Types of secondary schools
EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE UK
Education system in the UK is divided into four main parts:
compulsory education:
1) primary education (Years 1-6);
2) secondary education (Years 7-11);
elective education
3) further education (Sixth Form College);
4) higher education (college or university).
Schooling for children is compulsory from age 5 to 16, though children under 5 may attend nursery schools or day nurseries. Education within the maintained school system usually comprises two stages – primary and secondary education. Once a student finishes secondary education he/she has the option to extend into further education. UK students planning to go to college or university must complete further education.
To ensure that all schools could be standardised so all children went from Year 1 to Year 11 in the same way and at the same time, with the same curriculum the National Curriculum was designed. The curriculum consists of a range of subjects. There is a minimum mandatory core of English, mathematics, combined science, physical education, religious education, and sex education, with short courses in technology (including Information Technology) and a modern foreign language. This gives schools the freedom to teach a greater range of academic or vocational subjects, such as Greek and Latin, additional modern languages (French, German, Spanish, etc.), performing or creative arts, history and geography, the three separate sciences, etc. Schools are also expected to teach Personal and Social Education (PSE), which includes Citizenship. Religious education is available in all schools although parents have the right to withdraw their children from such classes.
Primary education
Primary schools consist mainly of infant schools for children aged 5 to 7, junior schools for those aged 7 to 11, and sometimes combined junior and infant schools for both age groups.
Primary students pass from years one to six without examinations, though their abilities are tested at age seven. The emphasis is on learning by discovery rather than memorisation. Students learn core subjects such as English, math and science, as well as foundation subjects such as history, geography, music, art and physical education. Infant schools are largely informal; there is an emphasis on children sharing and enjoying stories, communication through role play and other games and activities, and emergent writing e.g. making shopping lists, writing prescriptions etc. In junior schools, teaching is often more formal; children there usually have set periods of statutory subjects.
In their last year of primary education, till recently, most schoolchildren had to sit for the eleven-plus examination*. Today it is generally used as an entrance test to a specific group of secondary schools, rather than a blanket exam for all pupils, and is taken voluntarily.
Secondary education
According to the National Curriculum, the statutory subjects that all pupils must study at this stage are art and design, citizenship, design and technology, English, geography, history, information and communication technology, mathematics, modern foreign languages, music, physical education and science. The teaching of careers education, sex education and religious education is also statutory.
Types of secondary schools
In UK two types of secondary education can be distinguished – selective and non-selective (comprehensive).
Within the non-selective (comprehensive) system, at the age of 11 children may go directly to a secondary comprehensive school.
Secondary comprehensive schools are state schools for children from the age of 11 to at least 16 that do not select children on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. In the United Kingdom comprehensive schools were introduced in the late 1940s to the early 1970s. Some 90% of British pupils are educated at comprehensive schools.
Since this school teaches a comprehensive range of subjects across the academic and vocational spectrum it is commonly understood that the school will need to be of a large size and to take children from a wide ability range.
Within the selective system pupils may choose between grammar schools, technical schools and secondary modern schools.
Grammar schools are secondary schools attended by pupils aged 11 to 18 to which entry is controlled by means of an academically selective process which sometimes consists of a written examination (the eleven plus). Grammar schools give pupils a very high level of academic instruction. After leaving a grammar school, as with any other secondary school, a student may go into further education.
Secondary technical schools. These were a type of secondary schools in the United Kingdom that existed in the mid-20th century. Their aim was to teach mechanical, scientific and engineering skills to serve industry and science. For various reasons few were ever built, and their main interest is on a theoretical level.
Technical schools were a modest success, given their limited resources and lack of government attention. Their curriculum was well shaped for dealing with real world employment, and had a solid practical edge. The schools had good links with industry and commerce. Nowadays there are just a few technical schools in England and Wales.
Secondary modern schools were formed in the UK after World War II and are intended for children who would be going into a trade and thus concentrate on the basics plus practical skills (cooking, woodwork, metalwork, etc.)*.