Education in the United Kingdom

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Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments. The UK Government is responsible for Education in England with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills leading, though the day to day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of Local Education Authorities. The Scottish Government is responsible for Education in Scotland with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning leading. The Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for Education in Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive responsible for education in Northern Ireland with the Minister for Education, currently Caitríona Ruane (Sinn Féin), leading[1] though responsibility at a local level is administered by five Education and Library Boards.

In each country, education, though not school attendance, is mandatory and attendance at primary and secondary is nearly universal. Though most pupils are educated in state schools, there is also an important private sector. Similarly, most universities in the United Kingdom are state funded, though there is one private university in England - the University of Buckingham - where students are required to pay all the costs without state support.

For details of education in each country, see:

For comparisons between the systems, see below.

Contents

[edit] Comparisons between systems

[edit] School curriculum

State schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland follow a National Curriculum, brought in by the Education Reform Act 1988, though Independent schools are exempted. In Wales, all pupils must learn Welsh, mainly taught as a second language, though Welsh Medium schools teach much of the National Curriculum in Welsh.

Scotland does not have a set national curriculum though Learning and Teaching Scotland issues guidelines and advice that schools are expected to follow, the most recent being detailed in the publication 'A Curriculum for Excellence'.[2]

[edit] Operations

In England, children attend secondary education from the age of eleven, going to a comprehensive school, grammar school or an independent (fee-paying) school. Some local authorities operate a three-tier system, where children leave primary school aged 9 to go on to a middle school until the age of 13. All of these types of schools may be single sex or co-educational, however the vast majority of comprehensive schools are co-educational. School hours generally fall between 0830 hours and 1600 hours, though schools are free to 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). Some local authorities have a 'six-term year', numbering each half term one to six. Independent schools usually have a longer school day, sometimes including Saturday mornings, and longer holidays in compensation.

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 [3] 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' holiday 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] School stages

In England and Wales, education, usually at primary school, is compulsory from age 5 and children commonly enter Reception Class in the academic year in which they will reach their 5th birthday, with remaining years called Year 1, Year 2, etc, up to Year 6. Pupils sit Key Stage 1 S.A.T.s at the end of the Infant School (ages 4-7), Key Stage 2 S.A.T.s at the end of Year 6 and Key Stage 3 exams at the age of 14. In most local authorities, pupils move from primary to secondary school at age 11 where they can also study vocational subjects such as hairdressing and beauty, construction, woodwork and travel and tourism. Independent schools, and some grammar schools may offer subjects such as Greek and Latin. All pupils between the age of fourteen and sixteen in England and Wales sit the General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. Pupils who do the General Certificate of Secondary Education must study English, Mathematics and Science, as well as a number of optional subjects. Students automatically progress to the next level of year, even where exams are failed. However, gifted and talented pupils can be entered for exams early, often in subjects like Mathematics or where pupils speak GCSE Course Languages. This can enable pupils to take additional GCSEs when entering Key Stage Four. Other subjects which are often taken early include Humanities[4] and Classics. Pupils of any age may choose to attend the Further Education Colleges to further their post-secondary school education. Pupils 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.

In Scotland, 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. 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 through 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. 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] Teaching unions

The main teaching unions in England and Wales are the National Union of Teachers, NASUWT and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. The main teaching unions in Scotland are the Educational Institute of Scotland and the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association.

[edit] University education

Students who attend universities in England usually do a three year course to earn a bachelor's degree, whether it is an ordinary degree or an honours degree. There are also sandwich courses which offer work placement whereby student work for a short period of time in a relevant industry before completing their studies. Taking a sandwich course may make the degree last a year longer than otherwise. English universities specialise subjects throughout the entire degree. 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 pass (below third class). In many universities ordinary degrees are often confined to vocational courses such as medicine and dentistry, or awarded when a student has not passed enough modules to be awarded the honours degree.

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). 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Devolved Government - Ministers and their departments northernireland.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2008
  2. ^ Teachers schooled on curriculum BBC News, 2 April 2009
  3. ^ A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century www.scotland.gov.uk, accessed August 4, 2008
  4. ^ Teaching humanities in Y9

[edit] See also

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