Full-time education is compulsory in the UK for all children between the ages of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) and 16, including the children of foreign nationals permanently or temporarily resident in the UK for a year or longer. No fees are payable in state schools, which are attended by over 90 per cent of pupils.
The rest attend one of the 3200 private fee-paying schools, which include American, international and foreign schools. Some 80 per cent of pupils stay on at school after the age of 16 or go on to higher education. However, for those children entering secondary education in September 2007, the new compulsory age for schooling will mean they have to either be in school or on an approved training scheme until they are 18. From 2013, full-time paid employment will be against the law for under-18’s.
Most state schools (primary and secondary) are co-educational (mixed) day schools, with the exception of a few secondary schools that accept boarders. Private schools include day and boarding schools and are mostly single-sex, although an increasing number of junior and some senior schools are co-educational. Admission to a state school for foreign children is dependent on the type and duration of the residence permit granted to their parents. Your choice of state and private schools varies considerably depending on where you live.
One of the most important decisions facing newcomers to the UK is whether to send their children to a state or private school. In some areas, state schools equal the best private schools, while in others (particularly in neglected inner city areas) they lack resources and may achieve poor results. In general, girls achieve much better results than boys and immigrant children (e.g. from Asia) often do particularly well. The UK’s education system has had a bad press in recent years and, according to many surveys, is falling behind the leading countries, particularly in mathematics (maths) and science.
There’s a dearth of vocational education and training in the UK, and general educational standards are inferior to those in many advanced industrial nations (e.g. Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan and New Zealand). In 2006, the UK was ranked 12th in reading skills, 11th in Science and 19th in Maths out of 43 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey into the quality of primary and secondary education.
Many parents prefer to send their children to a private school, often making financial sacrifices to do so. Not so many years ago, private education was the preserve of the children of the nobility and the rich, although today around half of the parents of private school pupils were themselves educated at state schools. There has been a sharp increase in the number of children attending private schools in recent years, owing to the increasing affluence of the middle classes.
There’s no legal obligation for parents in the UK to educate their children at school and they may educate them themselves or employ private tutors. Parents educating their children at home don’t require a teaching qualification, although they must satisfy the local education authority that a child is receiving full-time education appropriate for his or her age, abilities and aptitudes (they check and may test your child).
The weekly Times Educational Supplement and Scottish Education Supplement (available from newsagents) contain up-to-the-minute news and opinion about education and schools in the UK, including management, governors, research and teaching posts.
There are numerous books for parents faced with choosing a suitable state or private school, including the Daily Telegraph Schools Guide and the Good Schools Guide, both by John Clare. You can also consult an independent adviser such as Gabbitas Educational Consultants Ltd (126-130 Regent Street, London W1R 6EE, 020-7734 0161, www.gabbitas.co.uk), who can provide advice and information on any aspect of education in the UK.
There are many education-related internet sites, including Education UK (www.educationuk.org), the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/learning) and Edubase (www.edubase.gov.uk). The Department for Education and Skills (DFES) has a very comprehensive website covering learning and career queries (www.dfes-uk.gov.uk).
An invaluable organisation for overseas students is the UK Council for Overseas Student Affairs (UKCOSA, 9-17 St Alban’s Place, London N1 0NX, 020-7288 4330, www.ukcosa.org.uk), which is a registered charity established in 1968 to promote the interests and meet the needs of overseas students in the UK and those working with them as teachers, advisors or in other capacities. The British Council (which has offices in around 80 countries) provides foreign students with information concerning all aspects of education in the UK.
In addition to a detailed look at state and private education, this section also contains information about higher and further education and language schools.
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