Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each country having a separate
education system.
Education
in England is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for
Education, though the day-to-day administration and funding of state schools
is the responsibility of local authorities.Universally free
of charge state education was introduced piecemeal between 1870 and 1944, with
education becoming compulsory for all 5 to 14 year-olds in 1921.Education is now
mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The
majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small
proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. State schools
which are allowed to select pupils according to intelligence and academic
ability can achieve comparable results to the most selective private schools:
out of the top ten performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 two were
state-run grammar
schools. Despite a fall in actual numbers the proportion of children in
England attending private schools has risen to over 7%.Over half of
students at the leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended state
schools.The universities of England include some of
the top universities in the world; the University of Cambridge, University College London, the
University of Oxford and Imperial College London are all ranked
in the global top 10 in the 2010 QS World University Rankings, with
Cambridge ranked first.[ Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) rated pupils in England
7th in the world for maths and 6th for science. The results put England's pupils
ahead of other European countries, including Germany and the Scandinavian countries
Education in
Scotland is the responsibility of the Cabinet
Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, with day-to-day
administration and funding of state schools the responsibility of Local
Authorities. Two non-departmental public bodies have key
roles in Scottish education: the Scottish Qualifications
Authority is responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and
certification of qualifications other than degrees which are delivered at
secondary schools, post-secondary colleges of further education and other centres;and Learning and Teaching Scotland provides advice, resources and staff development to the education community to
promote curriculum development and create a culture of innovation, ambition and
excellence.] Scotland first
legislated for compulsory education in 1496The proportion
of children in Scotland attending private schools is just over 4%, although it
has been rising slowly in recent years.[] Scottish
students who attend Scottish universities pay neither tuition
fees nor graduate endowment charges, as fees were abolished in 2001 and the
graduate endowment scheme was abolished in 2008.
Education in Northern Ireland is
the responsibility of the Minister of
Education and the Minister for Employment and
Learning, although responsibility at a local level is administered by five
education and library boards covering different geographical areas. The Council for
the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) is the body responsible
for advising the government on what should be taught
in Northern Ireland's schools, monitoring standards and awarding
qualifications.The Welsh Government has
responsibility for education in Wales. A significant number of
Welsh students are taught either wholly or largely in the Welsh language; lessons
in Welsh are compulsory for all until the age of 16.There are plans
to increase the provision of Welsh-medium schools as part of the policy of
creating a fully bilingual Wales.
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities (LAs) take
responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state
schools at a regional level.
The education system is divided into nursery (ages 3–4), primary education (ages 4–11), secondary education (ages 11–18) and tertiary education (ages 18+).
Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16,
with a child beginning primary education during the school year he or she turns
5Students may then
continue their secondary studies for a further two years (sixth form), leading most typically to A-level qualifications, although other qualifications and courses exist, including Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications, the International Baccalaureate (IB)
and the Cambridge
Pre-U. The leaving age for compulsory education was raised to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008.
The change will take effect in 2013 for 16-year-olds and 2015 for
17-year-olds State-provided schooling and sixth form education is paid for by taxes. England
also has a tradition of independent schooling, but parents may
choose to educate their children by any suitable means.
Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor's degree. Postgraduate degrees
include master's degrees, either taught or by research, and the doctorate, a research degree that
usually takes at least three years. Universities require a Royal Charter in order to
issue degrees, and all but one are financed by the state via tuition fees, which
are increasing in size for both home and European Union students.
Primary and secondary
education
The school year begins on 1 September (or 1 August if a term starts in
August).ducation is
compulsory for all children from their fifth birthday to the last Friday in June
of the school year in which they turn 16.This will be raised, in 2013, to the year in which they turn 17 and, in 2015, to
their 18th birthday.
State-funded school
system
State-run schools and colleges are financed through national taxation, and take pupils free of charge between the ages
of 3 and 18. The schools may levy charges for activities such as swimming,
theatre visits and field trips, provided the charges are voluntary, thus
ensuring that those who cannot afford to pay are allowed to participate in such
events. Approximately 93% of English schoolchildren attend such 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.
There is also a small number of state-funded
boarding schools, which typically charge for board but not tuition. However,
the charges are often substantial. For example, Wymondham College charged £8,100
per annum in 2010.
Nearly 90% of state-funded secondary schools are specialist schools, receiving extra funding
to develop one or more subjects in which the school specialises.
School years
The table below describes the most common patterns for schooling in the state
sector in England. In most cases progression from one year group to another is
based purely on chronological age, although it is possible in some circumstances
for a student to repeat or skip a year. Repetition may be due to a lack of
attendance, for example from a long illness, and especially in Years requiring
standard tests. A child significantly more advanced than their classmates may be
forwarded one or more years.In the vast majority of cases, pupils progress from primary to secondary
levels at age 11; in some areas either or both of the primary and secondary
levels are further subdivided. A few areas have three-tier education systems with an
intermediate middle level from age 9 to 13.
While the term Sixth Form is still widely used to describe years 12
and 13 of the schooling system, the terms Upper Sixth and Lower
Sixth, as well as First Year through Fifth Year, have fallen
out of common usage. That said it is not unusual to find schools, especially
independent schools, that still refer to years 7 to 13 in this way.
State-funded nursery education is available from the age of 3, and may be
full-time or part-time, though this is not compulsory. If registered with a
state school, attendance is compulsory beginning with the term following the
child's fifth birthday. Children can be enrolled in the reception year in
September of that school year, thus beginning school at age 4 or 4.5. Unless the
student chooses to stay within the education system, compulsory school
attendance ends on the last Friday in June during the academic year in which a
student attains the age of 16.
