BRITISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL SYSTEM
There have been great changes in the educational system in Great Britain since 1988. A few
education acts have been issued (from 1988 to 1994) to raise standards at all ability levels, to give
parents a wider choice of schools and to make further and higher education more economically
available to large numbers of people.
All children and young people between the age of 5 and 16 must get full-time education. Over
90 per cent of all school children attend schools maintained from public funds (state schools).
Although overall responsibility rests with central government, most of these schools are financed and
maintained by Local Education Authorities (LEAs). Education at these schools is free. Every publicly
maintained school has a governing body which includes members appointed by LEAs, teachers and
parents.
Besides this state system of education there are also fee-paying independent schools -
private and church (for about seven per cent of children). Both types of schools are subject to official
inspection.
Boys and girls are taught together at most primary schools and more than 80 per cent of pupils
at state secondary schools attend mixed schools (in Northern Ireland it is less, in Scotland almost all
secondary schools are coeducational). Most independent schools for younger pupils are mixed but the
majority of private secondary schools are single-sex. The tendency, however, is towards more mixed
education.
School uniforms are worn in most private schools and at many state secondary schools
(especially Grammar schools). Children at some primary schools wear uniforms too, but parents vote
about them.
Almost all state schools are day schools which have classes from Monday to Friday. The school
day usually begins between 8 and 9 a.m. and ends around 4 p.m. It includes a fairly long morning and
afternoon break and about an hour’s lunch break.
The school year in England and Wales normally begins in early September and ends in the
following July (Scotland varies a bit). The year is divided into three "terms". The first term lasts from
September till Christmas, the second one from January till Easter and the last one from April till July.
There are some holidays between terms. Students and pupils have usually six weeks holidays in
summer.
The state system of education is divided into four stages: pre-school and primary education,
secondary education, further education and higher education.
PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION
Pre-school education is provided by nursery schools. In England over one half of three- and
four-year olds attend school and many other children attend pre-school playgroups, mostly organized
by parents. (In Wales more than 70 per cent do so, while in Northern Ireland only about 15 per cent,
but about 45 per cent start their compulsory schooling at 4).
There are not enough state nursery schools in Britain and people have campaigned for a long
time to get more opened. There are private nurseries but these are expensive and a lot of families
cannot afford them. Children start at 9 a.m. and finish at 3 p.m., they have their lunch at school and
usually a rest in the afternoon. They play, paint, dance and sing and do the same things that all little
children do. They do not have proper lessons.
PRIMARY EDUCATION
Primary education is provided by primary schools. The working day begins at 9 a.m. and
usually finishes at 3.30 p.m.
Compulsory education begins at 5 (at 4 in Northern Ireland), when children go to infant
schools or departments (5 - 7). The infant school has its own building and playground and is next to
the junior school, with its own building and playground. So, although you move up into junior school at 7 you do not have to change completely. There are usually about 35 children in a class and, in the
infant school, as well as a teacher, there is usually a teacher's assistant. Also mothers (and
occasionally, fathers) often go into the Infant Schools to help with painting, reading and practical
lessons. Emphasis in the infant school is on learning through experience, through drawing, painting,
musical activities, movement and play. Children learn to read, write a little and do simple counting.
Classrooms are bright and cheerful with children's work displayed on the walls and books,
games and a computer in each classroom. The children usually sit in groups at tables and have
drawers to keep their work in.
At 7 many children move to junior school or departments, where the work is more systematic.
Children learn English, maths, science and technology, geography and religious knowledge. A lot of
learning is done through project or topic work, with an emphasis on children finding things out for
themselves. They also learn about the environment and, of course, do art, music and P.E. Children
have the same teacher for one year and she teaches nearly all of the lessons in the class. Perhaps
another teacher has them once a week for music or physical training. The government is discussing
changing this so that there are more specialist teachers in the Junior Schools. The children would then
have different teachers for different lessons. The usual age for transfer from primary school to
secondary school is 11 (12 in Scotland).
