How is the educational system in the UK referred to in terms of levels and ages?

Question

In the US, there are 12 grades, 1st grade through 12th grade:

Grades 1-5 are called Elementary School

Grades 6-8 are called Middle School

Grades 9-12 are called High School

In general University level can be called "college" or just "school". To be technical you can always clarify stating "post-doctorate, post-grad, undergrad, freshman year etc.

What are the UK equivalents? I need this for an English class I'm teaching to Europeans. Some Brits have told me that the last stage of what we call High School is called college, while others tell me that each year is referred to as a "year" ie. "He's a classmate from my 5th year".

Hmm, well any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

It actually depends on the area, as some small areas do have middle schools, and once you get to sixteen, some schools have two futher years and others don't, so you have to attend a sixth form college.

Some places have separate infant and junior schools and there are varying different types of school at secondary school, depending on the area.

But basically children start primary school the September after they're four and it goes:

Reception

Year 1          

Year 2     (Up until this point is broadly categorised as the 'Infants')

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6 (Broadly categorised as Juniors)

Year 7-some schools have this included in primary school instead, or stream into a middle school for years 6-8 but it's uncommon.

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Up to this point is secondary school; most are comprehensive, meaning they cater for all abilities. Other areas you have the choice to go to a grammar school or high school, for which you usually have to pass an entrance exam, but they're not everywhere.

Year 12

Year 13

These are the years usually referred to as 'sixth form'. Many schools have their own sixth forms (which you don't always attend if you went to the lower school) but many oher areas no longer have sixth forms and instead have sixth form colleges. If someone in the uk says 'college' they usually mean a sixth form or FE (further education) college.

At eighteen is university. It's usually referred to as 'uni' and almost never as college unless you're referring to the particular college you attend which is part of your university (i.e. Kings College, Cambridge). It is never referred to as school. We find it strange American's do this. School is for children. University is not. ;-)

It is uncommon for people to do post-graduate degrees, as most degree courses (BA, BSc. etc) you go into as an undergraduate (such as medical school, dentistry etc. for which you must do a separate undergraduate degree in the US).

Answer 2

Having read throught the answers I thought you may be a little confused.

Each area (Local Education Authority) decide how to organise their schools. All children must start school in the year of their 5th birthday. Most authorities have Key Stage 1 which is 'Infants' (reception to year 3)moving at age 7 to Key Stage 2 (years 4-6)'Juniors' followed by the move at 11 to Key stage 3(years 7-9) in High school and Key stage 4(years 10&11) at 14. However some authorities operate a slightly different system where rather than a 'junior' school they have 'middle' schools where students attend from age 8 to 13 or 14 years only going to High school for their last couple of years.

Education post 16 is (at the moment) not compulsory and there are a variety of choices; some schools have a 6th form and pupils just move up in a natural progression, some schools finish at 16 so students(if they want to carry on to University) then choose either to go to a 6th form college or move to a school with a 6th form. These are still very formalised (although 6th form colleges are not so structured), students may prefer a less formal or more vocational course they may then choose a college of further education which is open to all ages and offers all kinds of course from academic to vocational.

University, as a rule starts at 18.

Confusing? You bet!

Answer 3

Here in the UK kids go to school the September after their 4th birthday. The first school year is called the reception year , then after that theres school years 1-6 in primary school and school years 7-11 in secondary/high school. On leaving high school at 16 they can then do an extra 2 years which are known as 6th form college.

Answer 4

Education in England and Wales is usually as follows:

Nursery - Primary School

Reception - Primary School

Infants - Primary School

Juniors-Primary School

Children then move onto Secondary School when they are 11yrs old and remain until they are 16yrs (there are 5 years in secondary schools) during their last year children sit their exams GCSE's.

Some secondary schools have a 6 form where children can remain in the same school to take A levels.

The main option for A levels is College.

After College they can choose to go to University to study degrees.  The length depends on the courses they choose.

When children leave reception in Primary schools they begin what we call years or forms so the first being year one and so on. The last year of primary is year 6 so they would start secondary school as year 7 and this would go up to year 11.

6th form are called 6 formers.

Private school is similar although ones I know use forms instead of years but the principal is pretty similar.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

Its up to the parent whether your child attends a playgroup or nursery. Playgroups take a child from 2 and a half, as long as they are out of nappies (diapers) and they can cost a couple of pounds for a few hours - sometimes parents go on a rota system to help.

