Education question for UK ladies - not pregnancy related!

[AveryATL]

I have a question for you ladies in the UK.

Our education system is totally different here in the US than it is in the UK (and most other places in the world). At what age does your children in the UK start school, and how many school 'options' are there? In the US, we have elementary, middle and high school, then of course, college. It varies a bit here, but in general, the progression is as follows:

Most US kids start 'official school' at 5-6, in Kindergarten. Elementary school then is Kindergarden, plus 5 more years/grades (1st-5th grades).

Middle school is our "6th" grade (10/11 y/o) through 8th grade (13/14 y/o)

High School is 9th grade (14/15) through 12th grade (17/18 y/o).

After high school, we go to college/university for 4 more years to get a basic degree, and then can go for 2-8 more years for more advanced degrees.

In general, ALL kids go to the same elementary/middle/high school - meaning that there is no 'testing' required to place into certain schools. Schools may have different course options (advanced/regular) but they have the same opportunity to take the classes. I noticed on a thread that someone from the UK mentioned that their 11 y/o was about to start High school, so I got curious about how the educational system worked there!

 

[Siuan]

This varies depending on what part of the UK you live in! It seems to be that if you live in the South part of the UK then children go through Playschool or Nursery (though these are optional) then Primary School, Senior School (where there are two options - Comprehensive (which is mainstream) or Grammar (if you pass the 11+ test at age 11 and are proven to be of higher than average intelligence!)) followed by College (sixth form at the age of 16-18) and then University.

In some areas, and I'm not sure if this includes Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland or not, but in some areas there is a Middle School between Primary and Senior. This can vary within even a 30 mile radius. For example, there is no Middle School that I know of in my County of Essex, but 30 miles up the road in the County of Suffolk, I know that Middle School is an option!! In those areas, Senior School is often known as High School

The age at which children start school in the UK varies depending on their birthdate. Due to that some start Primary school at 4 years old, some at 5. They'll stay in Primary School until they're 11 and then move on either straight to Senior school or via the Middle School option I mentioned above! Not all the children from the same class will go to the same school. If they didn't pass (or chose not to take) the 11+ and are going to a Comprehensive then they'll be placed according to catchment area (ie, whichever is closer to their home)

At 16, currently, children have the option to leave school and go to work or to go to Sixth form for further study until they're 18 years old. Then the same option again at 18 to either go into work or go to University for a degree.

I say "at 16, currently" because the government is taking steps to make teenagers stay in some form of education until the age of 18 no matter what. This might be work based learning (doing a vocational qualification) but it still counts as education. I think the age may have already been upped to 17 for those currently in the second year of Senior School so they won't have any choice in leaving school until they're 17 whilst the children in the year above still have the choice at 16.

Confusing huh? Hope it helps?

 

[ashlee23]

hi. our system only has primary and secondary schools as the mandatory education. children start primary school at 4 years and stay there for 7 years until they are 11. they then go to high school for 5 years and leave at 16. they then have the option of choosing a college course (can be from 1-4 years) or going to 6th form to do a-levels which takes two years, doing an apprenticeship or getting a job. After college or 6th form they can then go to university if they have a good enough qualification or suitable a-levels (most ppl who go on to uni do a-levels first) and study for a degree (3-7 years) or masters degree (4-8 years).
hope this clears it up for you xxx

 

[BradysMum]

I'm from New Zealand, but have lived in England for the last nearly 5 years and am a teacher.

Often children go to Preschool/Nursery the year before they start school. If we were staying in England, Brady would be starting preschool in september, but we are waiting until we get to New Zealand, as we are moving back next year. That means he can do a year of kindergarten before he starts school.

Kids start school here the year they turn 5. The year is done from September 1st to August 31st. So for example, a child that was born September 1st 2006 will start school this September. Often the kids born after christmas start school in January too. So a child born January 1st 2007 will start school January 2012, but will be in the same school year as the September child.

