This document generally contains data related to Education system of United kingdom.

1. United Kingdom
The term United Kingdom usually means England, Wales, Scotland and Northland Ireland.
When the term Great Britain is used it means England, Wales and Scotland.
Basic Data (1985)
Official Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Population: 56.02 million
Language Instruction: English
Literacy Rate: 99 %
Academic Year: October through July
Number of Primary Schools: 26,072(1981)
Duration of Schooling: 4+4+4.
Compulsory Schooling: 11 years (ages 5-16)
Public Expenditure on Education: 12.87 billion pounds.
Foreign Students in Country: 46,000 (1982)
Students Abroad: U.S. 4,430; Canada 2,432; France 2,162; W.Germany 1,719; Ireland 1,273;
Switzerland 336; Netherlands 263
Educational
Enrollment (1981)
Educational
Enrollment Rate (%)
(1981)
Teachers (1981)
Teacher-Pupil Ratio
Female Enrollment
Ratio ( %)
Primary
14,456,916
102%
61,432
1:24
48 %
Secondary
5,040,235
83 %
329,720
1:15
49 %
Tertiary
848,000
20.2 %
63,000 (1981)
1:13
37 %
Production of School Textbooks: Titles 1,807; Copies N.A. (1982).

2. The United Kingdom is a society of considerable complexity with a marked diversity in types of
educational programs. Part of diversity results from decentralized administrative control of
education. The functions of schooling are not under the direct jurisdiction of a central body,
such as a Ministry of Education. Rather, the aims and curricula of schools and non-formal
programs have been more directly the responsibility of local public authorities or of sponsors
and headmasters of private schools, a situation resulting from a long tradition of non-
interference by the central government in most aspects of education (Booth, 1985:5353).
Typically descriptions of education in the United Kingdom end up being descriptions of
education in England, which has 47 million of the 56 million inhabitants; Scotland has about 5
million, and the rest are divided between Wales and Northern Ireland. The following account of
education in United Kingdom will focus on England. Where appropriate, an occasional
reference will be made to one of the other countries to indicate how it deviates from the
Standard English pattern.
Educational Structure of United Kingdom:
Across the UK there are five stages of education: early years, primary, secondary,
Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). Education is compulsory for all
children between the ages of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) and 16. Further education is not
compulsory and covers non-advanced education which can be taken at further (including
tertiary) education colleges and Higher Education institutions (HEIs). The fifth stage, HE, is study
beyond GCE A levels and their equivalent which, for most full-time students, takes place in
universities and other HEIs and colleges.
The education systemin the UK is also split into “key stages” which breaks down as follows:
The table below describes the most common patterns for schooling in United Kingdom school
system in Year Groupings:

3. Early Years Education:
In England since September 2010, all three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free
nursery education for 38 weeks of the year. Early Years education takes place in a variety of
settings including state nursery schools, nursery classes and reception classes within primary
schools, as well as settings outside the state sector such as voluntary pre-schools, privately run
nurseries or child minders. In recent years there has been a major expansion of Early Years
education and childcare. The Education Act 2002 extended the National Curriculum for England
to include the Foundation Stage which was first introduced in September 2000, and covered
children’s education from the age of 3 to the end of the reception year, when children are aged
5. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) came into force in September 2008, and is a single
regulatory and quality framework for the provision of learning, development and care for
children in all registered early years settings between birth and the academic year in which they
turn 5. The EYFS Profile (EYFSP) is the statutory assessment of each child’s development and
learning achievements at the end of the academic year in which they turn 5.
In Wales, children are entitled to a free part-time place the term following a child’s third
birthday until they enter statutory education. These places can be in a maintained school or a
non-maintained setting such as a voluntary playgroup, private

