Compulsory education in the UK is able to children aged 5 to 16 years. However, kids 3-4 years old have the opportunity to go to preschool, and many of those who have reached the 16th anniversarycontinue their education at colleges and universities.
School children have a wide range of training programs – from training courses at different levels of immersion (useful knowledge and practical experience in the area where the student assumes then work) , mainly theoretical course.
In general, the entire educational system is divided into two sectors: public and private. Admission requirements, fees, curriculum, duration of the semester in schools belonging to different sectors, can have noticeable differences, but the basic structure of learning, the conditions of the examinations and the level of training of students are the same for all educational institutions.
3-4 years: early childhood education in the UK
Pre-school education in the UK has no official status. Currently, it covers about 25% of children 3 to 4 years old. Across the country, a significant number of well-equipped private and public preschools.
5-16 years: Primary and secondary education in the UK
Children 5 years old enroll in primary school where they study up to 11 years of age. Then they go to high school, which ends at age 16, passed examinations of the first level. If a student chose “academic ” (theoretical) course, he gets General Certificate of Secondary Education GCSE (in Scotland – Scottish Certificate of Education – SCE).
There are other types of qualification certificates. In private school education begins at age 7. Before this age, children attend day care at the chosen school. To 13 years, they are learning in the primary school, which is sometimes called the preparatory, and then, after successfully passing exams, come to high school. In 16 years, they pass the same examinations of the first level, as well as children attending public school.
16-18 years: Higher education in the UK
Those who wish to enter the university offered a special two-year course. In this case, after successfully passing the exam of the first level, students go on to college for high school students (6th Form College), where he studied a specific set of courses based on their own choice and requirements of the university.
At age 18 (in Scotland – 17), at the end of the course, students take exams of the second (advanced) level, the so-called “A-levels” ( “Highers ” in Scotland), and obtain a certificate of secondary education, advanced level-General Certificate of Education, GCE A-levels.
Choosing a course of training and passed the appropriate training, students take exams on professional qualifications of the second (advanced) level – GNVQ / NVQ Advanced.