Education in the United Kingdom
From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia
There are separate education systems in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This article provides some comparison.
Education (although not necessarily in the form of school attendance) is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5-16, though the UK Government announced in January 2007 plans to change this to 5 - 18 in England. Most English, Welsh and Northern Irish state (but not independent) schools usher students through nursery school, one of two primary school tracks, and one of two secondary tracks, of which sixth form is optional. Most children and young people in the UK are educated in state funded schools financed through the tax system and so parents do not pay directly for the cost of education.
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[edit] Curriculum
[edit] England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Schools follows the National Curriculum which was introduced by the UK government under the Education Reform Act 1988. The National Curriculum includes the core subjects English, Mathematics, and Science The foundation subjects are: design and technology, information and communication technology (known as ICT), history, geography, modern foreign languages (MFL), music, art and design. The subjects of the basic curriculum are: physical education, citizenship plus compulsory religious education (RE) which has a unique place in British law.
Welsh is also a core subject in Wales from primary school all the way to year 11: Welsh may be taken as a first language or a second language.
The National Curriculum has five 'key stages:'
- Key stage 1: age five to seven (Years 1 and 2)
- Key stage 2: age seven to eleven (Years 3, 4, 5 and 6)
- Key stage 3: age eleven to fourteen (Years 7, 8 and 9)
- Key stage 4: age fourteen to sixteen (Years 10 and 11 - preparation for academic GCSE and equivalent vocational qualifications GNVQ, BTEC, DIDA etc. )
- Key stage 5 (unofficial): age sixteen to eighteen (Years 12 and 13) - the A-level academic qualifications (AS and A2), also Higher GNVQ and BTEC qualifications, or sixth form college courses.
[edit] Primary School
Though full-time education is only compulsory from age 5, children most commonly enter Reception Class aged 4 in the academic year in which they will reach their 5th birthday. The remaining years are called Year 1, Year 2, and so forth up to year 6. It is normal for a single teacher to teach pupils throughout the year, encompassing all subjects of the National Curriculum (see above) and the other basic subjects (Religious Education, Physical Education, Citizenship). Until recently foreign languages were not introduced until secondary school. Now all primary school pupils will receive an introductory course in a modern European language. Primary school education may be divided into [Infant] (ages 4-7) and [Junior] (ages 7-11) school. At the end of the Infant School, pupils sit Key Stage 1 [SATs]. These tests are generally viewed as being primarily a means of assessing the quality of teaching at a school rather than a pupil's own ability. Key Stage 2 SATs are taken at the end of Year 6, when pupils are aged 11.
[edit] Secondary School
Some schools, especially for subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Modern Languages, schools stream pupils on ability, otherwise pupils are taught with the other members of their form; all students study the same subjects and they are English, Welsh for pupils within Wales as it is compulsory at GCSE level, Modern Foreign Languages, usually French, German or Spanish, Geography, History, Citizenship/Guidance/PSHE, Religious Education,(R.E short course is also compulsory for all Welsh students as later at GCSE level. Welsh pupils may also take it is combined a short course Welsh to form one GCSE, this is then accepted as a foreign language at all European universities) , Design Technology, Music, Information and Communications Technology, Drama and Physical education. There are also vocational subjects which students may choose to learn, they are; hairdressing and beauty, construction, woodwork, travel and tourism, business studies and other more minor subjects. In Grammar and Public schools, it is more common for traditional subjects- such as Greek and Latin, to be additionally taught. All students between the age of fourteen and sixteen in England and Wales sit the General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. Students who do the General Certificate of Secondary Education usually sit five examinations at the minimum, generally sit around nine or ten examinations, and sometimes up to twelve or thirteen depending on what the school can provide. At GCSE level the following subjects are mandatory: English, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Religious Education, Citizenship, Information and Communications Technology. Schools then offer other subjects that the students can choose to do. Thereafter, students may choose to leave school or to continue school. Unlike the systems on Continental Europe, a student automatically progresses to the next level of year and does not repeat the year even if the student has failed his or her examinations. Increasingly, gifted and talented students are entered for examinations early, e.g. Mathematics is sometimes taken a year or a few terms early and then another GCSE such as Statistics or an FSMQ is taken in the remaining time of the year. Additionally, in some schools, students who fluently speak a GCSE Course Language [French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Panjabi, Urdu etc.] are allowed to take this GCSE early, possibly in Key Stage 3 to enable them to take an additional GCSE when entering Key Stage Four.
[edit] Further education (FE)
Students of any age may choose to attend the Further Education Colleges to further their post-secondary school education. Students may choose to study for National Vocational Qualifications as an alternative to A levels. Others, however, may wish to re-sit examinations to improve school-leaving qualifications and specialist further education colleges known as Sixth Form Colleges focus on school level qualifications.
