How Does the UK Education System Work?

[Dapthar]

Would anyone here be willing to give a brief summary of how the pre-collegiate UK (and, if significantly different, the British) education system is structured?

 

Among other topics, I'm interested in the following: when (i.e. what year) students take "standardized" tests, what "A level" tests are, how classes are chosen (primarily by students, or a set schedule, or by some other means), what kind of entrance exams are required before applying to a university, what requirements one needs to satisfy to graduate from various levels, and so on. No summary would have to be formal, for this the purpose of this inquiry is simply to satisfy my curiosity.

 

Also, if anyone is interested, I would be willing to provide a similar summary of the US education system, since that is the system that I have experienced.

 

Finally, I would also be interested in hearing about any other country's educational system, especially if there are some significant differences between its structure, and that of the US.

[neo007]

I know that there are great differences between the UK and US education system, but to go through them all would take too long.

In my opinion there are 4 stages of education. The first is primary school which is for 5-11 year olds. The second is secondary school, which some require pupils to sit "11 +" exams to get into. During secondary school, all students take a key stage 3 exam, which compromises of a science paper, maths paper and english paper. Key stage 3 exams normally take place in the 3rd year of secondary school. Then at the age of 16, GCSEs take place. These are quite significant exams, as some universities take this in consideration when you apply. When i took them, which was last year, i took around 10 subjects.

Although the GCSEs are important (btw GCSE=General Certificate for Secondary Education), they are not as important as A-Levels. A-levels are split into 2 years. The first year involves sitting the papers for half the subjects. And in the second the rest of the papers are taken. By the time you are 18 most students would have completed or finishing their second year in A-level. This is probably their most important years of their life as determines what university they get into and what course they take, and therefore what job they get, etc. Most courses at university requires minimum grades for entry, for example if you would want to do medicine, you would normally need grades which are better than ABB at A-level. However these days it isn't just the grades that universities look at when students apply. Past work experience, extra curricular activities are also taken into consideration.

Well thats about it.....hope its not too long .

[J'Dona]

A few more things about A-Levels:

 

You can choose whatever A-Levels you want, although which university courses are available to you depend on which ones you get. Students who want to do a degree in, say, biochemistry, would probably want to do biology, chemistry, physics and maths A-Levels (typically four subjects are taken in the first year, called the AS-Level, and one subject is dropped in the second A2 year, though this isn't always the case).

 

Individual A-Levels are split into different modules, some of which are flexible and some of which aren't. For example, if you were to do chemistry at A-Level, you would have to do all of modules 1 through 6 as there are no others; 1 to 3 in the first year and 4 to 6 in the second (or in this case, 4 to 5 because module 6 for chemistry is coursework and a multiple-choice exam). Some A-Levels are flexible; Fruther Maths requires an additional 6 modules from the 6 in a normal A-Level, but there are many modules to choose from, so on top of a few standard ones the student may choose the extras.

 

And about universities... they don't have major or minor courses in the UK. Taking a degree in a certain subject means you only learn from material actually related to it, which makes sense. A degree in biochemistry means you spent the whole course learning about things to do with biochemistry and nothing else.

[Dapthar]

Well thats about it.....hope its not too long .

Not at all, please feel free to elaborate. I find the differences rather intriguing.

 

I have a question about your explanation, though. You wrote that

 

Most courses at university requires minimum grades for entry, for example if you would want to do medicine, you would normally need grades which are better than ABB at A-level.

So are A-level's scored on an A-F scale? Is this the only information the student will receive about their test, or is a "raw score" provided as well?

 

A few more things about A-Levels:

 

You can choose whatever A-Levels you want' date=' although which university courses are available to you depend on which ones you get.[/quote']So, in the UK, one doesn't get accepted into a university, and then gets to subsequently choose their major, they must tailor their high school curriculum to determine what their major will be, and then apply to a university?

 

Individual A-Levels are split into different modules, some of which are flexible and some of which aren't.

Forgive my ignorance, but are modules classes, or a series of smaller tests, or something else?

 

And about universities... they don't have major or minor courses in the UK. Taking a degree in a certain subject means you only learn from material actually related to it, which makes sense. A degree in biochemistry means you spent the whole course learning about things to do with biochemistry and nothing else.

So then there is no such thing as "liberal education requirements" that must be satisfied regardless of one's major?

[pulkit]

There is a huge difference between these "western" education structures and the one we have here in India.

[Dapthar]

Care to elaborate, pulkit?

[neo007]

Not at all' date=' please feel free to elaborate. I find the differences rather intriguing.

 

I have a question about your explanation, though. You wrote that

 

So are A-level's scored on an A-F scale? Is this the only information the student will receive about their test, or is a "raw score" provided as well?

[/quote']

 

A-levels are on an A-E scale(anything lower than an E is a U for unclassifiable). We do also receive a "raw score" as well, however this "raw score" is given in terms of uniform marks (in other words scaled up).

 

 

So' date=' in the UK, one doesn't get accepted into a university, and then gets to subsequently choose their major, they must tailor their high school curriculum to determine what their major will be, and then apply to a university?

