Public Education System in the U.K.
The public education system in the UK is one of the most established, venerated and admired systems in the world. Education in the UK is divided into four phases: early years, primary education, secondary education and tertiary education. Each phase has its own distinct characteristics in terms of curriculum, the roles of teachers and the assessment of students.
Early years,compulsory schooling begins at the age of five in the UK with education for three to five year olds being voluntary. The Education Act of 2002 defines nursery education as all activities which are conducted for the purpose of promoting childrens learning and development. Education in this phase is heavily focused on play-based learning, allowing children to develop important social and self-help skills as well as beginning to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills.
At the primary level, education is compulsory for all children aged between five and sixteen in the UK. In primary school, known as elementary school in other countries, children will work towards obtaining a ‘key stage’ of their respective National Curriculum qualification. Key stage 1 is for 5 to 7 year olds, Key Stage 2 for 7 to 11 year olds, Key Stage 3 for 11 to 14 year olds and Key Stage 4 for 14 to 16 year olds. In addition to the core curriculum, students in the UK have the opportunity to take part in extra-curricular activities with a number of areas such as sport, music, art and drama available.
Secondary school education is also compulsory for allUK students between the ages of eleven and sixteen. At this stage, the focus is on preparing students for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations which are taken at the end of year eleven. As well as academic subjects such as Maths, English and Science, a range of other subjects including physical education, drama and design are offered to give students a broad education.
Tertiary education, also known as higher education, is not compulsory in the UK. After completing their GCSEs, students can choose to go onto further or university-level education, apprenticeships or the world of work. At this stage a range of different qualifications are available, with the most popular being A-levels, BTEC qualifications and diplomas. Higher education courses can take between one and four years to complete, depending on the subject chosen.
Overall, the UK public education system has developed over the years and is regarded as one of the most respected and advanced in the world. With compulsory education from early years to secondary school, as well as a variety of higher education courses available, UK students have an immense amount of options to continue their education.