[edit] Higher education (HE)
The English student completes the Advanced Level in (usually) 3-4 subjects, generally taken at age 18 in preparation for admission to University. Students who attend English universities do a three year course to earn a degree, whether is be an ordinary degree or an honours degree. There are also sandwich courses in which the student may need to do a year more. The sandwich courses offer work placement which allows the students to work for a short period of time before they complete their courses. English universities specialise subjects throughout the entire degree.
All universities award a Bachelor Degree to the students who have completed their undergraduate courses. The Oxbridge universities (Oxford University and Cambridge University) which are amongst the world's oldest universities are generally ranked at or near the top of all UK universities. Academic degrees are usually split into classes: first class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class (II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third class). In many universities ordinary degrees are often confined to vocational courses such as medicine and dentistry, or awarded when a student hasn't passed enough modules to be awarded the honours degree.
[edit] Scotland
Scotland does not have a proscribed national curriculum but schools are expected to follow national guidelines. Learning and Teaching Scotland has a key role in helping schools improve the curriculum they offer. The key guidelines that inform the primary curriculum are termed the '5-14 guidelines' though these guidelines provide considerable scope for schools to develop a curriculum that most suits the needs of the pupils. The most recent curricular advice is contained in the publication 'A Curriculum for Excellence'. All schools will be expected to move towards adjusting the curriculum they offer in the light of these guidelines, in the coming years.
A small number of schools teach through the medium of Scottish Gaelic and in other schools, Scottish Gaelic may be taught as a foreign language.
[edit] Primary school
All pupils have the right to attend nursery school from age 3 though not all parents take up this option. Pupils born between March 1st in one year through to the end of February the following year are normally placed in the same year group. Since the academic year starts in August, pupils starting primary school range in age between 4 years 6 months and 5 years 6 months. After seven years of primary education, pupils move to secondary school.
[edit] Secondary School
Most students sit Standard Grades at the end of the fourth year of their schooling though more advanced pupils may sit some of these exams at the end of third year. Students will typically sit 7 or 8 Standard Grades in a single year. Most pupils have to complete a full 4 years of secondary education though the oldest pupils may be able to leave school half way through the fourth year at the Christmas leaving date. (The youngest pupils in any year group may have to leave at the Christmas leaving date mid-way throught their fifth year.) The majority of pupils choose to stay on for 5th year and a significant number stay on for a 6th year as well if they have not achieved the qualifications necessary for entry to University or whatever other career path they may have set their sight on.
[edit] Further education (FE)
Students may choose to study for Scottish Vocational Qualifications or National Qualifications such as Highers that are also available in secondary schools. Increasingly, secondary schools are forming partnerships with Further Education Colleges to deliver more vocational courses to pupils for whom the secondary curriculum is inappropriate.
[edit] Higher education (HE)
The Scottish student entering the university may be aged seventeen and must have done at least four subjects at Higher Grade some take up to 8, and achieve a minimum grade of two Bs and two Cs in preparation for admission.
Students who attend the Scottish Universities can do an ordinary degree in three years, or complete an honours degree in four years. There are also sandwich courses in which the student may need to do a year more. The sandwich courses offer work placement which allows the students to work for a short period of time before they complete their courses. Scottish universities tend not to specialise subjects until the third year when students may decide to complete an ordinary degree in a further year or embark on a two-year honours course (often referred to as the Junior Honours Year and Senior Honours Year).
Most universities award a Bachelor Degree to the students who have completed their undergraduate courses though for historical reasons, the Scottish ancient universities (University of St Andrews, University of Edinburgh, University of Aberdeen and University of Glasgow (as well as the University of Dundee) award a Master of Arts (MA) degree to arts students who have completed their undergraduate courses. These MA degrees are equivalent to a Bachelor Degree. Honours degrees are usually split into classes: first class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class (II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third class).
As the Scottish education system was the model for the US education system, a Scottish Master's and Scottish Honours Degree is at a similar level to a US Masters. A Scottish 'ordinary' degree is equivalent to a US bachelors degree.
[edit] Operations
In England, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills is responsible to Parliament for education, though the day to day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of Local Education Authorities.
In Scotland, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning is responsible to the Scottish Parliament for education, with day to day administration and fundings of state schools being the responsibility of Local Authorities.
The assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland have responsibility for Education in their areas.
[edit] Pastoral Care and Sanctions
The United Kingdom as a whole follows a policy of in Loco Parentis in which all teachers are to assume the role of the parent once a child is on the school grounds. In this wise, teachers in the UK often take on pastoral care roles, attending to the mental and physical welfare of their pupils, in the role of form tutor/teacher. Secondary schools have pastoral care systems usually through Heads of Year, or in more traditional schools through the House System.
The fairly common sanctions at schools are detention and exclusion. Corporal punishment was only completely abolished in state schools in 1987. Many British schools, public or state, require pupils to wear uniforms.
