Junior
Stage 2 Five 10 school

Key Year Six SATS, 10- Primary Junior Prep

Stage 2 11+ 11 school
(They
may
also
take an
Entranc
e exam
 to get in
to
seconda
ry
school
of
choice)

Seconda
ry (Can
be
referred Gramm
Key Year 11- High Prep
to as ar
Stage 3 Seven 12 school school
Lower school
school in
some
schools)

Seconda
ry (In
some
schools
this is
the year
the
Gramm
Key Year 12- GCSE is High Prep
ar
Stage 3 Eight 13 chosen) school school
school
(Can be
referred
to as
Lower
school in
some
schools)

Seconda
ry (In
some
schools
this is
the year
the Common
Gramm
Key Year 13- GCSE is High Senior Entrance
ar
Stage 3 Nine 14 chosen) school school Examinati
school
(Can be on
referred
to as
Lower
school in
some
schools)
 Gramm
Key Year 14- Seconda High Senior
ar
Stage 4 Ten 15 ry school school
school

Gramm
Key Year 15- Seconda High Senior
GCSE ar
Stage 4 Eleven 16 ry school school
school

Seconda Gramm
Key Year 16- Sixth Senior
ry (or ar
Stage 5 Twelve 17 form school
College) school

Seconda Gramm
Key Year A- 17- Sixth Senior
ry (or ar
Stage 5 Thirteen Levels 18 form school
College) school

State-funded schools[edit]

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School, Oxford

Main article: State-funded schools (England)

Some 93% of children between the ages of 3 and 18 are in education in state-funded
schools without charge (other than for activities such as swimming, theatre visits and field
trips for which a voluntary payment can be requested, and limited charges at state-funded
boarding schools[25]).

Allerton High School, a typical former secondary modern school in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Since 1998, there have been six main types of maintained (state funded) school in
England:[26][27][28]

Academy schools, established by the 1997-2010 Labour Government to replace

poorly-performing community schools in areas of high social and economic deprivation.
Their start-up costs are typically funded by private means, such as entrepreneurs or
NGOs, with running costs met by Central Government and, like Foundation schools,
are administratively free from direct local authority control. The 2010 Conservative-
Liberal Democrat coalition government expanded the role of Academies in
the Academy Programme, in which a wide number of schools in non-deprived areas
were also encouraged to become Academies, thereby essentially replacing the role of
Foundation schools established by the previous Labour government. They are
monitored directly by the Department for Education.[29]

Community schools (formerly county schools), in which the local authority employs
the schools' staff, owns the schools' lands and buildings, and has primary responsibility
for admissions.

Free schools, introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following

the 2010 general election, are newly established schools in England set up by parents,
teachers, charities or businesses, where there is a perceived local need for more
 schools. They are funded by taxpayers, are academically non-selective and free to
attend, and like Foundation schools and Academies, are not controlled by a local
authority. They are ultimately accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. Free
schools are an extension of the existing Academy Programme. The first 24 free schools
opened in Autumn 2011.

Foundation schools, in which the governing body employs the staff and has primary
responsibility for admissions. School land and buildings are owned by the governing
body or by a charitable foundation. The Foundation appoints a minority of governors.
Many of these schools were formerly grant maintained schools. In 2005 the Labour
government proposed allowing all schools to become Foundation schools if they
wished.

Voluntary Aided schools, linked to a variety of organisations. They can be faith

schools (often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church), or non-
denominational schools, such as those linked to London Livery Companies. The
charitable foundation contributes towards the capital costs of the school (typically
10%), and appoints a majority of the school governors. The governing body employs
the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions. [30]

Voluntary Controlled schools, which are almost always church schools, with the
lands and buildings often owned by a charitable foundation. However, the local
authority employs the schools' staff and has primary responsibility for admissions.
In addition, 3 of the 15 City Technology Colleges established in the 1980s still remain, the
rest having converted to academies. These are state-funded all-ability secondary schools
which charge no fees but which are independent of local authority control. There are also a
small number of state-funded boarding schools.
English state-funded primary schools are almost all local schools with a small catchment
area. More than half are owned by the Local Authority, though many are (nominally)
voluntary controlled and some are voluntary aided. Some schools just include infants (aged
4 to 7) and some just juniors (aged 7 to 11). Some are linked, with automatic progression
from the infant school to the junior school, and some are not. A few areas still have first
schools for ages around 4 to 8 and middle schools for ages 8 or 9 to 12 or 13.

