Rizal Technological University

Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City

College of Education

English Department

United Kingdom’s Educational System

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject Profed 6 – The Teaching Profession

Presented by

Mendoza, Patrick B.

CED – 02 – 401A

March 19, 2018

Submitted to

Mrs. Wendylyn A. Samarita

 United Kingdom’s Educational System

The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern

Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe. England – birthplace of

Shakespeare and The Beatles – is home to the capital, London, a globally influential

centre of finance and culture. England is where you will also find the site of Neolithic

Stonehenge, Bath’s Roman spa and centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge.

UK is a unitary state governed under constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary

system, with its seat of government in a capital city of London.

And since century old universities has been mentioned, education in United

Kingdom is governed by the Ministry of Education; the ministry’s vision is to create a

highly educated society in which opportunity is more equal for children and young

people no matter what their background for family circumstances. Education is

compulsory between the ages of 5 – 16, but attending school is not compulsory

because parents have the home school option. The school year run for 39 weeks

starting from September to July, and attending students in most schools are required to

wear school uniform.

The National Curriculum is constructed in five Key Stages:

• Key Stage 1 - Foundation year and Years 1 to 2 - for pupils aged between 5 and

7 years old

• Key Stage 2 - Years 3 to 6 - for pupils aged between 8 and 11 years old

• Key Stage 3 - Years 7 to 9 - for pupils aged between 12 and 14 years old,
 • Key Stage 4 - Years 10 to 11 - for pupils aged between 15 and 16 years old, and

• Key Stage 5 - Years 12 to 13 - for pupils aged between 17 and 18 years old

The major goals of primary education are achieving basic literacy and numeracy

amongst all pupils, as well as establishing foundations in science, mathematics and

other subjects. Children in England and Northern Ireland are assessed at the end of

Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In Wales, all learners in their final year of Foundation

Phase and Key Stage 2 must be assessed through teacher assessments to identify the

status of learning amongst each student and if they will be able to push forward towards

higher education.

Primary Schools (covers Key Stage 1 and 2)

Student admitted at this starting level of primary school is at age 5 until they finish

the whole program roughly at age 11. At the classroom setting, there is only a ane

teacher policy and schools are relatively close to home.

The Major Goals of Primary education are as follow:

– achieving basic literacy and numeracy amongst all pupils,

– establishing foundations in science, mathematics and other subjects

Assessments are to done to confirm if the learners are able to pass a certain

level and if they’ll be able to push towards higher education.

– End of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (England & Northern Ireland)
 – Final Year of Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 (Wales; assessed thru

Teacher Assessments)

Secondary Schools (Key Stage 3 & 4)

Student who wishes to enter secondary school starts at age 11 and end at age

16. The parents and students may choose between public or private schools. Public

schools are categorized in three types, Comprehensive, Grammar, and Specialist

school.

Comprehensive Schools (Public)

In comprehensive schools, are co-ed school and there are no ability tests and

there are wide range of education that is being offered 88% of students are enrolled in

comprehensive school.

Grammar Schools (Public)

Grammar schools are quite different from comprehensive school, they are

selected in admitting a student, the learner should be academically oriented before

being considered and must pass the schools admission processes. Unlike

comprehensive schools that is co-ed grammar schools are normally schools for either

boys only or girls only.

Specialist Schools (Some Public)

According to internations.org, specialist schools are only focused on 1 or 2 areas

of curriculum, if a learner is gifted in mathematics and science, or if they have a special

talent for music, it makes sense to choose their secondary school according to their

area of giftedness to further their talents in that specific field of learning.

Assessments in Secondary Schools are divided into two:

 The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

A General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is a qualification normally

taken by most UK students at the end of compulsory education. It normally

take two years and you take the final exams when you’re 16. The equivalent in

Scotland is Standard Grade.

