The British Education System For Dummies...
...And For Not So Dummies.
This was actually suprisingly hard to write
Following Nxsquids awesome American Highschool Primer, I was bored and wrote this one for England and Wales. Scotland is really different. Feel free to link it to people/tell me I’m wrong.
Please bear in mind that this is in no way a comprehensive overview of the education system, rather used to debunk the non-British stuff people think we have. I went (go) to a middle class, kind-of-just-outside-the Home Counties rural state comprehensive and I know nothing about public/private schools. Or grammar schools: there aren’t any where I live.
Primary school starts at aged 4-5, with Reception (changed to Foundation in the last decade sometime) year. It goes up to Year 6, when you are 10-11. Primary schools are generally much smaller than Secondary schools, and lots of Primary schools feed into one Secondary school.
Secondary schools start with Year 7 (11-12) and go up to Year 11, when you are 15-16. There are a larger number of subjects at Secondary school than at Primary. Compulsory education ends at 16, whatever grades you achieve.
School starts in September, with a weeks half-term holiday in October/early November, February and May. We get 2 weeks for Christmas and 2 weeks at Easter. The summer holiday starts in the third week of July and is usually about 6 weeks long.
GCSEs
When you are in Year 10 (14-15) you start studying for your GCSE exams, which used to culminate in exams at the end of Year 11. Nowadays the exam parts are usually modular - exams every six months (in January and June) for two years. Each module is about 20% of the overall grade. You usually study 11 GCSE subjects, only four of which are optional, although the top students often get the opportunity to study 12.
Compulsory subjects (for me, at least) are: Maths, English, Science (and Additional Science, both compulsory, worth 2 GCSEs), ICT and RE (worth half a GCSE each, although I think this was unique to my school) and PE. Then you could choose four choices, usually a language, a technology, a Humanities and an Arts subject, although that was not mandatory.
Grades are between A*-F, with U (Ungraded) below F. A* is the best.
Non Compulsory Education
Post-16 education is optional, and you are much more responsible for your own success and failure. If you screw up, you get chucked out.
If you want to continue your education after GCSE’s, you can get an apprenticeship with someone like a plumber or carpenter, you can go to College or you can go to Sixth Form. The only one I’m really qualified to talk about is the last one - someone help me out?
Sixth Form
Sixth Forms are usually connected to a school, and are basically two more years of the same sort of thing as you got at GCSEs, except a little different. That isn’t much help.
Sixth Form is two years, the first being called variously AS (for the qualification you get at the end of it), Year 12, or Lower Sixth; the second A2 (again, the individual qualification), Year 13 or Upper Sixth. At the end of Year 13 you get a qualification called an A-level, which is made up of an AS level and an A2 level. These are examined with modular exams (and coursework) again.
There are interviews and a process of selection for a Sixth Form. The entry level for mine was 7 A*- C graded GCSEs, although it’s recently gone up.
You would normally take four subjects (usually ones you have also taken at GCSE, unless it wasn’t offered) in year 12, and gain 4 AS levels at the end of the year. Then you would decide which one you wanted to drop for year 13, where you would gain three full A-levels. So, at the end of Sixth Form, you would come out with three A-levels and an AS level.
The Sixth Form students in a school get more freedom than the rest of the students. They often have Free Periods in which they are supposed to study, but more often can be found chatting to their friends/mucking about. In my school, they are also allowed to sign out if they do not have a lesson and go into town, or home if they can get transport.
A Sixth Form tends to be for the more academically minded students, and quite a few find that they can’t stand the heat and leave at the end of year 12. This means that most Upper Sixth years are smaller than their Lower Sixth counterparts.
Grades are between A* - E, with U at the bottom again. Getting an A* at A-level is hard - all your exam results in all the two years have to be above 90%, with no retakes.
Further Education College
This is for any one over the age of 16 who wants to continue with further education.
However, some courses may have 14 and 15 year olds attending during school hours.
Attendance is part or full time. Can be during the day or in the evening. "Leisure" courses are also offered (the kind that don't necessarily attract an actual qualification).
