UK EDUCATION

1
UK EDUCATION

• By Andria Payne
• Jordan Vandenberg
• Michael Farb

2
Option 1- Compulsory Education

• Primary School (Stage 1)
• Entry Age 5
• Exit Age 11
• Secondary School (Stage 2)
• Entry Age 11
• Exit Age 16

3
Option 2 Compulsory Education

• Primary School (Stage 1)
• Entry Age 5
• Exit Age 8
• Middle School (Stage 2)
• Entry Age 8
• Exit Age 13
• Secondary School (Stage 3)
• Entry Age 13
• Exit Age 16

4
Testing
Due to the Education Reform Act of 1988, four key
stages to education were established. Key Stage
1 5-7 years old Key Stage 2 7-11 years
old Key Stage 3 11-14 years old Key Stage 4
14-16 years old
5
Testing (continued)
At the end of each key stage, students must take
a national curriculum exam. These tests are
important because they assess the progress of the
pupils and are necessary when attempting to
advance to the next stage of education. These
exams are similar to the STAR exams we take each
year. During the fourth key stage, students are
assessed through the levels of achievement
aquired by the General Certificate of Secondary
Education (GCSE). After students complete the
GCSEs, they have the option of continuiing
school with further education, going off to
college, or becoming employed.
6
Testing (continued)
The International Baccalaureate (IB Exam) The IB
is a two-year program leading to the IB diploma,
which is recognized and accepted by universities
in the UK and worldwide. It is available in some
40 schools and colleges in the UK, both state and
independent, and in some 930 schools and colleges
in 105 countries. The IB can be an attractive
alternative to A levels for academically able
students who seek a broader and more challenging
program of study. It incorporates languages,
mathematics, arts, sciences, and creative
subjects.
7
Private vs. Public School
The English usage of the term "public school" is
in direct opposition to what any foreign English
speaker would expect. In countries such as
Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, the United
States and Canada, a "public school" is the
equivalent of an English "state school", while an
independent, fee-charging school is called a
"private school". This is also the generic name
for all fee-paying schools for children in
England and Wales, although rarely used for those
which categorise themselves as public schools.
Preparatory schools (historically also known as
"private schools", as they were usually privately
owned by the headmaster) take children from the
age of eight (or younger) and prepare them for
their entrance exams to public schools. The
term "public" (first adopted by Eton College)
refers to the fact that the school is open to the
paying public, as opposed to a religious school,
which was open only to members of a certain
church. It also distinguished it from a private
education at home (usually only practical for the
very wealthy who could afford tutors).
8
Further Education
After Secondary School and the completion of the
GCSEs, students have the option of bypassing
college and entering specialized schools
equivalent to the United States trade schools.
These schools include but are not limited to -
culinary school - fashion school - massage
therapy - computer programming - acting
school - beauty/cosmetology - interior
design - dental assistant
Beauty/Cosmetology School
9
College/University
The top three universities of the UK consist of
Oxford, Cambridge, and Sheffield.
Oxford
Cambridge
Sheffield
Cambridge was a center of the new learning of the
Renaissance and of the theology of the
Reformation.It has faculties of classics,
divinity, English, architecture and history of
art, Oriental studies, music, economics and
politics, history, law, education,earth sciences
and geography, mathematics, biology, archaeology
and anthropology, physics and chemistry, and
medicine. There are also departments of land
economy, and the history and philosophy of
science as well as a computer laboratory.
University guides confirm Sheffields position as
one of the UK's leading universities. The Virgin
2005 Alternative Guide to British Universities,
for instance, says that Sheffield is a top
university across the board.Teaching quality
assessments rate their teaching very highly
across a wide range of subjects, and official
research assessments confirm its reputation as a
centre for world-class research in many
disciplines.
Oxford University is the oldest English speaking
university in the world and is able to trace its
origins back over at least nine centuries. During
that time, Oxford has educated individuals who
have gone on to excel in every sphere, including
40 Nobel prize-winners and 25 British Prime
Ministers. Today, the University comprises a
federation of more than 40 fiercely independent
colleges and halls, with more than 16,000
students from 130 countries in residence.
10
Issues Page 1
New Quotas for Universities are promised to not
be imposed on universities for poor students. The
government is trying to bridge the gap between
grants that can be given to students of 2,700
pounds and the typical fee of 3,000 pounds. The
point of this is to make sure that students with
limited parental income are not discouraged from
applying for courses they are qualified for, and
in turn Universities would have access to more
talent. Liberal Democrats on the other hand
want to get rid of tuition fees and raise extra
money through taxes to pay for college. Parents
and teachers have also been concerned that
students who go to private schools are at a
disadvantage to those who attend a public school,
however a report has concluded that leading
universities are not biased. The problem is that
the amount of applications have risen and thus it
is harder to be accepted.
11
Issues Page 2
A new system implaced by the British Government
for admissions to private schools has turned into
a disaster. The system was implaced to make the
admissions process easier for parents to inrole
their kids in the top primary and secondary
schools in the area. However, the new system
requires parents to rank their top schools as
first options and the other schools as a back-ups
schools. This has caused problems because if
students do not get into their top choices, the
back-up schools are not accepting students who
rate their school as a second tier program. This
leads some students to have no option other than
to go to the local schools that are lower ranked.
The sytstem was made to increase admissions for
students from lower class backgrounds to good
schools and instead has led to fewer students
applying to schools.
12
Issues Page 3
The Tomlinson report, a major school report in
the UK proposed the biggest shake-up of
secondary schooling in UK history over this last
week. It called for fewer exams but, at advanced
levels, the exams would have tougher questions to
test the brightest students. One of the main aims
of this proposal is to reduce the burden of exams
currently faced by Englands teenagers- often
described as the most tested in the world. The
homework that the students in UK currently
complete would be drastically reduced because it
is often prone to cheating. Due to this decrease
in tests, there would be extended projects to
allow students to develop and demonstrate a
greater depth of knowledge. Although there will
be less testing, these new questions will be more
challenging to those of higher ability levels.
13
THE END