[/quote']

 

yes, in the UK we are told to think about our future career very early and in my opinion this does generate a lot of pressure on individuals. To start thinking about what job you want in life when you are only 14 is ridiculous, but nonetheless this is how the education system is structured here.

 

Forgive my ignorance' date=' but are modules classes, or a series of smaller tests, or something else?

[/quote']

 

Yes, modules are a series of smaller tests. Each subjects are separated into 6 different sections (modules), which are taken over the 2 year period.

 

So then there is no such thing as "liberal education requirements" that must be satisfied regardless of one's major?

what do you mean by "liberal education requirements"?

[neo007]

And about universities... they don't have major or minor courses in the UK. Taking a degree in a certain subject means you only learn from material actually related to it' date=' which makes sense. A degree in biochemistry means you spent the whole course learning about things to do with biochemistry and nothing else.[/quote']

 

This isn't always the case, there are such things such as "intercalated" degree, where they can take 6 months or a year to study something slighty different. For example if you would take a law degree at university, in your 3rd year you could decide to spend 6 months to study on journalism or media, something related to the main degree/course.

[Dapthar]

yes, in the UK we are told to think about our future career very early and in my opinion this does generate a lot of pressure on individuals. To start thinking about what job you want in life when you are only 14 is ridiculous, but nonetheless this is how the education system is structured here.

Yeah, that sounds pretty harsh. In the US, it's fairly common for someone to not decide upon their major(s)/minor(s) until their second year of college. I wouldn't be surprised if the concept of a minor was invented so that people who spent 1-2 years in a major could still get some sort of recognition, even though they decided to change majors.

 

Also, it's fairly common for people to change majors as well.

 

Yes, modules are a series of smaller tests. Each subjects are separated into 6 different sections (modules), which are taken over the 2 year period.

So, I assume that a class is associated with each module, and that at the end of each class, the test(s) are administered?

 

Also, on a side note, are classes held year round (with intermittent breaks, of course), or does the UK follow a September - June school year?

 

what do you mean by "liberal education requirements"?

[joke]The most annoying part of my university education[/joke]. Liberal education requirements are a set of requirements that undergraduates must satisfy regardless of their major. A sample set of requirements would be:

 

1 introductory Biology course

1 introductory Physics course

1 Mathematics course (usually Calculus I)

2 Social Sciences courses (e.g. History, Political Science)

1 An Art course (e.g. Music, Painting, etc.)

 

There is usually a set of 25-30 classes available to satisfy each individual requirement. Of course, graduate students are not subject to these requirements.

[neo007]

So' date=' I assume that a class is associated with each module, and that at the end of each class, the test(s) are administered?[/quote']

well, not exactly. There are three different times when you can take modules, these are :January, June and sometimes November. The school term runs from september to July. All three modules can be taken in June, or can be taken earlier in January. The reason for taking the module early in January is so that if you don't perform well in the module you can retake in June.

When you are put in the class at the start of the A-level you normally finsih with eh same class at the end of the 2 years.

 

Also' date=' on a side note, are classes held year round ([i']with intermittent breaks, of course[/i]), or does the UK follow a September - June school year?

Its a September-July school year. we only get something like 6 weeks for summer holiday, 2 weeks for christmas, 2 weeks for easter, a week between each of these. So a tolal of 13 weeks holiday during the year. The UK also has one of the lowest number of bank holidays too, which is quite annoying.

 

[joke]The most annoying part of my university education[/joke]. Liberal education requirements are a set of requirements that undergraduates must satisfy regardless of their major. A sample set of requirements would be:

 

1 introductory Biology course

1 introductory Physics course

1 Mathematics course (usually Calculus I)

2 Social Sciences courses (e.g. History' date=' Political Science)

1 An Art course (e.g. Music, Painting, etc.)

 

There is usually a set of 25-30 classes available to satisfy each individual requirement. Of course, graduate students are not subject to these requirements.[/quote']

This depends on the course you want to take at university, and each university might have their different requirements.

[NavajoEverclear]

A-levels are on an A-E scale(anything lower than an E is a U for unclassifiable). We do also receive a "raw score" as well, however this "raw score" is given in terms of uniform marks (in other words scaled up).

 

Does unclassifiable actually mean that it doesn't get recorded? That would be pretty sweet, well of coarse it would suck to do that crappy, but if it isn't recorded, or if it doesn't count against you, at least it causes as little detriment as possible.

 

I think Fs are really stupid, in the case of them counting against the GPA, if no credit is give, i think it should just be wiped of the slate-- not nessisarily not recorded, but that it doesn't count against you. I mean you did slightly more work than nothing, but if that's all the credit you get (none) having it count against the GPA is just a pointless punishment. The GPA should only record what you DID do, not what you didn't do.

[neo007]

Does unclassifiable actually mean that it doesn't get recorded? That would be pretty sweet' date=' well of coarse it would suck to do that crappy, but if it isn't recorded, or if it doesn't count against you, at least it causes as little detriment as possible.