The kinds of qualifications that are offered include:
Childcare; Health and Social Care; Uniformed Public Services; A Level courses; Practical course such as Motor Vehicle; Construction; Engineering; Brick Laying; Performing Arts; Hairdressing/Beauty; Catering (Front of House and actual cooking); Travel & Tourism; Sport. Also "Access to Higher Education" which is aimed at adults who may not have achieved any qualifications in the past but now want to study at Degree level.
Many courses are offered at different levels:
Foundation; Intermediate; Advanced; BTEC; National Vocational; A Level and GCSEs and there may also be course which are delivered at the FE college but are actually Degree courses.
Students are deemed to be "adults" (so the FE college could be made up of any group of ages from 16 onwards) so get a lot of freedom - they can come and go as they wish. It is almost impossible to "expel" a student.
In practice, the demographic of many FE colleges has changed in the past few years to a distinct burgeoning of the 16 - 19 age group. These can be a "problem". Many are at the college because they did not achieve much or anything in the school system. The last few years, many are at FE college because they get "paid" to be (Educational Maintenance Allowance), but that will not be paid from September 2011 so it will be interesting to see what that does to the demographic!
Leisure courses used to be a distinctive offering of FE College - these are the kinds of courses that people will just learn because they want to. Such as Furniture making or Embroidery or ICT for beginners. Usually held in evenings and for a few weeks at a time. Usually no formal qualification at the end.
College is not the same thing as it is in the States. The equivalent would be university.
School Days
This is different for each school. For me, school starts at 8.40, with Tutor time. This is a time where your Tutor takes the register and reads the notices for the day. It’s also the time where any assemblies take place. We have two per week. At 9.00, lessons start - 50 minutes each. There is a break at the end of second period, which is 20 minutes, and lunch is 45 minutes at the end of 4th lesson. School ends at 3.05, although I have friends who don’t get out until 3.30, and the local public school doesn’t get out until 4.
Most students are bussed in from their homes (this also applies to Sixth Form, who have to pay for the privilege). You can also walk, or bike, or whatever. Only Sixth Form can drive though - the leaving age for school (16) is before the legal driving age in Britain (17) - but most don’t have their own cars.
Break and Lunch times
The entire school has Break- and Lunch-times at the same time. Classrooms are usually closed, and in the summer students are encouraged to sit outside. The main hall is open, with chairs and tables in it, as is the canteen and the library, although you can’t eat in there. It’s not uncommon to see kids sitting in the hallways talking and eating.
What is a Public/Private/Independent school?
All these are in the Private/Independent system. This means they are privately owned by individuals/charities/groups. They do not receive any government funding.
Public
In the medieval and Early Modern period, children from wealthy families would have their children educated by scholars. These men would be paid for their work. The students would get (usually) a well rounded liberal education (grammar, rhetoric, religious instruction, history, latin/hebrew/greek, possible a "modern" foreign language; astronomy; music/dance; later on arithmetic/mathematics and science).
Most towns and large villages would probably have a Dame school where very young boys AND girls from families who could NOT afford a private tutor would learn the basics of reading and writing (more likely just reading! Writing was taught from around 7 years old but Reading was taught from age 3. Hence why many people in the past could only write a cross in lieu of their name. They COULD read but not write.) Age 7 meant that children were taken out of schools and put to work within the family.
Some boys would be identified as being brighter and could be offered a place at Grammar School. Note - girls would not have this opportunity regardless of how bright they were). The local parish or the local gentry/noble may/would pay for their education.
Those who were VERY able could then be offered a place at a Public School. This would be a much more formal establishment run on and maybe linked to either University colleges such as at Cambridge or Oxford or with Monasteries/Cathedrals. Many were founded from money left by noble patrons in their lifetime or on the death.
An example of such a school is Eton which were originally founded many centuries ago for students (boys) to have a formal, well rounded education but could not afford to have a private tutor.
Very quickly, wealthy parents decided they wanted their sons taught in such formal schools - Eton in particular still to this day has a two tier system of entry. Those who can pay do (but the students STILL have to pass they entrance exams/interviews) and then the Scholars who can only apply IF their families cannot afford to pay for them to attend a private/public/independent school AND they pass the requirements.
If they do, they will receive a scholarship which I think lasts their entire education life (from entry at age 13 through to end of 6th form).
Independent/Private Schools
These schools are very similar to Public schools, they are just much younger. I think a law was passed in the Victorian period which brought they name into place.