[edit] Primary school
In England, Scotland and Wales,[citation needed] children under the age of five can either choose to go to the parent and toddler group where a parent must be there to supervise their child, a nursery school, where a child can enter at the age of three or four and a fee is normally charged, or a playgroup, where a child can go to play before starting school. At the age of five, which is the official age at which a full-time education must be provided in England and Scotland, a child may attend a local school where the school is obliged to accept the child without any conditions. Children may also be sent to a state or coeducational school; a high reputation or religious school; or receive an education outside school. The school time usually runs between 0900 hours and 1500 hours. School-educated children go to school from Monday to Friday for three terms and have thirteen weeks of holiday, mainly at Easter, Christmas and in the summer. Class sizes vary; there are usually between twenty-five and thirty pupils, thirty being the maximum. For a practical class, the class sizes are smaller due to safety reasons.
[edit] Secondary school
In England, children attend their place of secondary education at the age of eleven. They go either to a comprehensive school; a grammar school; or an independent school (also known as private schools, or in the case of a few prominent independent schools, public school, which in England is a privately-operated school). All of these types of schools may be single sex or co-educational, however the vast majority of comprehensive schools are co-educational. Comprehensive schools, by law, cannot discriminate on ability of students, though can operate as religious institutions, admitting mostly pupils of the particular religious denomination. Grammar schools are fairly rare, remaining widespread in only eleven counties - see Grammar schools in the United Kingdom. Every student has a Form Tutor who is responsible for all his or her registered children, and a Guidance teacher who he or she is responsible to the programme and students' development - generally the Head of Year(s). School hours are generally between 08.30 hours and 15.30 hours, though schools set their own hours. Children go to school from Monday to Friday for three terms and have thirteen weeks of holiday which are Easter, Christmas and the summer, with a week breaking up each of the three terms (Half Term).
In Scotland, all local authority schools are comprehensive schools which the vast majority of pupils attend. Local Authorities set the dates for holidays in their own areas, though all teachers in local authority schools have the same holiday entitlement - effectively 12 weeks per year. The teachers' contract actually stipulates that teachers are expected to work 195 days per year, of which 5 working days are In-Service Training days. This means that pupils effectively get 13 weeks holidays per year. The teachers' contract also stipulates that working hours of secondary schools should be 27.5 hours per week, though teachers are expected to work a 35 hour week. As part of the McCrone agreement, teachers are entitled to work 'at a time and place of their choosing' if not required for actual teaching duties. Since the maximum pupil contact time is 22.5 hours, all teachers will have time during school hours when they may choose to leave the building for some other purpose - on the basis that they will be working the hours at some other time.
[edit] Higher Education
Students who wish to enter higher education must do either Advanced Level in England or Highers in Scotland. Students typically enter the university at ages seventeen in Scotland and eighteen in England, respectively. Most students must use the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to apply the universities, however for some subjects there are different admissions services, such as NMAS for Nursing and Midwifery Diplomas. Many students in Scotland opt to remain in School for a 6th Year, and take Advanced Highers (Previously Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) as the Scottish system uses the End of February for determining admission age many students are 17 when they start University despite staying for the 6th year)
For people who wish to enter higher education after some time out of education, who do not have the normal academic qualifications required for entry may study on an Access course, which is a course designed to prepare students for higher educations, typically offering a mix of modules at level 2 (equivalent to GCSE) and level 3 (equivalent to A level), normally including maths and English, as well as other modules related to the degree programme the student wishes to undertake.
In Scotland, students who apply for a Scottish University while attending a Scottish secondary school do not need to pay for university tuition fees as it is paid for on their behalf by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Nowadays, students often take a gap year after leaving sixth form college. Many students go to work, thus the universities in the United Kingdom generally welcome this phenomenon, and as a result, universities would accept a deferred entry.
[edit] History
Education in the four countries began with church organising schooling.
In England and Wales, between the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the 19th century most schools were established by private benefactors and operated as educational charities. The state became involved in construction of schools in England and Wales in 1833, with the Elementary Education Act of 1870 setting the framework for universial education. Compulsory education was introduced in 1888 and the "Balfour" Education Act of 1902 brought most schools in England and Wales under Local Education Authority control. The "Butler" Education Act of 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. Initially schools were separated into primary school (infant schools age 5 to 7 and junior schools age 7 to 11), and secondary schools (split into more academic grammar schools and more vocational secondary modern schools). Under both Labour and Conservative governments of the 1960's and 1970's most secondary modern and grammar schools were reorganised as comprehensive schools.
In Scotland, universial education began in 1561, with state funding from the outset, a tax to fund schools in 1633 and the Education Act 1696 aiming to establish a school and a schoolmaster in every parish. Compulsory education was introduced in 1872 along with the formation of the Scotch Education Department.
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
[edit] Main Articles of different countries and systems
[edit] School inspection organizations
- Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) (England)
- Estyn (Wales)
- Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (Scotland)
- Education and Training Inspectorate (Northern Ireland)
[edit] Other UK education related articles
- Grammar schools in the United Kingdom
- Independent school (United Kingdom)
- List of schools in the United Kingdom
- School governors
- British universities
- UK topics
- Reform
[edit] External links
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