4. nursery or child minder which is approved to provide education. The Foundation Phase is a
holistic developmental curriculum for 3 to 7-year-olds based on the needs of the individual
child to meet their stage of development. Statutory rollout of the Foundation Phase framework
started in September 2008 and the process was completed in the 2011/12 school year.
In Scotland, education typically starts with pre-school. Local authorities have a duty to secure a
part-time funded place for every child starting from the beginning of the school term after the
child's third birthday. Pre-school education can be provided by local authority centres, or
private and voluntary providers under a partnership arrangement. In Scotland, early years
education is called ante-pre-school education for those who are start receiving their pre-school
education in the academic year after their 3rd birthday until the end of that academic year
(note: depending on when the child turned 3 years of age, some children may only receive part
of an academic year’s worth of ante-pre-school education (e.g. 1 term), whereas other children
may receive an entire academic year of pre-school education). All children are entitled to
receive a full academic year’s worth of pre-school education in the academic year before they
are eligible to, and expected to, start primary school.
The commitment in the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government is to ‘ensure
that at least one year of pre-school education is available to every family that wants it.’ Funded
pre-school places are available in statutory nursery schools and units and in those voluntary
and private settings participating in the Pre-School Education Expansion Programme (PSEEP).
Places in the voluntary/private sector are part-time whilst, in the statutory nursery sector, both
full-time and part-time places are available. Pre-school education is designed for children in the
year immediately before they enter Primary 1. Taking into account the starting age for
compulsory education in Northern Ireland this means children are aged between 3 years 2
months and 4 years 2 months in the September in which they enter their final pre-school year.
The Programme incorporates a number of features designed to promote high quality pre-school
education provision in all settings including a curriculum which is common to all those involved
in pre-school education.
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

5. 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.
In England, public provision of secondary education in an area may consist of a combination of
different types of school, the pattern reflecting historical circumstance and the policy adopted
by the local authority. Comprehensive schools largely admit pupils without reference to ability
or aptitude and cater for all the children in a neighborhood, but in some areas they co-exist
with other types of schools, for example grammar schools. Academies, operating in England,
are publicly funded independent schools. Academies benefit from greater freedoms to help
innovate and raise standards. These include freedom from local authority control, the ability to
set their own pay and conditions for staff, freedom around the delivery of the curriculum
and the ability to change the lengths of terms and school days. The Academies Programme was
first introduced in March 2000 with the objective of replacing poorly performing schools.
Academies were established and driven by external sponsors, to achieve a transformation in
education performance. The Academies Programme was expanded through legislation in the
Academies Act 2010. This enables all maintained primary, secondary and special schools to
apply to become an Academy. The early focus is on schools rated outstanding by Ofsted and the
first of these new academies opened in September 2010. These schools do not have a sponsor
but instead are expected to work with underperforming schools to help raise standards.
In Wales, secondary schools take pupils at 11 years old until statutory school age and beyond.
Education authority secondary schools in Scotland are comprehensive in character and offer six

6. years of secondary education; however, in remote areas there are several two-year and four-
year secondary schools.
In Northern Ireland, post-primary education consists of 5 compulsory years and two further
years if students wish to remain in school to pursue post GCSE / Level 2 courses to Level 3.
Ministerial policy is that transfer should be on the basis of nonacademic criteria, however
legally post primary schools can still admit pupils based on academic performance. At the end
of this stage of education, pupils are normally entered for a range of external examinations.
Most frequently, these are GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland and Standard Grades in Scotland, although a range of other qualifications
are available. In Scotland pupils study for the National Qualifications (NQ) Standard grade (a
two-year course leading to examinations at the end of the fourth year of secondary schooling)
and NQ Higher grade, which requires at least a further year of secondary schooling. From
1999/00 additional new NQ were introduced in Scotland to allow greater flexibility and choice
in the Scottish examination system. NQ include Intermediate 1 & 2 designed primarily for
candidates in the fifth and sixth year of secondary schooling, however these are used in some
schools as an alternative to Standard Grades.
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)

7. 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 level 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. However, the Scottish systemis slightly different.
References

8. 1. Murray, R. (1990). International Comparative Education. New York: Pergamon Press.
2. Thomas, G. (1988). United Kingdom. In World Education Encyclopedia. (pp.1321-1322). New
York: Facts on File Publications.
3. Retrieved June 4, 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/219167/v
01-2012ukes.pdf
4. Retrieved June 4, 2014 from http://www.skola.amoskadan.cz/s_aj/AJpdf/aepdf/ae04.pdf