Point is, pupils attend because their parents can pay for them to do so but, like Eton, they usually STILL have to pass an entrance exam (usually called Common Entrance). Entry can be at age 11, 13 and 16 (for 6th form).
Scholarships (full and part) can be won. Some can be specific for Music or for sport.
These schools (public or independent/private) can be full, part or week only boarding. Many have their own "primary" school or some are primary only.
'I once attended two private schools. The first when I was 3 and a half going on 4. That school has a Lower School (the one I was in) which started at 4 (I joined half a year early due to my advanced reading ability) and you left at age 11 to go to the senior school which you remained in till 18. Unfortunately for me, I contracted scarlet fever and was seriously ill for 6 months and my parents had to withdraw me from the school. They did not know whether I would ever go BACK to school because I was so seriously ill. When they found I could go back to school they decided to find another one.
This one was a Convent School. Again, I was in the Lower Juniors (age 3 to 7) and if I had stayed there, I would have moved up to Upper Juniors (7 - 11); Lower School (11 - 13) Middle School (13 - 16) and Sixth Form (16 - 18).' from myladyswardrobe
Grammar schools are something quite different. In England, Educational Authorities differ from county to county, and so do the school systems. Most are like the system described above, but there are a couple that still have the old Grammar/Comprehensive system. You take an aptitude test aged 11, and if you pass, you go to a Grammar school. If you fail, you go to a Comprehensive.
After school activity
There are a few clubs on after school - mainly sports, and the library is open for an hour after school, but my school doesn’t have much of an emphasis on after school activities. After year 9, you can join public speaking things like MUNGA (Modern United Nations General Assembly) or Bar Trials, but the preparation for that is generally done in your own time and has little to do with the school. Sixth Form students can work towards their Arts Leaders or Sports Leaders Awards. The biggest organisation in the school is the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, which is a LOT of work and pretty prestigious as a result. You can attain Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. To attain all three is four years constant work and some pretty hellish expeditions, but it looks great on your CV.
Parents Evenings
You get appointments from the teachers during the preceding days at school - usually at 10 minute intervals - and then give the paper to your parents. It's a personal decision as to whether the student goes. I go: my sister doesn't. The teachers are sat at tables grouped by subject in the main hall, and you go to each one at the respective time. It necessitates some rather awkward shuffling and hovering, but works on the whole.
Uniform
Every school has a different uniform. Ours is black trousers (no Jeans), blazer, v-necked sweatshirt with the school crest on it, white shirt and a tie. Skirts for girls are optional. Sixth Form don’t wear uniform, but business dress is mandatory.
Everyone in the area knows what the uniform looks like, and that makes it pretty hard to skive school - if you’re seen, people will phone the school and they’ll know your skiving.
Things we don’t have that people think we do (at least, I don’t)
Graduation: We don’t really graduate, at least in terms of a graduation ceremony. We just leave. It’s very anticlimactic.
Prom: This isn’t as widespread as it is in the US. We have one (aged 16, after exams), but not everyone goes and it isn’t particularly lavish.
Extra subjects: The selection of subjects you do, especially at A-level, isn’t broad. You pick 3/4 subjects, and that is all you study in the 2 years. At university I think it’s much the same (someone correct me on this…).
Lockers: Everyone carries a bag around with them with their books for the day in it. No-one has a locker.
Focus on sports: At my school, hardly anyone could tell you anything about the school teams in sports. I vaguely think we have a Hockey and Rugby teams, but they never have enough players. There is more focus on other stuff, really. This is probably not universal though.
Punishment
Detention: You get a break-time detention if you’re told off twice; Lunch-time detention if you’re told off three times; after school detention if you are told off four times. After schools go on your permanent records and could result in you not getting into Sixth Form/College.
Suspensions are pretty hard to get. Someone broke my nose (not during a fight) and they were suspended for a week.
You’d have to have drugs on school premises or something equally awful to get expelled. We are a very law abiding school, so I can’t think of anyone who has actually been expelled.
There's a lot of stuff here that is just personal experience. Mine is very limited. Don't take it as kosher!
Thank you to myladyswardrobe for the sections on College and the differences between Public and Private schools, both areas in which my knowledge was sadly lacking.
