This document provides an overview of the education system in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. It discusses the following key points: - Education is overseen by different government departments in each country and local authorities make most decisions. - Children attend primary and secondary school, with standardized testing at ages 11 and 16. Students may then attend sixth form college or university. - Schools include state, private, faith, and academy schools. Students typically study core subjects like English, maths, and sciences plus other foundations subjects. - Exams include GCSEs at 16, A-Levels at 18, and university entrance is through the UCAS application system requiring personal statements and references. Student loans

2. Notes
• This presentation focuses on England with some
reference to Scotland and Northern Ireland
• LEAs (Local Education Authorities) which are
mentioned in your handouts are now called LAs
(Local Authorities)

3. • 1870: The Education Act
• Prior to this all schools were charitable or private
• The 1902 Education Act allowed local authorities
to create secondary schools
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

4. EDUCATION
GOVERNMENT
3 government departments:
England & Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
LEA: Local Education
Authority:
Takes most of the decisions.

5. The Academic Year (Schools)
• Begins at the end of summer (September)
• October half-term (1 week)
• Christmas holidays (2 weeks)
• February half-term (1 week)
• Easter holidays (2 weeks)
• May half-term
• Summer holidays (Start in July) and last
approx. 6 weeks

6. Types of School
• State schools
• Grammar (Selective)
• Comprehensive (Open to all)
• Private (Sometimes public)
• Boarding (Residential)
• Academies (2000)
• Faith schools
• Single sex schools

7. Public vs. Private
• Not all private schools are public
• Public schools tend to be older, more
expensive and more prestigious and
generally educate children between the
ages of 13 & 18.
• They are generally boarding schools but
most now admit day pupils

8. Academies
• Academies are publicly-funded independent schools
that provide a first-class education.
• Academies benefit from greater freedoms such as:
• freedom from local authority control
• the ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff
• freedoms around the delivery of the curriculum
• the ability to change the lengths of terms and school
days.
• Some academies, generally those set up to replace
underperforming schools, will have a sponsor. Sponsors
come from a wide range of backgrounds including
successful schools, businesses, universities, charities and
faith bodies.

9. School Age
• Full-time education is compulsory for all children
aged between 5 and 17 (and up to 18 from
2015)
• The National Curriculum defines four Key
Stages:
• Early Years (Nursery)
• Key Stage 1: Years 1 and 2 (up to age 7)
• Key Stage 2: Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (age 7 to 11)
• Key Stage 3: Years 7, 8 and 9 (age 11 to 14)
• Key Stage 4: Years 10 and 11 (age 14 to 16)

11. The National Curriculum
• The National Curriculum consists of a set of core and
foundation subjects.
• The core subjects are:
• English, maths & science
• The foundation subjects are:
• Design & technology, information & communication
technology (ICT), history, geography, art & design, music,
physical education, modern foreign languages (KS3 only)
and citizenship (KS3 & 4 only).
• Religious education is taught according to agreed local
syllabus.

12. But please note…
• The term “National Curriculum” refers to England
& Wales only.
• In Northern Ireland there is a common
• curriculum, and in Scotland the nearest
equivalent is the 5-14 programme

13. SATs
• Standard Assessment Tests are given at the end
of years 2 & 6
• In year 9 (aged 14) students must take teacher
set tests which assess their progress

14. Secondary School
• Most state schools do not require an exam
to enter
• An optional entrance exam known as the
11-plus may be taken in some counties to
gain access to certain grammar schools
• Other schools may choose to set their own
in-house exam used to select their pupils

15. The School Day
• Starts around 9 o’clock
• Finishes between 3 and 4 o’clock
• Almost everybody eats lunch at school (school
dinners or a packed lunch)
• In secondary schools, pupils change classrooms
and each classroom is generally specifically
equipped for the subject it houses

16. OFSTED
• Office for Standards in Education
• Carries out school inspections to ensure quality
• Produces publically available reports

17. Exams
• General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSEs) usually taken at the age of 16 (8-12
subjects)
• GCSEs are not actually compulsory but the
majority of students take them before leaving
school
• These exams are not set by the government but
by various examination boards (AQA, Edexcel,
OCR etc.)