Under the National
Curriculum, all pupils undergo National Curriculum Tests (NCTs,
commonly still referred to by their previous name of Standard Attainment Tests,
or SATs) towards the ends of Key Stage 2 in the core subjects of Literacy, Numeracy and Science, but not in the foundation subjects such as Geography, History and Information
& Communication Technology where individual teacher assessment is used
instead. Pupils normally take GCSE exams in the
last two years of Key Stage 4, but may also choose to work towards the
attainment of alternative qualifications, such as the GNVQ. Former tests at the end of Key Stage 3
were abandoned after the 2008 tests, where severe problems emerged concerning
the marking procedures. Now at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 3, progress
is examined via individual teacher assessment against the National Curriculum
Attainment Targets for all subjects. Test results for schools are published, and
are an important measure of their performance.
Years 12 and 13 are often referred to as "lower sixth form" and "upper sixth
form" respectively, reflecting their distinct, voluntary nature as the A-level years.
While most secondary schools enter their pupils for A-levels, some state schools
have joined the independent sector in offering the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge Pre-U qualifications instead. Some independent schools still refer to Years 7 to 11 as
"first form" to "fifth form", reflecting earlier usage. Historically, this arose
from the system in public schools, where all forms were divided
into Lower, Upper, and sometimes Middle sections. Year 7 is equivalent to "Upper
Third Form", Year 8 would have been known as "Lower Fourth", and so on. Some
independent schools still employ this method of labelling Year groups.
Curriculum
Main article: National
Curriculum (England, Wales and Northern Ireland )
All maintained schools in England are required to follow the National
Curriculum, which is made up of twelve subjects.The
core subjects—English, Mathematics and Science—are compulsory for all students aged 5 to 16. A
range of other subjects, known as foundation subjects, are compulsory at
one or more Key Stages:
- Art & Design
- Citizenship
- Design & Technology
- Geography
- History
- Information
& Communication Technology
- Modern Foreign
Languages
- Music
- Physical Education
In addition, other subjects with a non-statutory programme of study in the
National Curriculum are also taught, including Religious education in all Key Stages, Sex education from Key
Stage 2, and Career education and Work-related learning in Key Stages 3 and
4.] Religious education within community schools may be withdrawn for individual
pupils with parental consent. Similarly, parents of children in community
schools may choose to opt their child out of some or all sex education lessons.
School governance
Almost all state-funded schools in England are maintained schools, which
receive their funding from local authorities, and are required to follow
the National Curriculum. In such schools, all teachers are employed under the
nationally agreed School Teachers' Pay
and Conditions Document.
Since 1998, there have been 4 main types of maintained school in England:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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, and
appoints a majority of the school governors. The governing body employs
the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions.
- 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.
There are also a smaller number of City Technology Colleges and, which are secondary schools
funded and monitored directly by the Department for Education. Academies can also
accept funding from private sources such as individuals or companies. The
current government is greatly expanding the academy scheme by encouraging many
schools to convert to Academy status.
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.
Secondary schools by
intake
English secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, except in a few areas that
retain a form of the previous selective system (the Tripartite System),
with students selected for grammar school by the eleven plus exam.
There are also a number of isolated fully selective grammar schools, and a few
dozen partially selective
schools. Specialist schools may also select up to 10% of their intake for
aptitude in the specialism, though relatively few of them have taken up this
option. The intake of comprehensive schools can vary widely, especially in urban
areas with several local schools.
Sir Peter Newsam, Chief
Schools Adjudicator 1999–2002, has argued that English schools can be divided
into 8 types (with some overlap), based on the ability range of their
intake:
- "super-selective": almost all of the intake from the top 10%. These are the
few highly selective grammar schools that dominate school performance tables.
- "selective": almost all of the intake from the top 25%. These include
grammar schools in areas where the Tripartite system survives.
- "comprehensive (plus)": admit children of all abilities, but concentrated in
the top 50%. These include partially selective schools and a few high-status faith schools in areas
without selection.
- comprehensive: intake with an ability distribution matching the population.
These schools are most common in rural areas and small towns with no nearby
selection, but a few occur in urban areas.
- "comprehensive (minus)": admit children of all abilities, but with few in
the top 25%. These include comprehensive schools with nearby selective schools
"skimming" the intake.
- secondary modern: hardly any of the intake in
the top 25%, but an even distribution of the rest. These include non-selective
schools in areas where the Tripartite system survives.
- "secondary modern (minus)": no pupils in the top 25% and 10–15% in the next
25%. These schools are most common in urban areas where alternatives of types
1–5 are available.
- "sub-secondary modern": intake heavily weighted toward the low end of the
ability range.
This ranking is reflected in performance tables, and thus the schools'
attractiveness to parents. Thus, although schools may use the phrase
'comprehensive' in their prospectus or name, the schools at the higher end of
the spectrum are not comprehensive in intake. Indeed, the variation in the
social groupings in school intake, and the differences in academic performance,
are enormous
Higher education
Students normally enter university from age 18 onwards, and study for an academic degree.
Historically, all undergraduate education outside the private University of Buckingham and BPP
University College was largely state-financed, with a small contribution from top-up fees,
however fees of up to £9,000 per annum will be charged from October 2012. There
is a distinct hierarchy among universities, with the Russell Group containing most of the country's
more prestigious, research-led and research-focused universities. 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. Unlike most degrees, the state still has control over teacher training courses, and uses its Ofsted inspectors
to maintain standards.
The typical first degree offered at English
universities is the bachelor's degree, and usually lasts for
three years. Many institutions now offer an undergraduate master's degree as a
first degree, which typically lasts for four years. During a first degree
students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between undergraduate and traditional postgraduate master's degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former)
makes taking an undergraduate master's degree as a first degree a more
attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate master's degrees means
that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear.
Some universities offer a vocationally based foundation degree, typically two years in
length for those students who hope to continue on to a first degree but wish to
remain in employment.
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