Education System in the United Kingdom - Coursework Example

Education in the United Kingdom (UK) By Mohammed Al Ruwaily Introduction Education has been part of the human society evolving since ancient civilization to formal education in today’s world. Education has been used to nurture intellects and enable individuals to be self reliant by being employed based on the skills learnt at school. Different countries have different organized system of education. The UK, comprising of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, has its own education system too. This assignment will talk about the education system in the UK based on the public schools, the existing education system in terms of primary secondary and higher education. Additionally, it will explore the various types of assessments including SATS, GCSE, A Levels, AS among others (Gillard, 2011). In British understanding, a public school is usually a school that is financed by other bodies apart from the state. The schools are usually historic and associated with prestige. Public schools do not necessarily restrict their admissions. Admissions are regulated naturally by affordability and they usually charge high school fees. This definition is confusing since in most parts of the world, the definition describes a private school. Surprisingly, in the British education system, state funded or government run schools are called state schools. These schools are called public since they are open to willing public who are capable of paying for them (Ministry of Education 2003) Different from other parts of the universe, free education in UK has its own education system something that makes it unique. Free education system in UK is compulsory to every child and every child as per the law is required to get educated till they attain the age of 16. The Unique aspect is that Education is compulsory but school is not and therefore children are not required to attend school since they could get education at home (Statham, 1989). Apart from education being compulsory, it’s also free to children aged between 5 and 16 and it’s provided by states schools, independents schools as well homeschooling. In this case, 94 per cent of pupils in UK receive free education which is mostly funded by public while the 6 percent attends self-governing free paying schools or homeschooling (EDUCATION in ENGLAND n.d.) Education Systems in the UK The education systems in the four nations are structured independently by each of the governments even though they look more or less the same. There are two systems governing the UK countries. One system is used by England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while the other system is used by Scotland Gillard (2011). Traditionally, the education system used by Wales, England and Northern Ireland emphasizes on the depth of education. The other Scotland system puts more stress on the breadth of education. Under these education systems, the Scottish system involves students sitting a high number of less advanced testing in examination. The other English system subscribes to just a few but more advanced testing in examinations. Primary education This education is considered as the basic of all other levels. This occurs in the first years of childhood. In British curricular, this education is attended by children between the ages of 4-7 years. The children stay in school until they complete it and proceed to secondary level. The kids remain under the care of a single teacher throughout the period occasionally being assisted by special music and physical education teachers (Russell, 2000). Looking specifically at the individual countries, Primary education in England and Wales begin admissions in September 1st, this date therefore means that the kids must be of a certain age in order to commence school. In these two states, primary school begins with infant/primary school to accommodate reception school (4-5) years, year 1(5-6) years and year 2 (6-7) years. In England, the latter is called KS1 under which the national curriculum test is administered. From year 2, primary education continues with junior/primary school. Under this, there is year 3, 4, 5, and 6. At year 6 (10-11) years, eleven plus exams are administered in some parts of England or key stage 2 national curriculum tests that determine the procession to secondary level(Gillard ,2011). In Scotland, the September 1st rule and age applies before joining primary schools. Unlike England and Wales, primary education begins with nursery school (3-5) years before joining proper primary school. The stages here are called primary 1, primary 2 to primary 7, spanning from primary1, (4-6) years to (10-12) years at primary 7. The system in Northern Ireland differs from the rest of the UK including different school holidays sessions. Primary education begins straight at primary 1, (4-5) years to primary 7 (10-11) years. At primary 7, the eleven plus exams is administered before proceeding to secondary level Hodder & Stoughton (1995). Secondary Educations Secondary education follows the primary education and is followed by post-secondary education. This level of education serves as a preparatory basis for higher education or vocational training. Under the secondary school level, there are elementary schools which are basically secondary schools attended by teenagers between (11-18) years. According to British Culture, British Customs and British Traditions (n.d), under these schools, admission is selective based on a written examination called the eleven plus. An elementary school finisher joins a college or a university. Today, there is a mixture of modern comprehensive schools and the old grammar schools. Even with this mixture, the population opposed to selective education still thinks the comprehensive system is not fair and has become a political subject even though it still runs (ministry of education, 2007). Specifically, in Wales and England, secondary education is divided into middle school high/secondary school and upper school/secondary. The middle school has year 7 attending old first from (11-12) years to year 9 in old third form (13-14) years(British Culture, British