. State Education in Britain

All state schools in Britain are free, and schools provide their pupils with books and equipment for their studies. Education is compulsory from 5-16 years. Parents can choose to send their children to a nursery school or a pre-school play group to prepare them for the start of compulsory education.

Children start primary school at 5 and continue until they are 11. Most children are taught together, boys and girls in the same class.

Until the 1960s most children took an examination at the end of primary school (the Eleven Plus): those who passed went to grammar schools while those who did not went to secondary modern schools. A few areas still select at the age of eleven, but about 90 per cent of secondary schools in Britain are now comprehensive, taking children of all abilities from their local area. Ninety per cent of secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales are co-educational.

At 16 pupils take a national exam called the General Certificate of Secondary Education (‘GCSE’) in five, ten or even fifteen subjects, and then they can leave school if they wish. This is the end of compulsory education.

Some 16-year-olds continue their studies in the sixth form at school or at a sixth form college. The sixth form prepares pupils for a national exam called ‘A’ level (Advanced Level) at 18. You need ‘A’ levels in two or three subjects to enter a university.

Other 16-year-olds choose to go to a college of further education to study for more practical (vocational) diplomas relating to the world of work, such as hairdressing, typing or mechanics.

Universities and colleges of higher education accept students with ‘A’ levels from 18. Students study for a degree which takes on average three years of full-time study. Most students graduate at 21 or 22 and are given their degree at a special graduation ceremony.