 

I think Fs are really stupid, in the case of them counting against the GPA, if no credit is give, i think it should just be wiped of the slate-- not nessisarily not recorded, but that it doesn't count against you. I mean you did slightly more work than nothing, but if that's all the credit you get (none) having it count against the GPA is just a pointless punishment. The GPA should only record what you DID do, not what you didn't do.[/quote']

 

Unclassifiable doesn't mean that it goes unrecorded, it means that you get a U as a grade. U is given to anything below an E

[NavajoEverclear]

thats deceptive. unclassifiable should mean unclassifiable

[pulkit]

Care to elaborate, pulkit?

 

We have regular school exams in 5 basic subjects (scince (with 3 sub papers), social science (with 4 sub papers), english, a second language and maths) plus maybe a couple more depending on your grade. This goes on till 10 th grade. In 10th you get a country wide standard paper that everyone gives and gets raw scores. THese raw scores are uswed by school to determine if you get the subject of your choice in 11th and 12th grade.

 

The majority of people take up subjects from the following set in 11th and 12th :-

1.science + computers

2.science + bio

3.science + economis

4.humanities

5.commerce + maths

6.commerce + informatics

 

You go thru 11th givin just school exams that don't count anywhere. Then there is the final all India standard 12 paper. If you wanna get into a university you would tend to try and maximize your performance here, because your scores are directly compared to variable cut-offs.

 

I myself did not take this route. I decided to go in for engineering, and professional institutes like mine have seperate entrance exams (which in my case were way touger than these standard 12th grade papers). And then for people like me there isn't any use for 12th grade papers (though I topped through all of my city ).

 

Colleges are mostly public and schools mostly private. College fees is thus in most cases highly subsidized. Given that I am in an engineering college my fee is comparitively steep but on its faced value its just 1000 USD a year.

[SurfSciGuy]

And about universities... they don't have major or minor courses in the UK. Taking a degree in a certain subject means you only learn from material actually related to it' date=' which makes sense. A degree in biochemistry means you spent the whole course learning about things to do with biochemistry and nothing else.[/quote']

 

That's not actually true, most universities offer "subsids", you can do courses (esp at the start of your studies) that are not part of your degree programme. For instance at St Andrews I studied Biochem and Philosophy in my first year, Biochem in my second year as well as Chemistry (which I studied in honours (3rd and 4th year). Higher education is moving towards providing students with the opportunity of broadening their education a bit. I actually think this is a strength of the US system, but I think their degrees should be 2 years longer so that they cover a specialist subject in more detail. The European system is a good model with a 3 + 2 system (which will eventually be adopted by the UK if they choose to follow the Bologna convention). Basically you do a very general 3 year course followed by a 2 year taught masters if you wish to specialise (i.e. if you want to be professionally recognised as a chemist you would have to have the masters as a minimum requirement). It would add effectively add a year onto the time spent at university for people who want to go on to PhD level (as most universities require at least an undergraduate Masters to secure a place in research).

[Duke]

It works?

[J'Dona]

Yeah, as neo007 already pointed out, I could have perhaps been a little clearer. However, at the end of a degree course in Europe where you've taken time to study in areas not strictly a part of your actual degree course, I don't think you end up with an official, lesser qualification (i.e. minor) as well as your main degree (major)... or at least one which matters to or is expected by employers and post-graduate professors. That being the case, a lot of university students would only concentrate on their main course, seeing as diversity into unrelated or somewhat-related subjects isn't compulsory.

[SurfSciGuy]

Yeah, as neo007 already pointed out, I could have perhaps been a little clearer. However, at the end of a degree course in Europe where you've taken time to study in areas not strictly a part of your actual degree course, I don't think you end up with an official, lesser qualification (i.e. minor) as well as your main degree (major)... or at least one which matters to or is expected by employers and post-graduate professors. That being the case, a lot of university students would only concentrate on their main course, seeing as diversity into unrelated or somewhat-related subjects isn't compulsory.

 

Well it all goes down on your transcript, which can be asked for by potential employers and other educational establishments. Most top unis have a requirement for some diversity in the study programmes to make up credits for the next stage of the degree course. I, for instance, could not have progressed to from 1st to 2nd year without taking subsidiary modules. Obviously I prioritised my chemistry modules as I needed good marks in those, but I was still exposed to teaching from other disciplines, which aided my overall intellectual development. Scientists should have a broad grasp of the philosophy and history of science and should be able to appreciate the advances made by the scientific community at large, not just in a specific subject area. I think the best way to acheive this is through creating a broader learning base within higher education whether it be through offering subsidiary courses or inclusion of other topics into the syllabus (such as ethics and the history of science). I'm glad that UK institutions are final instituting these kind of reforms on their degree programmes.

 

Oh and there is also the option of Joint Honours as well.

[J'Dona]

You know, I know nowhere near enough about the university system to make conclusions like I did, so I'd better disown them immediately. I probably should have stuck with talking about A-Levels, seeing as I know quite a bit about them (having done them for three years), and less about university (having done it for zero years), and I only felt compelled to defend myself because two people had mentioned that paragraph.

 

Anyway, I think Dapthar has heard all he needs to about A-Levels so I'll leave any more questions to you guys.