Comparison between the school system in Sweden

and Northern Ireland (Gareth Leddy & Nicola Friel)

Sweden
Children can start preschool from the age of 1 and stay there until they are 5
years old. This is government organised and considered part of the education
system.
Children move into Pre-School class at the age of 6. This is again not
compulsory but most children attend anyway. Viewed as a bridge between
pre-school and school and has its own curriculum.
Children start compulsory school at the age of 7, there are four types of
school; compulsory school, Sami school, special school, and compulsory
school for children with intellectual difficulties. Children attend these schools
until they are 15 years old.
Compulsory school can be either independent or part of a Municipality. These
schools are not allowed to charge any schools fees, they give free school
lunches, and parents pay for nothing as everything is provided for the
children (pencils, rubbers, notebooks etc.)
Special schools are set up for children who are blind or have visual
impairments.
Sami schools are schools established for children who are from Sami
backgrounds to attend. They attend from years 1-6 and then they go to
compulsory school. They use the curriculum as well as their own Sami
syllabus and can study in their mother tongue.
Compulsory school for children with learning difficulties adapt the curriculum
for each individual child and aims to give a good foundation for active
participation in society. There is a training school for pupils who cannot
benefit from specific subjects and they study aesthetic activities,
communication, motor skills and participation of reality.
Children move on to upper secondary school when they are aged 15 and they
stay there until they are 18. This is not compulsory. It helps them to prepare
for vocations and higher education consisting of 18 national programmes. To
get into these schools you must pass English, Swedish and Maths.

Northern Ireland
Children do not have to attend any form of preschool it is completely
optional. Children who do attend start at the age of 3-4. There is no
curriculum and no government input. School are run by schools and others
are independent.
Children start school at the age of 4-5 and this is compulsory. It is a very
formal setting as children wear uniform and are required to be taught from
the curriculum. It is however a play based curriculum in the early years.
Children remain in KS1 until they are 7/8 and then move into the upper end of
primary education also known as KS2.

Children are tested throughout their school career, specifically in English and
Maths at the end of the Key Stages. They also do standardised a standardised
transfer tests (although this is an area that is under constant debate and not
all children take the same test.) This test determines what type of school they
will move into for their secondary reduction. It is entirely based on
academics.
Children who are at the higher end of academia will most likely attend
Grammar schools while those at the middle to lower end will attend
secondary schools. Children do however have the opportunity to move
between the two depending on their academic progress.
In secondary education children sit three sets of public exams known as;
GCSEs, AS Levels, and A-Levels. GCSEs are compulsory while AS/A level are
voluntary and are geared to those who are more academic and wish to go to
university.
Children who leave school after GCSE (aged 16) will most likely get a job or
attend a technical college for further training into a specific profession. (This
can also be another path to university.)
Northern Ireland also has a variety of different schools; Controlled
(Protestant), Maintained (Catholic), Integrated (All religions and none), Irish
Medium (Mother Tongue), and Special schools.
Northern Ireland historically is a country with a lot of religious contention and
therefore our schooling system has been incredibly segregated. As time has
went on however this has begun to change and there is less segregation due
to the introduction of integrated education. Controlled schools are totally run
by the government and are meant to have no input from churches.
Traditionally they are attended by children from a protestant background.
Maintained schools are traditionally attended by children from a catholic
background and have a heavy influence from the Catholic Church but are
government funded schools. They add extra emphasis on religious traditions
as well as formal education.
Irish Medium schools teach the entire curriculum through the Irish language
traditionally attended by Catholics and has a religious influence.
Special schools in Northern Ireland are schools that cater for every child who
has a specific learning difficulty or a disability which prevents them from
accessing the curriculum provided in the Mainstream schools. Children
however are entitled to be educated alongside their peers if the parents wish
(DENI 2012) Some mainstream schools have special units to try and achieve
this, but overall it is not that well integrated and the majority of children with
any special needs go to special schools. The only exceptions to this would be
mild difficulties which can be managed in the mainstream.
Children in Northern Ireland must wear schools uniforms and sometimes pay
small school fees and also have to provide all their stationary Textbooks are
the only thing that is provided.
Free school meals are only available to children who come from low income
families.