SECONDARY EDUCATION
At the age of 11 pupils transfer from primary school to secondary
school. About 90 per cent of state secondary school pupils go to
Comprehensive schools. These were introduced in 1960s and the word
"comprehensive" means all-inclusive. Most of these schools are very large
and vary in size, 900 to 1,500 pupils is the most common. They take children
of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary education, both
academic and practical, for all or most of the children in a district within the 11-
to 18- age range (12 to 18 in Scotland).
About four per cent of children attend Grammar Schools which they
enter at the age of 11 on the basis of their abilities. Grammar Schools offer a
mainly academic education for the 11 to 18 or 19-year age group.
Six per cent of children attend Secondary Modern Schools which
provide a more general education up to the age of 16, although pupils can stay beyond the minimum
leaving age.
At the age of 16 students may leave secondary school and enter some type of training courses.
65 % of all children leave the secondary school.
FURTHER EDUCATION
All 16- and 17-years olds are guaranteed a place in full-time education or training and all
suitable qualified people are encouraged to go into higher education. Almost 65 per cent of young
people receive some form of further education (after the age of 16). Further education is provided both by the top two classes of a comprehensive and grammar school and by independent six-form
colleges or tertiary colleges. Six-form colleges are schools which provide academic and nonacademic
education beyond the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education), while tertiary
colleges offer a range of full-time and part-time vocational courses as well as more academic ones.
Many students attend college part-time, either by day or block release from employment or in the
evening.
When students leave secondary school at the age of 18, they can enter either - training courses
or universities.
NATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
In order to raise educational standards, the Government has introduced the National
Curriculum in state schools in England and Wales and has given school education of 14- to 18-years
olds a more practical basis. The object is to make the education more relevant to the working
environment and to improve skills in science, technology and modern languages. Pupils in their last
year of compulsory schooling are encouraged to undertake a period of work experience as part of their
education. Previously, many students had tended to specialize too early, dropping important subjects
like science, technology and foreign languages.
The National Curriculum defines four key stages, and ten statutory subjects:
key stage 1 age 5-7 (infants)
key stage 2 age 7-11 (juniors)
key stage 3 age 11-14 (PRE-GCSE)
key stage 4 age 14-16 (preparation for GCSE)
The three "core" subjects are English, mathematics and science and there are seven other
"foundation" subjects - information technology, history, geography, music, art, physical education
and modern foreign languages (in Wales Welsh is also a core or foundation subject).
All children in key stages 1 to 3 must study the first nine of these subjects.
In key 3 stage they must also study a modern foreign language (pupils in Wales
must also study Welsh).
Pupils aged 14 to 16 must currently study the core subjects, technology, a
modern foreign language and physical education plus either history or
geography or short courses in both.
Parents must be sent an annual report on their child's progress at school, including assessment
and examination results.
Also not part of the National Curriculum, religious education for all pupils, and sex education for
pupils in the secondary phase are statutory requirements. All schools must hold daily collective
worship. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from both religious education and sex
education classes, and from collective worship.
The curriculum in Scotland and Northern Ireland is only slightly different.
QUALIFICATION
The main qualification taken by secondary pupils at around the age of 16 is the General
Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). If the results are good pupils can stay on and prepare
other two years for A-examination.
The General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced (A) level is normally taken after other
two years of study in two or three subjects. GCE A level is currently the main standard for entrance to higher education and many forms of professional training. This examination is marked by a board,
which is connected with universities. Three good A levels mean that the student has a chance to go to
university or some other form of higher education. The Government would like to see more schools
offer vocational qualifications; therefore it has introduced a new type of vocational qualification - the
General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) which will provide pupils an alternative to the
more traditional GCEs and A levels.
The Scottish system is slightly different.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Children with special educational needs are educated in ordinary schools, wherever possible.
Other children attend day and boarding special schools.
Most children of minority ethnic communities share the same schools as the British children. If
they do not speak English well enough, they are given help to improve their English to be able to enter normal schools.