This was actually suprisingly hard to write
Following Nxsquids awesome American Highschool Primer, I was bored and wrote this one for England and Wales. Scotland is really different. Feel free to link it to people/tell me I’m wrong.
Please bear in mind that this is in no way a comprehensive overview of the education system, rather used to debunk the non-British stuff people think we have. I went (go) to a middle class, kind-of-just-outside-the Home Counties rural state comprehensive and I know nothing about public/private schools. Or grammar schools: there aren’t any where I live.
Primary school starts at aged 4-5, with Reception (changed to Foundation in the last decade sometime) year. It goes up to Year 6, when you are 10-11. Primary schools are generally much smaller than Secondary schools, and lots of Primary schools feed into one Secondary school.
Secondary schools start with Year 7 (11-12) and go up to Year 11, when you are 15-16. There are a larger number of subjects at Secondary school than at Primary. Compulsory education ends at 16, whatever grades you achieve.
School starts in September, with a weeks half-term holiday in October/early November, February and May. We get 2 weeks for Christmas and 2 weeks at Easter. The summer holiday starts in the third week of July and is usually about 6 weeks long.
GCSEs
When you are in Year 10 (14-15) you start studying for your GCSE exams, which used to culminate in exams at the end of Year 11. Nowadays the exam parts are usually modular - exams every six months (in January and June) for two years. Each module is about 20% of the overall grade. You usually study 11 GCSE subjects, only four of which are optional, although the top students often get the opportunity to study 12.
Compulsory subjects (for me, at least) are: Maths, English, Science (and Additional Science, both compulsory, worth 2 GCSEs), ICT and RE (worth half a GCSE each, although I think this was unique to my school) and PE. Then you could choose four choices, usually a language, a technology, a Humanities and an Arts subject, although that was not mandatory.
Grades are between A*-F, with U (Ungraded) below F. A* is the best.
Non Compulsory Education
Post-16 education is optional, and you are much more responsible for your own success and failure. If you screw up, you get chucked out.
If you want to continue your education after GCSE’s, you can get an apprenticeship with someone like a plumber or carpenter, you can go to College or you can go to Sixth Form. The only one I’m really qualified to talk about is the last one - someone help me out?
Sixth Form
Sixth Forms are usually connected to a school, and are basically two more years of the same sort of thing as you got at GCSEs, except a little different. That isn’t much help.
Sixth Form is two years, the first being called variously AS (for the qualification you get at the end of it), Year 12, or Lower Sixth; the second A2 (again, the individual qualification), Year 13 or Upper Sixth. At the end of Year 13 you get a qualification called an A-level, which is made up of an AS level and an A2 level. These are examined with modular exams (and coursework) again.
There are interviews and a process of selection for a Sixth Form. The entry level for mine was 7 A*- C graded GCSEs, although it’s recently gone up.
You would normally take four subjects (usually ones you have also taken at GCSE, unless it wasn’t offered) in year 12, and gain 4 AS levels at the end of the year. Then you would decide which one you wanted to drop for year 13, where you would gain three full A-levels. So, at the end of Sixth Form, you would come out with three A-levels and an AS level.
The Sixth Form students in a school get more freedom than the rest of the students. They often have Free Periods in which they are supposed to study, but more often can be found chatting to their friends/mucking about. In my school, they are also allowed to sign out if they do not have a lesson and go into town, or home if they can get transport.
A Sixth Form tends to be for the more academically minded students, and quite a few find that they can’t stand the heat and leave at the end of year 12. This means that most Upper Sixth years are smaller than their Lower Sixth counterparts.
Grades are between A* - E, with U at the bottom again. Getting an A* at A-level is hard - all your exam results in all the two years have to be above 90%, with no retakes.
Further Education College
This is for any one over the age of 16 who wants to continue with further education.
However, some courses may have 14 and 15 year olds attending during school hours.
Attendance is part or full time. Can be during the day or in the evening. "Leisure" courses are also offered (the kind that don't necessarily attract an actual qualification).