Nursery - your child starts in the September that they are 3 - if you wish - this is not compulsory and in many areas parents will have to pay for private nurserys, they can be attached to a primary school, in which case they are free.

Reception - This is the first year that your child goes to school and its the first september after they are 4. This is in the infant department.

Infants - This takes the child through another 2 years until they are 7/8 years and are called year 1 and year 2.

Juniors - this is years 3 to 6 and the infant and juniors, making the child 11/12 years when they leave(and in most cases nursery make up the Primary school)

Secondary - Children and parents can choose their own school within a 3 mile radius. Unfortunately cities don't have your school buses and child can be on the public transport system for hours if they travel further. The school years keep counting up now, so secondary school starts with year 7 and goes up to year 11, when a child will be 16, they leave in the June to study for their summer exams.

I hope thats helpful, so basically we just count up in years and the school year represents an approx age.

6th form / college - Some secondary schools have 6th forms, or we have 6th form colleges these only take children that are 16/18 years, these can be known as year 12 and 13 in there schooling. College takes anyone from the age of 16 including mature students, college is free for students up to the age of 16.

Answer 6

5-12 is Primary school with years 1-7

Then seondary school 12-18 with years 1-6

After that it is college or university.

School leaving age is 16 so some pupils leave after year 4 in secondary and can if they wish, go to college then

Answer 7

well we have primary school which is from years 1-6 which would have kids from about 2 in nursey around to 12 in year 6. then there is secondary school/high school where it starts from year 7 to year 11, after that there is year 12/13 for people who want to stay on at 6th form. The students are from 12-16 years old from year 7-11. hope this helps =)

Answer 8

Well, its different, depending on whether you live in Scotland or England.

In Scotland, you start of at Primary 1 (P1), at the age of 5, and go up to (P7). No national tests are taken.

Then you go onto Secondary 1 (S1), normally at the age of 12. First National Tests are taken at 16, these are called Standard Grades/Int. 2 (end of S4).

Compulsory Education Stops.

If you wan't to continue futher education then you take Highers/Advanced Higher, these can be taken at school (S5-S6). Or at college, (there is no set age to go to college, however there is at school (17-18).

You then move on to University, called college in the USA.

--------------------------------------...

In England and Wales, you start of at Year 1 (age 5) and go up to Year 7. National Tests are taken SATs.

You then move onto Secondary School (Year 8), and at the same age as Standard Grades, you take the english equivalent GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education.) These are taken at the end of Year 11. (Age 16)

Standard Grades/GCSEs are both two year courses.

You have to take English, Maths, At least one science, One Modern Langage. Some schools also say you must take Computing Skills, and some Religous Education. There are also other subjects you take such as Art, Business Studies, Design and Technology, (Woodshop in USA) Geography, P.E (Gym in USA). History. It depends on school to school what options you have.

Compulsory Education stops at 16.

In England and Wales, you then go onto A-Levels (GCEs), studies at school (Years 12-13). Or at college.

You then move on to University.

You do not need to take A-Levels/Highers to go to university, (however most people take this route)

you can take a work based route, normally through the Open University, and with the help of your employer.

Answer 9

Wow, loads of answers, and most of them have something slightly different about them! Lol. So you must be a little confused. I'm a primary school teacher, so understand the school system well.

Generally in England we have:

Primary school

Secondary school

Sixth form

University

Different Local Education Authorities split up the school system in different ways. Legally your child has to start school at the age of 5. Before that it is not compulsory. However, these days most children go to nursery before this. A lot of primary or infant schools have a nursery class in them. Children start the nursery class sometime after their 3rd birthday. I have worked in one school where a child could actually start on the day of their 3rd birthday but in most it is either the beginning of the term after or the September after. (There are 3 terms; starting in January, April and September.) So if the child was 3 in November they might start in Januray. Or if they were 3 in January they would have to wait until April. However, some schools have the policy of only allowing children one full year in the nursery class, so they start in the September after their 3rd birthday. So even if the child was 3 on September 1st at some schools they would have to wait until the following September before they could start (the birthday cut off is August 31st.) Equally, if their birthday was August 31st they could start that September and be in a class with children 1 whole year older than them, bar one day. Generally it depends how popular the school is if you can get them into the nursery class before their 'nursery year.' If the school does not have a nursery class, or even if it does, there are some state nursery schools which are only for children aged 3-4. State nursery provision is free and children normally attend either each morning or each afternoon. A few LEAs still do not have nursery provision, although most do. Parents in these areas can send their children to private nurseries or playgroups. These used to have to be paid for (although playgroups were not too expensive as they are only for a couple of hours 2 or 3 times a week) but the government brought in nursery vouchers which entitle parents to a certain amount of hours of free education for 3 and 4 year olds. I'm not sure how many hourse they provide, but I know it is not the full day so parents with children in private nurseries (which children can attend from a few weeks old to 5 years and are generally used by working parents) have to pay for the extra time if they need their children to attend them for full days.

