Education in Great Britain

Education in Great Britain and Wales is regulated by the 1944 Education Act, the Department of Education and Skills being the cen­tral authority established by law. Scotland and Northern Ireland have educational systems of their own basically similar to that of England and Wales, but differing considerably in detail. Education in the coun­try has been undergoing a series of major reforms since 1988, in­cluding the introduction of various forms of school curriculum; the testing and assessment of pupils’ progress and the provision of more information about school performance to parents. Education is the top priority of the Government. Policy is focused on raising standards in schools, ensuring learning targets are achieved, tackling social ex­clusion, broadening access to further and higher education and en­hancing the status and quality of the teaching profession.

The system of public education in England and Wales is organ­ized in three stages of Primary, Secondary and Further Education. The first 2 are compulsory for all children. Further education is volun­tary. So children study at school from 5 to 16–18 years old. Then they can go to work, to further education or to university.

All children and young people between the ages of 5 and 16 in England, Scotland and Wales, and 4 and 16 in Northern Ireland, must, by law, receive full-time education. Over 9.9 million children attend 33, 685 state and private schools in Britain. About 93 % receive free education financed from public funds, the rest attend fee-paying in­dependent schools. Boys and girls are taught together in most schools. In England and Wales non-selective comprehensive education caters for children of all abilities (mixed-ability comprehensive schools). Nearly all pupils in Scotland attend non-selective schools. Secondary schools are largely selective in Northern Ireland, where a small number of integrated schools have been established at primary and secondary levels with the aim of providing education for Roman Catholic and Protestant children studying together.

Most state school education in England, Scotland and Wales is provided by local government. In England and Wales a new structure of foundation, community and voluntary schools is being set up. The community category includes schools formerly owned by Local Educa­tion Authorities, while the foundation category includes many grant-maintained schools, which were outside local authority control. The voluntary category will include schools with a particular religious ethos.

Parents have a statutory right to express a preference for a school. National tables are published on the performance of all schools throughout Britain. All state schools have to give parents a written annual report on their child’s achievements. Parents are represented on school governing bodies, which appoint staff and manage school budgets. Each school is regularly inspected by independent inspectors, working to agreed national standards.

Broadly based national curricula ensure that pupils study a bal­anced range of subjects. The National Curriculum in England and Wales consists of statutory subjects for 5- to 16-year-olds. Similar arrangements exist in Northern Ireland; in Scotland, content and man­agement of the curriculum are not prescribed by statute. All state schools must provide religious education and all state secondary schools are required to provide sex education, although parents have the right to withdraw their children from these classes. All English primary schools are required to have a literacy and numeracy study hour each day.

The main school examination, the General Certificate of Secon­dary Education (GCSE), is taken in England, Wales and Northern Ire­land at around age 16. A broadly similar exam system exists in Scot­land.

All qualifications offered to pupils in state schools in England and Wales must be approved by the Government. Associated sylla­buses and assessment must comply with national guidelines.

One of the government objectives is to help young people de­velop economically relevant skills. It recognizes that school-business links can raise attainment levels and help pupils to see the relevance of what they learn at school. It supports Education–Business partner­ships and aims to bring closer links between schools and industry so that young people develop skills to help them succeed in the labour market. All young people in full-time education are entitled to ca­reers information and guidance. In England and Wales pupils can take up work experience placements at any time in their last two years of compulsory schooling. In Scotland the Education for Work pro­gramme also develops business-education links.

Students who choose to continue their studies after 16 – about two-thirds – work for academic (i.e. study for examinations which lead to higher education) or vocational qualifications which are the main standard for entry to higher education or professional training. These include the General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ), mainly taken between the ages of 16 and 18, which is designed to pro­vide a broad-based preparation for a range of occupations and higher education; the academic General Certificate of Education Advanced (A) level examination taken at the age of 18 or 19, and the Advanced Supplementary (AS) examination.