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1. Lecturer: Ly Thi Hoang Men, MA.
Education in the United
Kingdom

2. 1. Basic features
2. National curriculum
3. School life
4. Public exams
5. Education beyond sixteen
Content

3. 1. Basic features
• Full-time education is compulsory up to the middle teenage years.
• Academic year begins at the end of summer.
• Compulsory education is free of charge, but parents may spend
money on educating their children privately if they want to.

4. 1. Basic features
Public means private?
• Terminology about the school system can be confusing.
• State schools: funded by the government (directly or via
local authorities), provide state education.
• Independent schools: provide private education.
Confusing
Some independent
schools are known
as public schools

5. Origin???
Schools & educational
institutions existed in Britain
long before the government
began to take interest.
The government left alone the
small group of schools used
to educate the sons of
officers and senior
administrators when their
father were on overseas
postings.
At these “public schools”, the
emphasis was on “character
building” & “team spirit” rather
than academic achievement.
They were all “boarding
schools” => had a deep,
lasting influence on pupils
with the aim to prepare young
men take up higher positions
in many aspects
When finishing education,
students formed the ruling
elite, separate from the rest of
society.
The “public” name refers to
the school origins as schools
open to any public citizen who
could afford to pay the fees.
They are not funded from
public taxes.

6. 1. Basic features
• Public school also called independent school traditionally refers to
one of seven private schools given independence from direct
jurisdiction by the Public School Act 1868: Charterhouse, Eton
College, Harrow School, Rugby School, Shrewsbury School,
Westminster School, and Winchester College.
• By the 1930s, the “public school” label applied to twenty-four
schools.
• Today the term is more generally used to refer to any fee-paying
private school.

7. Eton College, established in 1440 by Henry VI, known as “The King’s
College of Our Lady of Eton besides Windsor”

8. 2. National curriculum
• In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland
- By law, all the children in England and Wales between 5 and 16
must receive a full-time education, while in Northern Ireland
children must begin at age 4.
- For children under 5, publicly-funded nurseries and pre-schools are
available for a limited number of hours each week.
- After the age of 16, students can attend sixth form colleges or other
further educational institutions.

9. 2. National curriculum
• The UK introduced the National Curriculum in 1992 and state
schools are required to adhere to it until students reach age 16.
• The Education and Skills Act of 2008 raised the compulsory age to
18, effective in 2013 for 17 year-olds and 2015 for 18 year-olds.
• Independent schools are not obliged to adhere to the National
Curriculum.

10. 2. National curriculum
• Core subjects: English (Welsh is also a core subject in
Welsh-speaking schools), mathematics, science, design and
technology, information and communication technology, history,
geography, modern foreign languages, music, art and design,
physical education, and citizenship. (compulsory courses such as
religious education)
• Northern Ireland follows a similar framework, however, schools can
develop addition curriculum elements to express their particular
ethos and meet pupils’ individual needs and circumstances.

11. 2. National curriculum
• After 5 years of secondary education, students take examinations in
a range of subjects at the level of General Certificate of Secondary
Education (GCSE).
• After taking GCSE, students may leave secondary schooling,
alternatively, they may choose continue their education at vocational
or technical colleges, or they may take a higher level of secondary
school examinations known as AS-Level after an additional year of
study.
• Follow 2 years of study, students may take an A-Level (Advanced
Level) examinations, which are required for university entrance in
the UK.

12. 2. National curriculum
• Scotland
- Has its own qualification framework that is separate from that in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- After seven years of primary education, and four years of
compulsory secondary education, students aged 15 to 16 may take
the Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE).
- The SCE is recognized throughout the UK as the equivalent to GCE
A-Levels and is usually the entry qualification for university.

13. National Curriculum

14. Key stage 1 – 2
• Is is National curriculum core subjects – 5 to 11 years old
• English, Maths, Science, Design and technology Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), History, Art and Design, Music,
Physical education
• Schools have to teach religious education
• Encourage to teach at least one modern foreign language.

15. Key stage 3
• National curriculum core subjects – 11 to 14 years old.
• English, Maths, Science, Design and technology Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), History, Geography, Art and
Design, Music, Citizenship, Physical education.
• Schools also have to provide: Career education and guidance
(during year 9) , Sex and Relationship education, Religious
education.
• Throughout Key stage 1-3 students are routinely tested in Standard
Assessment Tests (SATs).