GCSEs are an important stepping stone if you want to get a job or continue

studying. Many employers and colleges ask for candidates to have at least five

GCSEs, so they will come in useful, whatever you choose to do. (Bright

Knowledge)

 The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE)

The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organizations include

small local community and voluntary groups, registered charities both large

and small, foundations, trusts and the growing number of social enterprises

and co-operatives. These are often also referred to as third sector

organizations or civil society organizations. This is a diverse in size, scope,

staffing and funding of organizations. It provides a broad range of services to

 many different client groups. However, VCSE sector organizations share

common characteristics in the social, environmental or cultural objectives

they pursue, their independence from government, and the reinvestment of

surpluses for those objectives. (The National Archive)

Higher Education

According to statistics 30% of the students between age of 18 to 19 year olds

attend higher education. It is characterized as having a Two A-levels, and a student in

order to be admitted should at least have a grade of E or above is required.

It is provided by three types of institutions:

1. Universities, colleges and institutions of higher education and art and music

colleges.

2. All universities are autonomous institutions and they determine their own

admissions policy and requirements.

3. Non-university level post-secondary studies (Technical/Vocational)

The government placed education in the

2016 Budget
middle of the budget allocation. In 2016,
150
Pensions and Health care are top 1 and 2
100
50
respectively, followed by Education and
0
Defense on the 4th spot, while welfare is

last.
Some Fun Facts about United Kingdom’s Educational System:

The observed school holidays are

 October – 1 week

 Christmas – 2 weeks

 February – 1 week

 Easter – 2 weeks

 May – 1 week

 Summer – 6 weeks

School Days are mainly composed of the following:

 School last from 9 am until 3:20 pm.

 Each lesson are taught for 1 hour and 15 minutes long.

 There is a break in the morning at 11:40 am which lasts for 20

minutes.

 At break time, students usually eat a snack.

 Lunch is at 1:15 pm until 2 pm , students stay in school and either

bring their own lunch in a lunch box or buy food from the school canteen.

Number of Students/Pupils

 Some Primary school has 500 pupils.

 In some Secondary school there are 1500 pupils

 There are an average of 30 students/pupil in a class.

The Classroom

 The teachers have their designated classroom and it’s the student

who transfers from one room to another depending on the subject.

  Depending on your level in a subject you will be placed in a

different set, for example if you are good in Spanish you will be placed

under set one, but if you are bad in English you will be in set 5.

Implementation of School Uniform

 The school uniform varies from school to school but most schools have

one.

 On certain days you can wear what you want, for example to raise

money for charity.

 It also stops children from worrying about what to wear, and teachers

believe that is makes students more disciplined.

Conclusion

The educational system implemented in United Kingdom just like other

educational systems in the world aims to produce a highly educated individual that will

be an asset in the society. They are also providing equal education ensuring that no one

is left behind especially in education no matter what the background is. Education is

free for all at the compulsory level between the age of 5 to 16 years old and that

individual differences especially in the learning ability and talents of the students are

considered because of the presence of special schools. It can never be claimed that

UK’s educational system is the best in the world but curriculum developers and

institutions can learn something out of it, they can combine the best of the UK’s

curriculum to the best concepts of other countries then and only then we can daresay

that we stand a chance of improving and uplifting the lives of everyone.

References:

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) (n.d.) Retrieved on January 20,

2018. Retrieved from https://www.brightknowledge.org/education/gcses-explained

The voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) (2011) Retrieved on

January 20, 2018. Retrieved from

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+tf_/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Organis

ationsthatworkwithDH/Workingwithstakeholders/DH_128070

Jalaludin, N. A. (2014) Presentation uk edu system policy 10 .Retrieved on January 20,

2018. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/Azreen5520/presentation-uk-edu-

system-policy-10

Samira, P. (2014) Educational System in Great Britain. Retrieved on January 20, 2018.

Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/piriyevasamira/educational-system-in-

england

Secondary Education in the UK (n.d.) Retrieved on January 31, 2018. Retrieved from

https://www.internations.org/great-britain-expats/guide/29461-family-children-

education/schools-in-the-uk-16116/secondary-education-in-the-uk-2

Tenzin, K. & Tshering, P. (2015) Education System of UK. Retrieved on January 20,

2018. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/PaSsuDiary/uk-education-system-

49302383

Vallis, S.(2013) The UK Education System. Retrieved on January 20, 2018. Retrieved

from https://www.slideshare.net/sigugi/the-uk-education-system-16114722