Education in the United Kingdom

Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having
separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England, and the Scottish
Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for Scotland,[1] Wales[2] and
Northern Ireland, respectively.
Education in England
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills. Local authorities (LAs) take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a
regional level.
The education system is divided into nursery (ages 34), primary education (ages 411), secondary education (ages 11
18) and tertiary education (ages 18+).
All maintained schools in England are required to follow the National Curriculum, which is made up of twelve subjects.
The core subjectsEnglish, Mathematics and Scienceare compulsory for all students aged 5 to 16. A range of other
subjects, known as foundation subjects, are compulsory at one or more Key Stages: Art & Design, Citizenship, Design
& Technology, Geography, History, Information & Communication Technology, Modern Foreign Languages, Music,
Physical Education
In addition, other subjects with a non-statutory programme of study in the National Curriculum are also taught,
including Religious education, Sex education and Career education and Work-related learning in Key Stages 3 and 4.
Religious education within community schools may be withdrawn for individual pupils with parental consent. Similarly,
parents of children in community schools may choose to opt their child out of some or all sex education lessons.
Almost all state-funded schools in England are maintained schools, which receive their funding from local authorities,
and are required to follow the National Curriculum.
Since 1998, there have been 4 main types of maintained school in England:

community schools in which the local authority employs the schools' staff, owns the schools' lands and
buildings, and has primary responsibility for admissions.

voluntary controlled schools, which are almost always church schools, with the lands and buildings often owned
by a charitable foundation. However, the local authority employs the schools' staff and has primary
responsibility for admissions.

voluntary aided schools, linked to a variety of organisations. They can be faith schools (often the Church of
England or the Roman Catholic Church), or non-denominational schools, such as those linked to London Livery
Companies. The charitable foundation contributes towards the capital costs of the school, and appoints a
majority of the school governors. The governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for
admissions.[20]
foundation schools, in which the governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for
admissions. School land and buildings are owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation.
English secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, except in a few areas that retain a form of the previous selective
system (the Tripartite System), with students selected for grammar school by the eleven plus exam.
Private Schools
Approximately 7% of schoolchildren in England attend privately run independent schools, commonly called "private
schools", whilst private sixth forms are attended by around 18% of students. Independent schools do not have to follow
the National Curriculum, and their teachers are not required or regulated by law to have official teaching qualifications.
Education at independent schools is usually chargeable. Such schools, some of which are boarding schools, cover
primary and/or secondary education and charge between 2,500 and 30,000 per year.[25] Some schools offer
scholarships for those with particular skills or aptitudes, or bursaries to allow students from less financially well-off
families to attend.
FURTHER EDUCATION ----It is post-compulsory education (in addition to that received at secondary school). A
distinction is usually made between FE and higher education ("HE") which is education at a higher level than
secondary school, usually provided in distinct institutions such as universities. FE in the United Kingdom
therefore includes education for people over 16, usually excluding universities. It is primarily taught in FE
colleges.

HIGHER EDUCATION
Students normally enter university from age 18 onwards, and study for an academic degree. The typical first degree
offered at English universities is the bachelor's degree, and usually lasts for three years. Many institutions now
offer an undergraduate master's degree as a first degree, which typically lasts for four years. During a first
degree students are known as undergraduates.
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION
Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which might be a:
Master's degree (typically taken in one year, though research-based master's degrees may last for two)
Doctorate (typically taken in three years)
Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the state, and so admissions are highly competitive.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------DEBATE
What are State or Private schools?
In the United Kingdom, State schools provide education free of charge to pupils. This is generally restricted to primary
and secondary educational levels. They are funded from the public sector such as the local education authority or central
government.
Private, independent or public schools are not administered by local or national government and retain the right to select
their student body. They are funded either by raising their own funds independently or by charging their students fees
(restricted to primary and secondary educational levels).
The facts
There are three types of State schools, which are organised differently:
Schools funded by private donors and businesses.
Schools under control of local authorities, and run according to their policies .
Schools run on a more individual basis and under the control of their governors.
According to Government Statistics and the Independent Schools Council:
8% of all children are in Private schools, whilst the remaining 92% study in State schools.
There are over 511,000 children nationwide in Independent (private) schools.
The average annual fee for a child to attend Private school is 10,000 and it costs an average of 18,828 per
year for a boarding (private) school.
More than half of all students in Private schools come out with A or A* GCSE grades.
38% of all children getting three As or better at A-level are from Private schools.
Your thoughts
Here's how some Student Life message board users felt about State and Private schools:
"State schools are better because you can experience life better and are not narrow minded."
"Private schools give you a better start in life. I wish my parents could afford for me to go private."
"Private school is amazing if you get the change but to tell you the truth, I think state is better, just because I
have been to a Private school. When you go to a Private school and stay there you do get a very high opinion on
yourself not because you are stuck up but more because of the influence around you."
What's the difference?
Some families choose the state system because they can't afford to go private, whilst other families consider sending
their children to independent schools due to prestige and tradition. Private schools are expensive, but so are houses near
good public-funded schools. Maintained (state) schools might stand you a better chance of entering University, but
standards in Preparatory (secondary level private) schools are higher. Some Parents consider Private schools to be better
because they have smaller classes, teach their kids in a more refined manner and get good results .
State schools require parents to live in the catchment area, giving their children a high probability of getting them into a
first-class State school, and a lots of parents spend a fortune on extra tuition classes.