Knowing The British Educational System

The British School
The British School

Education is one of the most issues for all human beings. Every human being has the right to an education of the highest caliber that can be achieved.

When finding a school for our children, one of the questions that must be answered is about understanding its curriculum. The British educational system utilizes methods which have become the mainstay for school education, not only in the UK but also in many international schools around the world. What is the system and how is it implemented? The following paragraphs will provide a brief review.

The school year for the British school system is from September to late June or early July. The 10-month study period is divided into three terms, i.e. term 1 or Autumn/Fall (September – December), term 2 or Spring (January-March), and term 3 or Summer (April-July). Its half terms are usually separated with breaks in October, February, and May. At the end of term 1 and 2, students are off for 2 weeks, while at the end of the third term there is generally a break for 6-8 weeks.

Pre-school or Nursery school starts at the age of 2.5-3 years with the requirement of children being potty trained. Then, after Nursery school, children will go to the Reception (equivalent to Kindergarten) at the age of 4. Starting at age 5, students can go into Year 1.

British schools generally require students to wear uniforms that include dress/shirt, pants , colored socks and shoes; the color and its design is determined by each school. School hours usually begin around 8 am or 9 am and last until 2 pm or 3 pm.

The British system divides its grades into 4 Key stages. Key Stage 1 consists of Year 1 and 2, Key stage 2 is Year 3 through Year 6, Key Stage 3 contains Year 7 through Year 9, and Key Stage 4 includes Year 10 to Year 11. After year 11 the stage is called Sixth form or Year 12 and Year 13 or A level. SAT (Standard Attainment Targets) tests are conducted at the end of key stages 1, 2, and 3, at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, or following Year 9 for the core subjects such as English, Math, and Science.

At primary school (Year 1-Year 6) students will study Math, English, Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), ICT (Information and Computer Technology), Physical Education (PE), foreign language (French, Spanish, or Italian), History, Geography, Art, Music, Religion, and Local Cultural Studies.

Starting from Year 9, students have to prepare to enter the GCSE/General Certificate of Secondary Education (Year 10-Year 11) stage and they will select an average of 10 subjects that they are of interest to them (and they can drop other subjects). Among the 10 subjects, 3-5 subjects are compulsory (English, Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry) and subject choices are according to interests such as Foreign Language, Geography, History, Economics, Accounting, Business, Art, PE, ICT. GCSE exam materials are provided at the end of Year 11. The students who want to get into Medical or Engineering fields, for example, are required to take 3 sciences (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), otherwise if they want, they are able to take Social Studies, History, or Economics, by simply choosing 1 or 2 science courses in which they are interested. This choice is also based on the test scores of CAT (Cognitive Ability Testing) which is done during Year 6 and Year 9. This test can describe the average scores of the Verbal, Quantitative, Non-Verbal and the potential of each student toward the subject.

At the end of Year 11 or at the age of 16, the British student will follow the GCSE  exam that covers all of the subjects taken and the material learned during the last 2 years (Year 10 and 11). After GCSEs, children can leave school to attend a technical or training college. However, for students who wish to pursue an academic path to go through Year 12 and 13, called Lower and Upper Sixth Forms, Year 12 or the first year of Sixth form students will take a specialist to 5 subjects and then take the AS level test.

Students in Year 13 or the second year of Sixth form will only take 3 subjects at an advanced level and at the end of Year 13 will complete a test for A levels (Advanced Level examination) before they advance to the university.

Scroll to Top