18. Exams
• EBAC (English Baccalaureate) is not a standalone
qualification in itself but a performance indicator
measuring the percentage of students in a school
who achieve grades A*-C in English, maths, two
sciences, a foreign language and history or
geography.
• BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council)
is a vocational exam for untraditional, less
academic subjects
• National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) are work
based awards (SVQ in Scotland)

19. Sixth-Form
• The Sixth-Form (Years 12 & 13) is further education
which bridges the gap between school and
university. Many schools have their own sixth-forms
but there are also separate sixth-form colleges
• Students usually study 3-4 subjects (5 in exceptional
circumstances) which tend to be related and
connected to the subject they intend to pursue at
university level
• At the end of the course, Sixth-form students take
Advanced Levels (A-Levels)

20. Applying to University
• Students apply to university using UCAS which requires them to
write a personal statement outlining why they wish to study
their chosen course* and what skills and qualities they possess
which make them a desirable addition to the institute. A
person may apply up to 5 universities.
• A reference must also be provided by a third party, usually a
teacher
• Some courses (particularly competitive ones e.g. medicine)
require the candidate to attend an interview and may require
additional such as work experience or evidence of a long-
standing interest in the chosen field
• Successful candidates are typically given a conditional offer
which states they will be admitted provided they achieve a
certain set of results in their exams
Carrera = Course

21. The Application Process
• Registration
• Personal details
• Additional information (UK applicants only)
• Student finance
• Choices
• Education
• Employment
• Personal statement
• Reference
• View all details
• Declaration
• Pay and send

22. Oxbridge
• Oxbridge is the collective name used to refer to
the universities of Cambridge & Oxford
• Applicants still apply through UCAS but additional
requirements may be necessary (essays, a
separate application form, interviews)
• The deadline for applying is earlier than for most
other universities

23. • With one exception, all universities are state
funded but English & Welsh students must pay
annual tuition fees of up to £9,000
• This was recently raised from £3,375
• Scottish students studying in Scotland are not
required to pay for their education
Universities

24. Maximum annual
tuition fees for 2013 entry
£9, 000 = Approx. $63, 000 (pesos)

25. How can we afford it?
• Student Loans which cover the entire cost of the
course and which students do not have to pay
back until they are earning a certain amount
• Maintenance Loans which help towards living
costs, equipment etc.
• Grants for students from low income backgrounds

26. Learning for its own sake
• “But what’s your actual degree?!
• “Learning for its own sake, rather than for any
particular practical purpose, has traditionally
been given a comparatively high value in
Britain.”

27. Universities
• Many students move to different cities to study
• Most undergraduate courses in England last 3
years (some, such as Languages, last 4)
• A PGCE is a Postgraduate Certificate in
Education and is the qualification required to
become a teacher (in England, Wales & Northern
Ireland)
• It is taken after an undergraduate degree and
may last 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time)

28. Terminology
• Uni: short for university
• College is an American term and is not a
synonym of university in Britain
• Fresher: a first year student
• Halls (of residence): specialist student
accommodation, generally similar to flats & often
with communal kitchens, bathrooms & lounges
• Freshers Fair: an event which takes place during
the introductory week (often called freshers
week) which provides freebies, information and
the ability to join clubs (known as societies)
• Undergraduate: first level of university study
• Postgraduate: degrees taken after an UG degree

29. Open University
• Distance learning
• Established in 1969 (First students 1971)
• The Open University's mission is to be open to
people, places, methods and ideas.
• Students’ previous academic achievements are
generally not taken into account for entry

30. Some TV programmes which show…
• School life:
Waterloo Road
The Inbetweeners
Skins
• University Life
Campus
Fresh Meat