Education: Education Structure

School uniforms are required, and girls and boys are educated together.

Secondary education covers schooling from the age of 11 to the minimum school leaving age of 16.

Parents are responsible for costs of uniforms, writing materials, and transport costs.

Introduction

Each of the countries of the United Kingdom has a separate educational system under a separate government. While the systems in England, Wales, and northern Ireland are more similar, the Scottish system is slightly different.

Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16 years old. Students may then opt to continue their secondary studies for a further two years (Sixth Form), leading to university entrance qualifications. School uniforms are required, and girls and boys are educated together. English is the medium of instruction.

Formal structure of the school system

Primary
Type of school providing this education: Combined junior and infant school
Length of program: 6 years
Age: 5 to 11 years

Basic First Stage
Type of school providing this education: Infant school
Length of program: 2 years
Age: 5 to 7 years

Basic Second Stage
Type of school providing this education: Junior school
Length of program: 4 years
Age: 7 to 11 years

Comprehensive
Type of school providing this education: Comprehensive school
Length of program: 5 years
Age: 11 to 16 years
Certificate/diploma awarded: General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)/Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE)

Secondary
Type of school providing this education: Secondary modern school
Length of program: 5 years
Age: 11 to 16 years
Certificate/diploma awarded: General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)/Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE)

Academic Secondary
Type of school providing this education: Grammar school
Length of program: 5 years
Age: 11 to 16 years
Certificate/diploma awarded: General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)/Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE)

Technical
Type of school providing this education: CTC (City Technology College)
Length of program: 5 years
Age: 11 to 16
Certificate/diploma awarded: General Certificate of Secondary Education (CGSE)/Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE)

Sixth Form
Type of school providing this education: Sixth Form College
Length of program: 2 years
Age: 16 to 18 years
Certificate/diploma awarded: General Certificate of Education Advanced Level/General Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary/Vocational Certificate of Education Advanced Level/Vocational Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary Level

Primary education in the U.K. may take the form of separate or combined junior and infant schools. It lasts for six years, with a first stage covering infant school (two years) and a second stage covering junior school (four years).

Secondary education covers schooling from the age of 11 to the minimum school leaving age of 16. Pupils follow a common curriculum leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (CGSE) or Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE). They may combine a number of GCSEs, VCSEs, or a combination of both. At some schools, pupils may stay on at a Sixth Form school for a further two years, when they sit for exams for the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-Levels), the General Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary examinations (GCE AS examinations), the Vocational Certificate of Education Advanced Level, or the Vocational Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary Level). Further education colleges also offer these courses.

School Timetable

Term dates: (One) Start of September to Christmas, (Two) Start of January to Easter, (Three) April to end of June
School days: Monday to Friday
School hours: 09:00 to 15:30

Grading System

Secondary school grading system
Secondary schools normally grade on a scale of A to E, with C or D being the lowest passing grade and A being the highest grade.

Higher education institution grading system
Colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning in the U.K. normally grade on a scale of A to E, with C or D being the lowest passing grade and A being the highest grade. Numerical/percentage systems are sometimes used.

Cost of Schooling

There are no school fees at any state-run schools or colleges, which are financed through national taxation. These schools may, however, charge parents for student activities such as swimming, theatre visits, and field trips, provided the charges are voluntary. Children whose parents cannot afford to pay may not be excluded from such events. Parents are responsible for costs of uniforms, writing materials, and transport costs. Virtually all schools are well resourced by international standards in terms of library and computer facilities.

Special Schools

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.

The number of children diagnosed with special educational needs in the U.K. has grown considerably in recent years and currently stands at 1.7 million students. To a large extent, this rise in numbers is due to the increased ability of the medical profession to diagnose conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. National policy is to offer integrative schooling by providing additional resources to staff and pupils to ensure affected pupils can remain in the regular schooling system. For children with severe disabilities, there are special schools in all regions of the U.K. that will accept children based on a medical assessment. For children with milder disabilities whose parents wish to take them out of regular schooling, a large number of private schools cater for the teaching of students with certain conditions such as emotional or behavioral difficulties. These schools are outside of the state system and charge tuition fees.

The U.K. has a long history of providing grammar school education. These schools were originally centers for the learning of classical languages that have become selective schools providing secondary education for the best performing primary pupils. There are still 164 state-run grammar schools, which accept roughly the top 25 percent of primary school pupils based on their performance in the 11plus examination. This examination is a test of a student’s academic ability, and is taken at the end of their final year in primary school.

Curriculum

All state schools in England are required to follow the National Curriculum, which is made up of 12 subjects. English, mathematics, and science are referred to as core subjects and are compulsory for all students age 5 to 16. The other subjects (art, citizenship, design and technology, geography, history, IT, music, languages, and physical education) are compulsory at one or more key stages in a child's education.

The purpose of the National Curriculum, when it was introduced in 1988, was to standardize the content taught across schools in order to enable assessment. More recently it has enabled the compilation of league tables detailing key assessment statistics for each school. These league tables have encouraged a "free market" by allowing parents to choose a school within their local region based on that school's measured ability to teach the National Curriculum.

Department for Education

The U.K. Government’s Department for Education is responsible for England. The Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively. Contact details for these bodies can be found linked from the DFES website.

Department for Education
Castle View House
East Lane
Runcorn
Cheshire WA7 2GJ
United Kingdom
Tel: [44] 0370 000 2288
Web: www.dfes.gov.uk

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