16. Key stage 4
• GCSE level: Students have to take English, Maths, Science, IT,
citizenship and physical education.
• The GCSE is a single – subject examination set and marked by
independent examination boards.
• Students usually take up to ten GCSE examinations in different
subjects including mathematics and English language.
• After taking GCSEs, students may leave secondary schools

17. 3. School life
• At the time of writing, all children are guaranteed a free, part-time
early education place for up 2 years before reaching compulsory
school age (age of 5).
• Primary schools become the center of local communities offering:
- Conventional education
- Provide breakfast
- Child-minding facilities
- Activity clubs
- Health services

18. 3. School life
• School starts around 9 a.m., finishes between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. or a
bit later for older children.
• Includes lunch break (lasts about an hour and a quarter)
• Is a full-five day week and holiday periods are short
• Methods of teaching vary, but balance between formal lessons with
the teachers in front of the classroom and activities in which
children work in small groups with teacher supervising.
• In primary schools: children are taught by a class teacher teaching
all subjects (with T.A. help)
• At the age of 7 and 11: have to take national tests in English, Maths
and science.

23. 3. School life
• In secondary education, pupils get different teachers for different
subject and regular homework.
• The older children get, the more likely they are to be separated into
groups according to their perceived abilities.
• Some schools do not practice such “streaming” and instead teach all
subjects to “mixed ability” classes.

24. 3. School life
• School usually divide their year into three “terms”, starting at the
beginning of September.
• Additionally, all schools have a “half-term” (a half term holiday),
lasting a few days or a week in the middle of each term.
Autumn
term
Christmas
Holiday
(about 2
weeks)
Spring
term
Easter
Holiday
(about 2
weeks)
Summer
term
Summer
Holiday
(about 6
weeks)

25. 4. Public exams
• At the end of compulsory schooling, schoolchildren take exams.
• Exams are organized neither by schools nor by the government =>
called “public”.
• No unified school-leaving exam or school-leaving certificate.
• Exams are set and marked by largely independent examining boards
• Some boards offer a vast range of subjects.
• Each school or Local Education Authority (LEA) decides which
board’s exams its pupils take (except Scotland).
• Some schools even enter their pupils for the exams of one board in
some subjects, and another board in other subjects.
• Assessment: combination of coursework assignments and formal,
sit-down exams.

26. Academic exams and
qualifications
GCSE
(General
Certificate of
Secondary
Education)
- Taken by most 15-16 years old in England, Wales,
Northern Ireland.
- Marks are given for each subject separately.
- Syllabuses and methods of examination of the various
examining boards differ
- Uniform system of marks (A-G): A, B, C are regarded
as good
SCE
(Scottish
Certificate of
Education)
- Equivalent to GCSE
- Set by the Scottish Examination Board
- Grades are awarded in number, 1 is the best

27. Academic exams and
qualifications
A-Level
(Advanced
level)
- Higher-level academic exams set by the same examining
boards that set GCSE
- Taken by most people around 18 wishing to go on to
higher education
- Split into A1 and A2: A1 is worth half an A2, can stand
as a qualification by itself.
SCE
“Advanced
higher”
- The Scottish equivalent of A-levels

28. Academic exams and
qualifications
Degree - A qualification from a university
- Other qualifications obtained after secondary education are
usually called “Diploma” or “Certificate”
Bachelor’s
Degree
- General name for a 1st
degree, most commonly a BA
(Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (Bachelor of Science)
- Students are called undergraduates.
- When they have been awarded a degree, they are known as
graduates.

29. Academic exams and
qualifications
Master’s
Degree
- General name for a second (postgraduate) degree
- Most commonly MA or MSc
- At Scottish universities, these titles are used for first
degree
Doctorate - The highest academic qualification
- Usually carries the title PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
- The time taken to complete a doctorate varies, but is
generally expected to involve three years of
more-or-less full-time study.

30. 5. Education beyond sixteen
• At the age of 16, people are free to leave school if they want to.
• Fewer 16-year-olds go straight out and look for a job than they did
previously.
• Most do not find employment immediately and many take part in
training schemes involving on-the-job training combined with
part-time college courses.
• For those who stay in education and study conventional academic
subjects, there is more specialization.
• Pupils spend a whole two years studying just three or four subjects,
usually related ones
=> In preparation for taking A-level exams

31. 5. Education beyond sixteen
• The most noticeable in universities is the independence of Britain’s
education institutions:
- Make their own choices of who to accept for their courses.
- No right of entry to university for anybody.
- University normally select students on the basis of A-level results
and a few conduct interviews.
- Ss with better exam grades are more likely to be accepted.

32. 5. Education beyond sixteen
• In principle, there is nothing to stop a university accepting a student
who has no A-levels at all and conversely, a student with top grades
in several A-levels is not guaranteed a place.
• The availability of higher education increased greatly in the last
second half of the 20th century, but finding a university place is not
easy.
• The numbers who can be accepted on each course are limited =>
students at universities get a relatively high degree of personal
supervision.

33. 5. Education beyond sixteen
• The vast majority of university students complete their studies in a
very short time.
• It is only in exceptional circumstances that Ss are allowed to
“retake” years repeatedly.
• Traditionally, reason for low drop-out rate is that Ss typically live
“on campus” or in rooms nearby, and are surrounded by a university
atmosphere.
• The expansion of higher education caused this characteristics and
other traditional features to become far less typical.