The kinds of qualifications that are offered include:
Childcare; Health and Social Care; Uniformed Public Services; A Level courses; Practical course such as Motor Vehicle; Construction; Engineering; Brick Laying; Performing Arts; Hairdressing/Beauty; Catering (Front of House and actual cooking); Travel & Tourism; Sport. Also "Access to Higher Education" which is aimed at adults who may not have achieved any qualifications in the past but now want to study at Degree level.
Many courses are offered at different levels:
Foundation; Intermediate; Advanced; BTEC; National Vocational; A Level and GCSEs and there may also be course which are delivered at the FE college but are actually Degree courses.
Students are deemed to be "adults" (so the FE college could be made up of any group of ages from 16 onwards) so get a lot of freedom - they can come and go as they wish. It is almost impossible to "expel" a student.
In practice, the demographic of many FE colleges has changed in the past few years to a distinct burgeoning of the 16 - 19 age group. These can be a "problem". Many are at the college because they did not achieve much or anything in the school system. The last few years, many are at FE college because they get "paid" to be (Educational Maintenance Allowance), but that will not be paid from September 2011 so it will be interesting to see what that does to the demographic!
Leisure courses used to be a distinctive offering of FE College - these are the kinds of courses that people will just learn because they want to. Such as Furniture making or Embroidery or ICT for beginners. Usually held in evenings and for a few weeks at a time. Usually no formal qualification at the end.
College is not the same thing as it is in the States. The equivalent would be university.
School Days
This is different for each school. For me, school starts at 8.40, with Tutor time. This is a time where your Tutor takes the register and reads the notices for the day. It’s also the time where any assemblies take place. We have two per week. At 9.00, lessons start - 50 minutes each. There is a break at the end of second period, which is 20 minutes, and lunch is 45 minutes at the end of 4th lesson. School ends at 3.05, although I have friends who don’t get out until 3.30, and the local public school doesn’t get out until 4.
Most students are bussed in from their homes (this also applies to Sixth Form, who have to pay for the privilege). You can also walk, or bike, or whatever. Only Sixth Form can drive though - the leaving age for school (16) is before the legal driving age in Britain (17) - but most don’t have their own cars.
Break and Lunch times
The entire school has Break- and Lunch-times at the same time. Classrooms are usually closed, and in the summer students are encouraged to sit outside. The main hall is open, with chairs and tables in it, as is the canteen and the library, although you can’t eat in there. It’s not uncommon to see kids sitting in the hallways talking and eating.
What is a Public/Private/Independent school?
All these are in the Private/Independent system. This means they are privately owned by individuals/charities/groups. They do not receive any government funding.
Public
In the medieval and Early Modern period, children from wealthy families would have their children educated by scholars. These men would be paid for their work. The students would get (usually) a well rounded liberal education (grammar, rhetoric, religious instruction, history, latin/hebrew/greek, possible a "modern" foreign language; astronomy; music/dance; later on arithmetic/mathematics and science).
Most towns and large villages would probably have a Dame school where very young boys AND girls from families who could NOT afford a private tutor would learn the basics of reading and writing (more likely just reading! Writing was taught from around 7 years old but Reading was taught from age 3. Hence why many people in the past could only write a cross in lieu of their name. They COULD read but not write.) Age 7 meant that children were taken out of schools and put to work within the family.
Some boys would be identified as being brighter and could be offered a place at Grammar School. Note - girls would not have this opportunity regardless of how bright they were). The local parish or the local gentry/noble may/would pay for their education.
Those who were VERY able could then be offered a place at a Public School. This would be a much more formal establishment run on and maybe linked to either University colleges such as at Cambridge or Oxford or with Monasteries/Cathedrals. Many were founded from money left by noble patrons in their lifetime or on the death.
An example of such a school is Eton which were originally founded many centuries ago for students (boys) to have a formal, well rounded education but could not afford to have a private tutor.
Very quickly, wealthy parents decided they wanted their sons taught in such formal schools - Eton in particular still to this day has a two tier system of entry. Those who can pay do (but the students STILL have to pass they entrance exams/interviews) and then the Scholars who can only apply IF their families cannot afford to pay for them to attend a private/public/independent school AND they pass the requirements.
If they do, they will receive a scholarship which I think lasts their entire education life (from entry at age 13 through to end of 6th form).
Independent/Private Schools
These schools are very similar to Public schools, they are just much younger. I think a law was passed in the Victorian period which brought they name into place.