An example of a Grammar School - in Sutton, London

English secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, although the intake of

comprehensive schools can vary widely, especially in urban areas with several local
schools. Nearly 90% of state-funded secondary schools are specialist schools, receiving
extra funding to develop one or more subjects in which the school specialises, which can
select up to 10% of their intake for aptitude in the specialism (though relatively few of them
have taken up this option). In a few areas children can enter a grammar school if they pass
the eleven plus exam, there are also a number of isolated fully selective grammar schools
and a few dozen partially selective schools.[31] A significant minority of state-funded schools
are faith schools, which are attached to religious groups, most often the Church of
England or the Roman Catholic Church.
All state-funded schools are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education,
often known simply as Ofsted. Ofsted publish reports on the quality of education at a
particular school on a regular basis. Schools judged by Ofsted to be providing an
inadequate standard of education may be subject to special measures, which could include
replacing the governing body and senior staff.
Independent schools[edit]
Main article: Independent school (United Kingdom)
Approximately 7% of school children in England attend privately run, fee-
paying independent schools. Some independent schools for 13-18 year olds are known for
historical reasons as 'public schools' and for 8-13 year olds as 'prep schools'. Some
schools offer scholarships for those with particular skills or aptitudes, or bursaries to allow
students from less financially well-off families to attend. Independent schools do not have to
follow the National Curriculum, and their teachers are not required or regulated by law to
have official teaching qualifications."[32]
Education by means other than schooling[edit]
See also: Education Otherwise
The 1944 Education Act (Section 36) stated that parents are responsible for the education
of their children, "by regular attendance at school or otherwise", which allows children to be
educated at home. The legislation places no requirement for parents who choose not to
send their children to school to follow the National Curriculum, or to give formal lessons, or
to follow school hours and terms, and parents do not need to be qualified teachers. [33] A
small but increasing numbers of parents do choose to educate their children outside the
conventional school systems.[34][35][36] Officially referred to as "Elective Home Education",
teaching ranges from structured homeschooling (using a school-style curriculum) to less-
structured unschooling.[37][38] Education Otherwise has supported parents who wished to
educate their children outside school since the 1970s. The state provides no financial
support to parents who choose to educate their children outside of school.
Post-16 education[edit]
Students at both state schools and independent schools typically take GCSE examinations,
which mark the end of compulsory education in school. Above school-leaving age, the
independent and state sectors are similarly structured. In the 1618 age group, sixth form
education is not compulsory, but mandatory education or training until the age of 18 is
being phased in under the Education and Skills Act 2008.
This took effect for 16-year-olds in 2013 and for 17-year-olds in September 2015. While
students may still leave school on the last Friday in June, they must remain in education of
some form until their 18th birthday.[13]
Sixth form colleges / further education colleges[edit]
Students over 16 typically study in the sixth form of a school, in a separate sixth form
college, or in a Further Education (FE) College. Courses at FE colleges, referred to
as further education courses, can also be studied by adults over 18. Students typically
study Level 3 qualifications such as A-levels, BTEC National awards and level 3 NVQs.
Some 1618 students will be encouraged to study Key Skills in Communication, Application
of Number, and Information Technology at this time.
Apprenticeships and traineeships[edit]
The National Apprenticeship Service helps people 16 or more years of age
enter apprenticeships in order to learn a skilled trade. Traineeships are also overseen by
the National Apprenticeship Service, and are education and a training programmes that are
combined with work experience to give trainees the skills needed to get an apprenticeship.
[39]

Apprenticeships come in four levels: Intermediate (level 2), Advanced (level 3), Higher
(level 4 7) and Degree (level 6 7). Intermediate apprenticeships are equivalent to 5
GCSEs at A* C, Advanced to 2 A-levels, Higher to a foundation degree or above, and
Degree apprenticeships to a bachelor's or master's degree. [40]
A study in 2014 found that unemployment rates among former apprentices one year after
completing their apprenticeships were one-third those of university graduates one year
after finishing their degrees.[41] A 2015 study by the Sutton Trust found that, while average
net[42] lifetime earnings for those who had completed level 5 apprenticeships were higher
than those for graduates from non-Russell Group universities, most apprenticeships offered
were at levels 2 and 3, providing little improvement over earnings from secondary school
qualifications. The report also found that apprenticeships had a lower perceived value
compared to degrees in Britain than in many other countries.[43]

Higher education[edit]
Main article: Universities in the United Kingdom

The chapel of King's College, Cambridge University.

London School of Economics Library Roof

A view from one of the postgraduate study carrels at the Clock Tower of Maughan Library, King's
College London, one of the founding colleges of University of London.

