UK Education System - Key Points
Public education in the UK has a history of several hundred years, and as early as the sixth century AD, Canterbury had the earliest grammar school. As time went by, private education emerged in the UK. As society developed, private education in the UK became something it was proud of. The following figure lists two different ways to get into school: public schools and private schools.
Public schools in the UK are called State Schools, or public schools for short. They are government-funded schools, including public schools and grammar schools. In most cases, students and parents do not need to pay (some grammar schools require a small amount of tuition).
A public school is a public school. A public school must be a private school (Independent Schools or Private Schools), but a private school is not necessarily a public school.
Why is a public school a public school?
The "public" in "public school" actually reflects its history: it started as a charity school serving the poor masses, which meant that they admitted students without any restrictions on religious profession or residence, but later developed into a boarding school for the powerful to educate male family members. Over time, it gradually evolved into a private boarding school with expensive tuition and only accepting boys.
The path to higher education in the British education system is generally divided into three stages:
Compulsory Education
Further Education
Higher Education
The current compulsory education stage in the UK is from 4 to 16 years old, as shown in the black part of the Age column. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) before this and the further education and higher education after this are all charged, as shown in the red part of the Age column.
01. Early basic education stage
The EYFS early basic education stage is what we often call the kindergarten stage. The children are between 0 and 5 years old. Education at this stage is charged, but children aged 3 to 5 can enjoy government subsidies and receive 38 weeks of free preschool education, 15 hours a week, each year to prepare for entering primary school.
02. Primary education
The primary education stage includes Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in the table. The more important nodes in these two stages are the two main entrance examinations:
4+ Assessment and 7+ Assessment, which are entrance examinations for children when they are 4 and 7 years old respectively.
In public schools, at the end of Key Stage 1, which is the end of Year 2, students will take exams in English, mathematics and science. The content of the test generally depends on different schools. At the end of Key Stage 2, which is the end of Year 6, all students will take National Curriculum Tests, also known as SATS (Standard Assessment Tasks).
In response to these two important nodes, K Education currently has Year 2 English tutoring courses provided by Teacher Margaret from Cambridge University, and Year 5 English classes provided by Teacher Sally who holds the British Qualifications of Teaching (QTS).
03. Secondary education
Secondary Education
This stage includes Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, which is equivalent to the secondary school stage in China. The age of students is between 11 and 15 years old. If you are studying in the public system, you do not need to take the exam. Students can go directly to the nearest secondary school. However, if you want to go to a good grammar school or what we often call a private school in the UK (public school-Independent School or Private School), you still need to take the selection exam.
During these five years of secondary school, there are two important nodes, Year 6 (11+ Assessment) and Year 8 (13+ Assessment). These are what we often call the 11+ exam and the 13+ exam. The main enrollment period for British secondary schools is concentrated in Year 6, which is the 11+ exam, and there are only a few places in Year 8. For example, St. Paul Girls’ School, the best girls’ school in the UK, requires an 11+ exam, and the competition is as fierce as the college entrance examination in China.
K Education is currently enrolling students for the 11+ Creative Writing Class. Parents are welcome to inquire! !
Teacher Gemma:
Holds the British QTS teaching qualification certificate
9 years of private tutoring
20 years of one-to-one teaching experience
Writer of children's books for children
Course highlights:
Explanation of knowledge points in detail and in combination with learning games
Learning while playing, happy learning
Reasonable and scientific homework settings
Course time:
Every Saturday UK time
17:00-18:00
In the first three years of secondary school, students will complete the teaching content of the national education outline Key Stage 3. At the end of the last year, students begin to choose GCSE subjects. After completing Key Stage 4, students will take the familiar GCSE exam (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
K Education is currently enrolling students for the spring semester of 2024. We have corresponding courses in GCSE Science, History, Business, Mathematics, Advanced Mathematics, English, English Literature, Statistics, Chinese, Spanish, French, etc.
04.A-Level
A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification that is part of the General Certificate of Education and is a school-leaving qualification offered by UK educational institutions and UK territorial education authorities to students who have completed secondary school or pre-university education. A-level allows students to apply for a university of their choice using their UCAS score. If they meet the university's requirements, they may be accepted by the university.
A-levels are usually taken over a two-year period. Students will typically take three or four A-levels in their first year of sixth form, with most students taking four reducing this to three in their second year. This is because universities usually base their admissions decisions on three A-levels, and taking a fourth will have an impact on your grades. Unlike other third-level qualifications, such as the Baccalaureate, there are no specific subject requirements for A-Levels, so students have the opportunity to take any subjects they wish. However, students usually choose their courses based on the degree they wish to study at university: most degrees require specific A-Levels as an entry requirement.
K Education will provide students with tutoring courses in A-Level Mathematics, Advanced Mathematics, English, Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Business, History, Chinese, etc. in the spring semester of 2024, and all of them can be customized one-to-one or one-to-many.
05. Continuing Education
Further Education belongs to Key Stage 5, but it is no longer compulsory education.
Further education is distinct from higher education (HE) provided by universities and other academic institutions. It can be any level of compulsory secondary education, from primary to advanced qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other competency-based vocational qualifications (including those formerly known as NVQ/SVQ) awarded through awarding bodies such as City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and OCR.
Further education colleges may also offer higher education qualifications such as HNCs, HNDs, foundation degrees or PGCEs. Colleges are also major providers of apprenticeships, with the majority of training taking place in the apprentice's workplace, supplemented by daytime training at the college.
06. Higher Education
Higher Education is the university stage that everyone is very familiar with, which is divided into undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees. The undergraduate degree in the UK is 3 years, and students usually graduate at around 21 years old. If you want to continue your studies, you can choose to apply for a postgraduate degree. Most research courses are 1 year long, and if you choose a Research Master, it will be 2 years of study, and then you usually choose to complete doctoral education. The doctoral program in the UK is 3 years.
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