Point is, pupils attend because their parents can pay for them to do so but, like Eton, they usually STILL have to pass an entrance exam (usually called Common Entrance). Entry can be at age 11, 13 and 16 (for 6th form).
Scholarships (full and part) can be won. Some can be specific for Music or for sport.
These schools (public or independent/private) can be full, part or week only boarding. Many have their own "primary" school or some are primary only.
'I once attended two private schools. The first when I was 3 and a half going on 4. That school has a Lower School (the one I was in) which started at 4 (I joined half a year early due to my advanced reading ability) and you left at age 11 to go to the senior school which you remained in till 18. Unfortunately for me, I contracted scarlet fever and was seriously ill for 6 months and my parents had to withdraw me from the school. They did not know whether I would ever go BACK to school because I was so seriously ill. When they found I could go back to school they decided to find another one.
This one was a Convent School. Again, I was in the Lower Juniors (age 3 to 7) and if I had stayed there, I would have moved up to Upper Juniors (7 - 11); Lower School (11 - 13) Middle School (13 - 16) and Sixth Form (16 - 18).' from myladyswardrobe
Grammar schools are something quite different. In England, Educational Authorities differ from county to county, and so do the school systems. Most are like the system described above, but there are a couple that still have the old Grammar/Comprehensive system. You take an aptitude test aged 11, and if you pass, you go to a Grammar school. If you fail, you go to a Comprehensive.
After school activity
There are a few clubs on after school - mainly sports, and the library is open for an hour after school, but my school doesn’t have much of an emphasis on after school activities. After year 9, you can join public speaking things like MUNGA (Modern United Nations General Assembly) or Bar Trials, but the preparation for that is generally done in your own time and has little to do with the school. Sixth Form students can work towards their Arts Leaders or Sports Leaders Awards. The biggest organisation in the school is the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, which is a LOT of work and pretty prestigious as a result. You can attain Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. To attain all three is four years constant work and some pretty hellish expeditions, but it looks great on your CV.
Parents Evenings
You get appointments from the teachers during the preceding days at school - usually at 10 minute intervals - and then give the paper to your parents. It's a personal decision as to whether the student goes. I go: my sister doesn't. The teachers are sat at tables grouped by subject in the main hall, and you go to each one at the respective time. It necessitates some rather awkward shuffling and hovering, but works on the whole.
Uniform
Every school has a different uniform. Ours is black trousers (no Jeans), blazer, v-necked sweatshirt with the school crest on it, white shirt and a tie. Skirts for girls are optional. Sixth Form don’t wear uniform, but business dress is mandatory.
Everyone in the area knows what the uniform looks like, and that makes it pretty hard to skive school - if you’re seen, people will phone the school and they’ll know your skiving.
Things we don’t have that people think we do (at least, I don’t)
Graduation: We don’t really graduate, at least in terms of a graduation ceremony. We just leave. It’s very anticlimactic.
Prom: This isn’t as widespread as it is in the US. We have one (aged 16, after exams), but not everyone goes and it isn’t particularly lavish.
Extra subjects: The selection of subjects you do, especially at A-level, isn’t broad. You pick 3/4 subjects, and that is all you study in the 2 years. At university I think it’s much the same (someone correct me on this…).
Lockers: Everyone carries a bag around with them with their books for the day in it. No-one has a locker.
Focus on sports: At my school, hardly anyone could tell you anything about the school teams in sports. I vaguely think we have a Hockey and Rugby teams, but they never have enough players. There is more focus on other stuff, really. This is probably not universal though.
Punishment
Detention: You get a break-time detention if you’re told off twice; Lunch-time detention if you’re told off three times; after school detention if you are told off four times. After schools go on your permanent records and could result in you not getting into Sixth Form/College.
Suspensions are pretty hard to get. Someone broke my nose (not during a fight) and they were suspended for a week.
You’d have to have drugs on school premises or something equally awful to get expelled. We are a very law abiding school, so I can’t think of anyone who has actually been expelled.
There's a lot of stuff here that is just personal experience. Mine is very limited. Don't take it as kosher!
Thank you to myladyswardrobe for the sections on College and the differences between Public and Private schools, both areas in which my knowledge was sadly lacking.