Campus of New College Durham, a college of further and higher education

Built as a factory in the early 20th century, the William Morris building is now home to Coventry
University's Faculty of Business, Environment and Society

The University of Birmingham, a 'Red Brick university'.

Higher education in England is provided by Higher Education (HE) colleges, university

colleges, universities and private colleges. Students normally enter higher education
as undergraduates from age 18 onwards, and can study for a wide variety of vocational and
academic qualifications, including certificates of higher education and higher national
certificates at level 4, diplomas of higher education, higher national
diplomas and foundation degrees at level 5, bachelor's degrees (normally with honours) at
level 6, and integrated master's degrees and degrees in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary
science at level 7.[44]
Historically, undergraduate education outside a small number of private colleges and
universities has been largely state-financed since the 1960s, with a small contribution
from top-up fees introduced in the 1990s,[45] however fees of up to 9,000 per annum have
been charged from October 2012. There is a perceived hierarchy among universities, with
the Russell Group seen as being composed of the country's more prestigious universities.
[46]
League tables of universities are produced by private companies and generally cover the
whole UK.
The state does not control university syllabuses, but it does influence admission
procedures through the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), which approves and monitors
access agreements to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education. The
independent Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education inspects universities to assure
standards, advises on the granting of degree awarding powers and University title, and
maintains the Quality Code for Higher Education, which includes the Framework for Higher
Education Qualification.[47] Unlike most degrees, the state has control over teacher
training courses, and standards are monitored by Ofsted inspectors.[48]
The typical first degree offered at English universities is the bachelor's
degree with honours, which usually lasts for three years, although more
vocational foundation degrees, typically lasting two years (or full-time equivalent) are also
available in some institutions. Many institutions now offer an integrated master's degree,
particularly in STEM subjects, as a first degree, which typically lasts for four years, the first
three years running parallel to the bachelor's course. During a first degree students are
known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between integrated and
traditional postgraduate master's degrees (and that fees are capped at the first degree level
for the former) makes taking an integrated master's degree as a first degree a more
attractive option. Integrated master's degrees are often the standard route to chartered
status for STEM professionals in England.[49]
Postgraduate education[edit]
Students who have completed a first degree can apply for postgraduate and graduate
courses. These include:

Graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, professional graduate certificate in

education level 6 courses aimed at those who have already completed a bachelor's
degree, often as conversion courses

Postgraduate certificates, postgraduate diplomas, postgraduate certificate in

education level 7 courses shorter than a full master's degree

Master's degrees (typically taken in one year, though research-based master's

degrees may last for two) taught or research degrees at level 7

Doctorates (typically taken in three years) research degrees at level 8, the top
level of the qualifications frameworks, often requiring a master's degree for entry.
These may be purely research based (PhD/DPhil) or research and practice
(professional doctorates). "New Route" PhDs, introduced in 2001, take at least 4 years
and incorporate teaching at master's level.[50]
Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the state.
Fees[edit]
Until the academic year 2011-2012 most undergraduates paid fees that were set at a
maximum of 3,375 per annum. These fees are repayable after graduation, contingent on
attaining a certain level of income, with the state paying all fees for students from the
poorest backgrounds. UK students are generally entitled to student loans for maintenance.
Undergraduates admitted from the academic year 2012-2013 have paid tuition fees set at a
maximum of up to 9,000 per annum, with most universities charging over 6,000 per
annum, and other higher education providers charging less.
Postgraduate fees vary but are generally more than undergraduate fees, depending on the
degree and university. There are numerous bursaries (awarded to low income applicants)
to offset undergraduate fees and, for postgraduates, full scholarships are available for most
subjects, and are usually awarded competitively.
Different arrangements apply to English students studying in Scotland, and
to Scottish and Welsh students studying in England. Students from outside the UK and
the EU attending English universities are charged differing amounts, often in the region of
5,000 - 20,000 per annum[51] for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The actual
amount differs by institution and subject, with the lab based subjects charging a greater
amount.

Adult education[edit]
Adult education, continuing education or lifelong learning is offered to students of all ages.
This can include the vocational qualifications mentioned above, and also:

One or two year access courses, to allow adults without suitable qualifications
access to university.
 The Open University runs undergraduate and postgraduate distance learning
programmes.

The Workers' Educational Association offers large number of semi-recreational

courses, with or without qualifications, made available by Local Education Authorities
under the guise of Adult Education. Courses are available in a wide variety of areas,
such as holiday languages, crafts and yacht navigation.