Primary education in the UK lasts for six years from ages 5-11. Children attend either an infant school from ages 5-7 or a junior school until age 11. After primary education, children take exams in core subjects and advance to secondary school, where they study both compulsory and optional subjects. Higher education in the UK typically begins at age 18 and involves three or four years of study at a university, polytechnic, or college of higher education, of which there are about 80 in Great Britain.