Universidade de Braslia

Instituto de Letras
Departamento de Lnguas Estrangeiras e Traduo
Lnguas Estrangeiras Aplicadas ao Multilinguismo e Sociedade da Informao

The Educational System in Britain

Maria Cndida Moura

Trabalho final da materia Cultura e Instituies Britnicas, ministrada pela Prof. Dra.
Fernanda Alencar Pereira.

Braslia, 2013.

1. Introduction
Each country has its own educational system model and Great Britain does not stay away from the
patterns. Differently from the United States, for example, in Britain kids are not tested or are
evaluated according to their scholar background before entering in school. All of them are placed
according to their age group, not considering their qualifications or their school transcripts. School
is mandatory and free for kids between the ages of 5 and 16 years, they usually start school after
their fourth birthday. However, there are some pre-schools that receive kids from two and a half
years old until four years old. At these schools you may take some free lessons or pay for others
besides them.

The school year starts in September and goes until July. In Britain, the school year is divided in
three semesters, the first one starts in September and goes until Christmas, it is called the autumn
term, the second one runs from January until Easter, it is called Spring term, and the last one, the
Summer term, goes from April to July. The school year lasts about twelve weeks and has some
larger holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, which lasts around two weeks and the summer
holiday, the largest one, which lasts around six weeks.

2. School levels
2.1 Primary education
According to the National Curriculum, which sets the rules for primary and secondary education,
the kids from 4 to 11 years old must be on primary schools also called Key Stage 1, for kids from 4
to 7 years old and Key Stage 2, for kids from 7 to 11 years old. The Reception class, that is the first
year of primary school, is mandatory although no kid may fail the year, all of them are sent to the
next stage by the end of the school year. All of them take some obligatory subjects, such as English,
Science and Mathematics, there are also subjects concerning music, languages and sports. If
requested by the parents, kids are retreated from religion activities. By the end of the Key Stage 1

and Key Stage 2 they are tested on SATs exams, which are the Standard Attainment Targets and
measures their level of knowledge on the subjects studied.
All the exams and tests are given to parents on the school reports. At primary school, there is one
report per year. Nevertheless, the parents have the opportunity to discuss their childrens progress
on the Parents Evenings. The focus of those meetings is not on the students grades but on their
progress during the year. The grades are given once per year through the report card. If there are any
doubts about the childrens grade, the Head Teacher maintains a home book which is filled with
information from each child during the year by the parents and the teachers.

2.2 Secondary education

From the age of 11 until 16, kids attend secondary school, there they have subjects for all abilities
and is also divided in two Key Stages, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. They are also tested on the
SATs by the end of each stage and to measure their whole secondary school they take, with the age
of 16, the GSCE- General Certificate of Secondary Education. After that it is not mandatory to
continue studying, however many of them continues attending school to prepare themselves to
College. Those school years from 16 and 18 years old are called Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth, in
Lower Sixth they are evaluated with the AS level exams and in the Upper Sixth they are evaluated
with the A (Advanced) level exams. The A level exams are the usual way to entering University and
College, depending on the grade of the student this is the best way to start their professional
education.

Apart from other countries, children in Britain start to select their field of study in secondary school.
At this level, they select the subjects which they prefer and believe they will specialize. Still, there
are some subjects that are obligatory for all of them, such as English, Languages, ICT (Information
and Computer Technology), Music, Drama, Design & Technology, among others. Besides those
subjects, by the ages of 13-14 years old, they start to select more specific subjects which will be

studied until they achieve the GCSE stage. At the GCSE stage, they study in two years subjects
which assimilate the practical and theoretical activities. By the end of the GCSE, they go to the
advanced levels, that will led them to University, they select about three subjects related to their
intended course to study and by the end of the Sixth Form, they will be studying only one subject to
specialize in their field of study.

2.3 Higher Education

After the Sixth Form level, students are generally led to University. One of the requirements to
achieve University are the A-levels tests with grades above E, although it requires more
qualifications than those test, such as extra courses and volunteer work. To apply for the
Universities, the student must apply for a maximum of six courses or institutions by the Universities
and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). However it is no guaranteed that they will be accepted by
those institutions. The ones who do not get any offers from the institutions are led to the courses
with vacancies.

At college the students also apply to the institutions that they want. There are two types of college,
the Sixth Form, which is similar to Secondary education. At those institutions, the student may start
studying by the age of 16 and there are the Colleges of further education, which are wider than
Sixth Form education and are available only for students over 19. At college, students also have the
opportunity to request financial help according to their institution and needs.

3. Educational System
The responsible for the school is the Head Teacher, combined with a governing body that is
represented by parents, teachers and people from the local community. They care about the finance,
buildings, health, safety and curriculum of the school. In the past they used to be selected by the

Local Education Authority (LEA). In England and Wales, the law said that the school councils had
a representative body made by parents and students of the school, teachers and people appointed by
the LEA. (BORGES, 2004)1 They usually are elect and their order lasts four years. Their job is to
support school, parents and kids. The Local Education Authority (LEA) is responsible for finding a
school for each kid in the county. However, the LEA has not the power of formulate policies; those
are responsibilities of the government.

The selection of schools by the LEA is usually made according to the proximity of the school and
the house of the child. However, if the parent wants to put his child in a better school, they are able
to select it even if the school is not in the catchment area. It is important to note that schools with a
good reputation get filled up rapidly. Each school has it maximum of students allowed and there is
no way of crossing this number. If the school selected gets filled up and there are no vacancies for
the child, the LEA is responsible to find a school with vacancies for the child.

If the school selected is not public, you must contact the School Admissions Secretary, there it is
possible to get information about the school and about the admissions process. Generally, those
schools do not allocate the child before they make a test. They can only start studying at this school
if approved on this exam. This exam will also help the school to allocate the child in the right class,
differently from the public schools which place them according to age, not testing before the child
enters in the institution.

4. School Policies
Each school has its own policies; however there are some that are for everybody and must be
followed by all the students and the school body. Some of them are:

1 Translation made by the author.

Bullying and Corporal Punishment are no tolerated in any state maintained school.
Parents with child in public schools are automatically added to the Parent Teacher
Association (PTA) which helps the school to rise found, organize fairs, quiz nights and other

activities.
The children may not be videotaped during school performances. A recent law forbids
anyone who is not allowed by the Head Teacher to tape of take photograph children in

school.
Some schools have policies about the snacks. Some of them do not allow candies, sweets or
junk food. Most of them only allow healthy food such as fruits.

5. Conclusion

In sum, schools in Britain are usually maintained by the government, although there are some
particular schools that are not and may determine their own rules. To complete basic education,
each child must complete studies from Key Stage 1 to GCSE; however they may continue studying
until the Sixth Form, to raise their chances of entering in a University or College.

The schools in Britain follow the National Curriculum and must apply the SAT exams to their
students. All of the students must wear uniform and follow the rules of their school. The ones who
do not follow them will be punished by the Head Teacher. Any problem concerning the selection of
school or location of the institution must be treated by the LEA of the county.

6. Bibliography

DUNN, Lori. COLLYER, Jenny. Understanding the British School System.

BORGES, Andr. Lies de reforma da gesto educacional: Brasil, EUA e GrBretanha. So Paulo, 2004.