Customs and British Traditionsn.d). At old third form, students sit for key stage 3 national curriculum test called Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). The upper school has year 10, old fourth form (14-15) years and year 11, old fifth form (15-16) years. At old fifth form, candidates sit for old O-level or modern GSCE examination Hodder & Stoughton (1995). In most cases, age ranges indicates the youngest age for a child commencing that particular year and the oldest age for a child exiting that year In Northern Ireland secondary education consists of two levels, high school/grammar school and high school/grammar school/Sixth Form College. The former ranges from first form (11-12) years to fifth form (15-16) years. At fifth form, students sit for O-level or modern GSCE examination according to British Culture, British Customs and British Traditions (n.d). At the sixth form college, there are two levels. Lower sixth (16-17) years sitting the AS-Level examination and the upper sixth (17-18) years attending A-Levels. The sixth form college is also practiced by England and Wales (Ministry of Education 2007) Further Education This type of education is not well defined and depends on the individual states. In England, North Ireland and Wales it is classified under secondary education comprising of sixth form college education. In Scotland it’s classified under secondary education comprising of fifth and sixth years. Higher education This education is offered by universities and other degree awarding institutions like colleges (Ministry of Education, 2003).It includes undergraduate and post graduate otherwise called tertiary and quaternary respectively. This education is different from the other forms of post secondary education like the vocational education. There are three degrees; bachelor, master’s and doctoral in preceding order. Admission into a research degree requires a professor sponsorship (Ministry of Education 2003). A master’s admission requires an undergraduate degree. Different Types of Assessments The UK countries have different assessments administered at different levels. These assessments differ though there is a way of equating them to ensure students transferring to other countries are not disadvantaged. SATS They are also called Standard Assessment Tasks. These assessments are administered yearly to determine progress to the next year of study. They are also called national tests by the governments and serve as core or foundation subjects of the education curriculum. They are done by all children in Local authority/comprehensive schools in England, Northern Ireland and Wales(British Culture, British Customs and British Traditions,n.d) GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education is a qualification mainly done by adults (14–16) years. It is availed in a variety of academic and applied disciplines as well as shot courses equated to half of a GCSE. They are placed at levels 1 and 2 on the National Qualification Framework. AS and A levels AS level and A (Advanced) certifications puts more emphasis on the traditional skills. They can be taken on part time basis and normally completed in two years. AS levels certifications can be used as qualifications for higher education. In Scotland, students usually sit for Higher(s) and Advanced Higher(s) (Russell, 2000). Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND) Theseare certificates that are work-related and form part of the higher education qualifications. HNCs can be completed full time in a year. HNDs can only be done over two years on part time basis (Ministry of Education 2007). International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an internationally recognized diploma administered to students (16-19) years. It requires a depth academic profile with studies in arts, languages, science, history among others (Russell, 2000). Diplomas Diplomas are qualifications mainly for (14-19) years. They offer a more practical curriculum needed by universities and colleges. Five different subjects have been added under this diploma since 2008. Additional five subjects have been added annually till 2011 to make a total of seventeen subjects currently,Gillard (2011). In concluding, most of the curriculum in the UK has been evolving over the years. Politics and legal policies continue to shape the curriculum and making it more meaningful and fair across the populations. The countries have been borrowing from each other and improving each other’s systems. The sovereignty of the individual countries has also been an instrumental factor in ensuring that they make independent policies governing their own structured education system. The fact that the different qualifications can be equated across the UK makes it more easy and appropriate to accommodate the students who cross the borders both within UK and beyond. This cooperation must therefore be upheld to improve the system even more. Bibliography British Culture, British Customs and British Traditions (n.d) available at http://www.learnenglish.de/culture/educationculture.htm#public: Acessed March 7, 2013 EDUCATION in ENGLAND. (n.d.). Woodlands Junior School, Tonbridge, Kent UK. Retrieved March 25, 2013, from http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/education.html Gillard., D. (2011)Education in England: a brief history.Available atwww.educationengland.org.uk/history: Acessed March 22, 2013 Ministry of Advanced Education. (2003). An accountability framework for British Columbia's public post-secondary education system.Victoria, B.C. Ministry of Education. (2007). Working together for literacy British Columbia's literacy action plan.Victoria, B.C.: ReadNowBC, Joseph, Russell. Stress free teaching: a practical guide to tackling stress in teaching, lecturing and tutoring. London: Kogan Page, 2000. Print. Mackinnon, Donald, June Statham, and Margaret Hales. Education in the UK: facts & figures. London: Hodder & Stoughton in association with the Open University, 1995. Print. Statham, J., & MacKinnon, D. (1989). The education fact file: a handbook of education information in the UK. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Read More