This first year is called Reception. Then they have Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The final year of Primary school is the year the child turns 11, again going from Sept to Aug. They then start Secondary School at 11. They have Year 7, 8 and 9. In Year 10, they start their GCSE's, still at Secondary School. This is Year 10 and 11.

At 16 in England, a child is allowed to leave school. They can either get a job or continue to higher education. This is either continued at their Secondary School, called Post-16. This is Year 12 and 13, when the child studies for A-Levels or equivalent. You can do it at specialist Post-16 Colleges too.

After this, the child goes to University or gets a job.

 

[amica]

A few extras to add:

Not many places in England still have 'middle schools' - the areas that have had that system are tending to phase it out to be in line with the rest of the country to just have Primary school (age 4 to 11) and Secondary school (age 11-16 at the moment). As another poster said, for those in Year 8 (2nd year of secondary school) the leaving age is being raised and eventually all children will be expected to be in some form of education or training up to age 18.

Also very few areas have grammar schools now. Most authorities (the body that administers the school system in each area) only have comprehensive schools. To choose the school, the parent fills in a form in the child's last year of primary school and selects which school(s), in ranked order, they want their child to go to. This could be based on reputation, geographical area etc. The form goes to the local authority that you live in and they allocate the school places. Unfortunately not everyone gets their first choice!

Many schools are also now becoming 'academies' - opting out of local authority control by having external funding, eg from government and a business or charity.

There are also independent schools (fee-paying) usually based on selection criteria and this is usually measured by an exam and interview. These can be day-time only or boarding schools. At secondary school age they are usually for ages 11-18. Some have junior age (7/8-11) and some also have infants (4-7/8) on the same site.

There are also special schools for children with difficulties such as with learning, behaviour, or social and emotional. The number of these has been greatly reduced over the past years with the policy being that as many children as possible attend a 'mainstream' school.

Exams:
The usual path is to take GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) at the end of Year 11 (most children will be 16 by then, but some won't have had their 16th birthday when they take the exams but will be 16 shortly after). Some schools enter children earlier to take a few subjects in Year 10, even Year 9, so that the load is spread. Pupils often take around 10 subjects. There are some compulsory subjects (eg. English, maths, at least 1 science).

Those who want to stay on at school/college can take A-Levels (Advanced Levels). These are the usual entrance requirements for university. They usually take 2 years, from age 16-18. Pupils usually take 4 to 5 subjects, especially if they're aiming for university.

There's so much more but it would just get even more confusing! (I work in local authority education dept!) It's really interesting to hear the US system compared to ours.

 

[Kaede351]

Hi I used to live in the South of England, and I did Nursery/Playschool from age 3-4, then First School age 4-8. Then Middle School which was 8-11. Then Senior School which was 11-16. I left school to do college which took me from 16-18. I didn't go to university though... although University is generally between the age of 18-25. I suppose it depends on what you want to do

However, I now live in the Northeast of England and here they they have Nursery (2 1/2- 4 years), Then Primary School (4-11), then they cave the Comprehensive School (11-16). Then you can choose whether you want to go to college or do 6th Form (the only difference is that 6th form is where you stay at school, and college is... well... college)

I don't know if I explained that too well lol, but there you go!

XxX

 

[ClairAye]

I'm in Scotland, here it is

1-2 years in pre-school (3-5 years)

7 years in Primary School (4/5-11/12 years think)

4 compulsary years in Secondary School doing National 5s (I think, they were called Standard Grades when I was in school) (11/12 years-16 years old)

1 optional year at secondary school doing Highers (16-17 years old)

1 optional year at secondary school doing Advanced Highers (17-18 years old)

You can also go to college from I think 16 years and you can go to university but most require Highers at least.

 

[mamawanabe21]

My daughter went to nursery aged 2. At 3 she started Pre-school. At 4 she's started her first year (of 3) at infant school. She'll then go on to Primary school, from 7 to 10. From 11, she will go to Secondary school, until she leaves, at 17. From there she can go on to college. And after College, she can go to university.