The September after a child's 4th birthday (so kids this year would have been 4 any time from 1st September 2007 to August 31st 2008) is when children begin Reception year in school. (Some still stagger the entry and may not let the youngest children in the year start until January or April, but this is very rare thses days.) Officially they don't have to start until they are 5, but hardly any parents wait until their 5th birthday. This is when children start to learn the basics of reading and writing and simple number work, but there is still a lot of play involved. At schools with nursery classes they normally stay in that school for their Reception year, but like I said some schools don't have them so Reception year is the first time at the school for some. Most LEAs either have primary schools or infant and junior schools. Infant and junior together are the same in terms of school years as a primary school. Infant is years (nursery) Reception to Year 2, and Junior is Years 3 - 6. Primary is (nursery) Reception to Year 6 all in one school. Most infant and junior schools are near each other and usually have the same name just eg. London Infant School and London Junior School. Generally children will go from the infant school into the feeder junior school. Year 6 is the final year of the primary phase and children will turn 11 sometime between 1st September and 31st August.  The primary years are split in Key Stages, and there are certain standards that children should have reached at the end of each stage. Nursery and Reception is the Foundation Stage, and teachers fill in the 'Foundation Stage Profile' to record which Early Learning Goals (such as taking turns, getting dressed, being interested in new things) children have achieved. Years 1 and 2 is Key Stage 1. Children used to take tests at the end of Key Stage 1 to see the levels they have reached in English, Maths and Science but a lot of people thought it unfair to give tests to children aged 6 and 7. Now the testing still happens but teachers are also allowed to award levels based on their own assessments not just a test. Children should achieve Level 2 at the end of Year 2. Years 3-6 are known as Key Stage 2 and English, Maths and Science tests still happen in Year 6, which again a lot of people think are unfair on 11 year olds. They should reach Level 4 at this stage. The following September they begin secondary education (here it gets a little hazy, some people refer to the schools as high schools, senior schools, or secondary schools, although I'd say secondary is the most common term for them). Secondary school starts in Year 7 (aged 11, turning 12 before following August 31st), and goes up through the years until Year 11 (15, turning 16). Compulsory education in England ends at age 16, so pupils can choose to leave school on their 16th birthday but this is quite uncommon and most stay at least until they finish Year 11. At the end of this year, in May and June, pupils sit GCSE exams in major subjects. Everyone has to do certain subjects such as English and Maths, and students can choose other subjects to study from the beginning of Year 10 up until they take GCSEs in them. Most people study 8-10 subjects for GCSE. There are Key Stages at Secondary level too. Years 7-9 is Key Stage 3 and English, Maths and Science tests are taken at the end of Year 9. Most pupils are expected to get Level 5 or 6. Year 10 and 11 are Key Stage 4 and are all about GCSEs. At the end of Year 11 pupils can leave school and go and get jobs, although most go on to some form of further education. There are a few different options, depending on what students want to ultimately do with their lives. Those that want to go to University generally go on to do A Levels. These are seen as the 'next step up' from GCSEs. Some secondary schools have a 'sixth form' in the school for students to study for A Levels. So after GCSEs they simply return to the same school after the summer break. However, a lot of schools now have got rid of these and instead there are Sixth Form Colleges which are purely for students aged 16-18. The first year is known as Lower Sixth and the second year is Upper Sixth, though i think in school based sixth forms they somethimes call them Years 12 and 13. The schools that do still have their own sixth forms are often Christian schools. Most LEAs have a few primary Roman Catholic and/or Church of England schools, and then each area has at least 1 Catholic secondary school (often there is one for boys and one for girls). Sometimes students coming from secondary schools don't want to study A Levels in large sixth form colleges and so transfer to schools with their own sixth forms for their final 2 years, although most go to 6th form college. The A Level system changed a few years ago, and I did mine under the old way where you studied for 3 or 4 subjects for 2 years and then took exams at the end. Now I believe you choose about 5 subjects (and for these years you no longer have to do English or Maths) and take exams at the end of the first year to gain AS Levels and then drop a couple of subjects and study the others to gain A (or maybe A2?) Levels. These Levels are given in Grades A-F and I believe they are introducing an A* Level too, but the grades also equal a numerical score, and this score is what Universties look at when accepting students. After A Levels students either look for a job or go to University (or some who did not get the required grades for their choice of Universtity stay an extra year at sixth form to resit the exams.) You apply to University during your final year at Sixth Form and Universities look at the Grades that were achieved in the AS Levels and the ones that are expected in the A Levels, and also interview students, before deciding whether to accept them or not. Most make a 'conditional offer' which means they state which grades (or point score) must be achieved in A Levels for the students to attend. So when the results come out in August that is a very nerve wracking time as if students have not made the required scores they have to ring the universities and ask whether they will still be accepted (some ask for a certain grade in one subject but if a student got a really high grade in a different subject they may still take them) or they have to go into 'Clearance.' Basically this is where students' scores are looked at by universities that aren't full and some of them accept students with poor grades. So they may still be able to go to University but not to the one they orginally wanted to go to. University is usually called just that, and never referred to as 'school.'