Schools and colleges provide careers education and guidance through careers co-ordinators.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
About seven per cent of children attend independent or private schools not funded by the state.
These schools charge high tuition fees of about 4,000 a term for senior boarding pupils, but many offer scholarships. Independent schools range from small kindergartens to large day and boarding schools and from new experimental schools to ancient foundations. Around 550 independent schools for pupils aged 11 to 19 are commonly known as "public" schools, although they receive no state funding. Most independent schools for younger pupils are mixed, but the majority of private secondary schools are single-sex. Most schools require school uniforms.
Public schools accept pupils at the age of about 13 and Preparatory schools (called "prep"
schools) prepare children for entry to the public schools.
Names of some of the most outstanding public schools together with the date of their foundation
are: Eton (close to Windsor, 1440), Harrow (London, 1571), Winchester (1382), Rugby (1567),
Shrewsbury (1552), Westminster (London, 1560), St. Paul's (London, 1509, day-school). These
schools are very old but there are others which are even older: St. Peter's (York, 627) and St.
Alban's (Hertfordshire, 948).
Most public schools are boarding schools and they have about 500 pupils but Eton is much
larger. Some public schools are called "Colleges" (Eton College, Winchester College).
Although many independent schools follow the National Curriculum, their students do not have
to pass tests. The quality of individual schools varies, but very often the most prestigious schools are
very good.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Around 30 per cent of all young people in Britain go into full-time higher education. Higher
education covers all post-school courses above GCE A level standard. Higher education institutions
include universities, teacher training colleges and other colleges of technology, art, and profession
allied to medicine. Britain has 89 universities, including the Open University, and 70 other HE
institutions. All these institutions enjoy complete academic freedom, which includes appointing their
own staff and deciding which students to admit, what and how to teach and which degree to award.
British universities can be divided into three groups:
Oxford (1167) and Cambridge (1229) - the oldest and most famous universities. In Scotland
there are St. Andrew’s (1411), Glasgow (1451), Aberdeen (1494) and Edinburgh (1583)
"Redbrick universities" which were founded in 19th century - London (1836), Manchester
(1851), Wales (1893).
Universities opened in 20th century, mostly after 1960 - Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool,
Reading, Nottingham, Exeter, Sussex, York. There are also new universities in Scotland such as
Strathclyde in Glasgow, Herriot-Watt in Edinburgh, Dundee and Stirling. There were two waves of
opening new universities after World War II. One in the 1960s when such universities as Sussex in
Brighton, York (both 1963), Warwick in Coventry, Kent in Canterbury were established. The other
wave came in the 1990s when 39 new universities were created.
The Open University is Britain's main distance-learning institution for adults (established in 1969). No formal academic qualifications are required to enrol in undergraduate courses, but the standards of its degrees and other qualifications are as high as other universities.
Most university courses last between two and four years. Sandwich courses, which include a period
of work experience outside the institution, can extend the length of the course by up to a year, and
medical and veterinary courses require five or six years. Although most students take degree courses,
some are on sub-degree courses such as Higher National Diploma (HND) or Diploma in Higher
Education (Dip HE).
Students, who start to study at university, are called "undergraduates". Degree titles vary
according to the practice of each university. A Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts - B.A., Bachelor of Science - B.Sc.) is given to students who pass examinations at the end of three or four years of study.
Bachelors are called "graduates" and they can study further to get Master's Degree. The Master's
degree (Master of Arts - M.A., Master of Science - M.Sc.) may be obtained by attending a
postgraduate course or by writing a paper, or thesis.
The degree of Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) is given for a thesis both in humanities and
science (e. g. Ph.D., in Physics, English, History, etc.). A medical student can either take his whole
training in the medical school of a teaching hospital, or complete his training in hospital after taking a
degree.
Those who do not want to study at universities can be trained in some training courses (in
nursing, secretaries, banking, accountancy, manufacturing or service industry).
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