After GCSEs some students may decide they don't want another 2 years of academic study, and if they know what they want to be, such as a plumber or a hairdresser, they can do other courses which lead to qualifications in those areas. Some lead to being awarded NVQs or Btec diplomas. These courses involve some theory classes but often a lot of work based placements. Most school sixth forms don't do these, but some sixth form colleges do, and most LEAs also have a Further Education College that focuses on these kinds of courses. Some universities accept these qualifications and enrol students on degree course

Answer 10

Here children start school at 5 years old. This is called year 1 and primary school. Middle school starts at 8 years old and goes through to ten years old (year 4 through 6). Secondary school  (we call this High school) is from age 11 to age 16 (years 7 through 11). In year 11, students take GCSEs. After GCSEs students can go on to take A levels in year 12 and 13. They can take these in a school (not all secondary schools have this facility) or can go to college.

University is not referred to as "school" or "college" in this country. We call students in their first year at university "freshers", and thereafter undergraduates or postgraduates.

The different terminology from Britain and the US is very confusing. Hope this helps.

Answer 11

I'm going to talk about the education system in England and Wales because that is what I know and understand. Education in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a bit different.

Primary School:

Reception (ages 4-5)

Year 1 (ages 5-6) (Key Stage 1 begins)

Year 2 (ages 6-7)

Year 3 (ages 7-8) (Key Stage 2 begins)

Year 4 (ages 8-9)

Year 5 (ages 9-10)

Year 6 (ages 10-11) SAT exams taken at end of Y6

Secondary School:

Year 7 (ages 11-12) (Key Stage 3 begins)

Year 8 (ages 12-13)

Year 9 (ages 13-14) SAT exams taken at end of Y9

Year 10 (ages 14-15) GCSE studies begin, students drop / pick up various subjects to be examined at end of Y11

Year 11 (ages 15-16) GCSE exams taken, end of compulsory education.

At this point you can either leave education altogether, go to college (an educational facility catering exclusively for those aged 16-18), or stay on at the same school. The two years are together called 6th form, and within that they are called Y12 or Lower 6th (ages 16-17) and Y13 (ages 17 to 18). Rules are relaxed during these two years, and generally sixth formers don't have to wear uniform, and can go off site when they have no lessons etc.

During these two years, students can opt for more academic qualifications (AS and A2 levels) or more vocational qualifications (BTEC, NVQ etc.).

After 6th form comes University (always called University, or Uni, as college refers to sixth form and school refers to Reception - Y11). We never use terms such as Freshman but opt for 1st year / 2nd year / 3rd year etc. We also specialise straight away rather than having a general education and then specialising like the Americans do. This means that a degree is usually only 3 or 4 years long.

It is very, very rare (almost unheard of) for a child to be held back a year / moved forward a year.

Answer 12

4/5 to 11 years old - Years 1 to 6 - Primary School

11 to 16 years old - Year 7 to 11 - Secondary School

Compulsory Education ends when you are 16 - you can walk out of school on your 16th Birthday regardless of whether you have taken any exams.

16 to 18 years old - Years 12 and 13 - 6th Form or College.

Free education ends when you are 18.

18+ you PAY to go to University or you can go back to College and further education.