Americans React to British vs American Education Systems
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Reacting To My Roots
P.O. Box 439
Jasper, Indiana 47547
USA
In this video we react to the American vs British education systems. From uniforms to terminology the British education system is vastly different than what we experienced in school. Public school is considered private? High school is college? What are some of the other unique aspects about education in the UK?
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Im glad we have the uniform system in the UK. There is no need to worry about what to wear every day, no competition between kids for expensive clothes ect everyone looks equal.
...except everyone doesn't look equal because the kids or parents adapt the uniform by wearing better quality shirts, tying the tie in different ways, shortening the skirts, tailoring the blazer, or wearing fashionable shoes. There will always be leaders and followers :-)
@@robertwatford7425 Wasn't my experience, and I went to a state school that was in a very deprived council estate area. My children also go to state school and thankfully in a better area that I went to. The only thing nowadays days with children is who has the latest IPhone..I wish those damned things get banned in school.
I was a perv when i was at school so I was also glad pmsl
Even the kids can see the difference between who's got the brand new jumpers/cardigans and who's got handmedowns, or whose parents bought the pinafores from John Lewis and who got their from Tesco or Primark. Same with shoes, my child had solid shoes from Dr Martens in primary and you could see the difference in quality between those and the cheap ones from ShoeZone. In secondary, again you can tell where the skirts, trousers and shoes come from.
And school bags. You were nothing unless you had a Smiggle rucksack in years 2-4 and after that it had to be a Hype. In secondary they all carry Adidas, Nike etc rucksacks.
But admittedly, it's not as bad as my secondary school days without uniform because if we wore jeans, they had to be Levis etc.
I wonder if this depends on how variable the area is? I went to a mostly very deprived school (most kids with free school meals, 50% unemployment at one point, very very high drug addiction rates) - but in a small town, so the handful of rich kids or as I know know, lower middle class kidswere there too. The differences in uniform were noticeable and everyone knew the status of others based on tiny things (keyrings, hair accessories, brand of black trousers, brand of polo shirt, shoes, jackets) and people were mocked for worn uniforms. It was very competitive, having the wrong skirt (had to be from a certain shop to be cool) was a big deal, and good forbid you had Tesco trainers. Maybe if we'd all been poor/all been rich that would be less true!
The fact he did this video with classic British sarcasm is awesome
I prefer deadpan sarcasm to smarmy, smart-arse sarcasm. If I see this guy pop up in a reaction video I have to think twice before watching because he annoys the hell out of me! 😁
@@carltaylor6452 me too, he really is a pain in the arse.
@@carltaylor6452 very well put and I agree, he's a 🔔 end 🤣
@@webbsfan1 👍😂
It is not sarcasm, it is facetiousness, which is less biting. But even so it was still unnecessary.
You should definitely check out Evan Edinger's videos on education in the UK. He compares curriculums, exams, and differences between the US and UK and he chats with UK friends and researches the subject. He even tries doing a UK GCSE maths exam.
This! I love Evan!
Evan does only videos comparing the UK to his home state of New Jersey, not all 50 US states.
@@marydavis5234 As Lawrence said, you just can't do that. You cannot compare all 50 states to all 4 countries of the UK. One can only compare what they know and what they've time for. The differences would take days to talk about
That's cool! I'm sure we will. We were definitely hoping this one mentioned more about the curriculum.
@@reactingtomyrootsEvan's videos on US v UK education are excellent.
Love how Lindsey totally gets the British sense of humour in this video, she and I were giggling at the same little asides from the 'Across the pond' man.
school uniforms are a good thing- it prevents fashion bullying. You have to supply your own clothes. A typical school will have a fairly generic school uniform which is easy to supply- such as black trousers, shoes, white shirt - then school specific items such as school tie (available at school but also local clothing shops), blazer, jumper/sweatshirt and P.E kit.
Of course, school uniforms are common around the world, from Japan & China to S Africa and New Zealand. My grandsons live and attend schools in Australia, Canada, and Kenya. All of them have school uniform.
I've been in both environments and have to counterintuitively report the fashion bullying was worse in the uniform school. Bags and shoes and coats etc are more focused on when they are all you have. And the poorer kids with less and cheaper sets become obvious quickly.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDada costly school bag is still a lot cheaper than expensive shoes
Totally agree with a uniform along as it is not to rigid. It stops bullying
An American here that went to school in the US and UK, uniforms are brilliant. Cheaper and less bullying
The insane thing for me is that you said you were nearly 6 when you went to kindergarten (or reception in the UK) but at that age many of us in the UK had been in school for at least 2 years and sat our first exams at age 7 😄
In the US , you have to be 5 before August 20th, before you can start Kindergarten, the school I went to did not have kindergarten ,until I was in the 3rd grade.
@@marydavis5234 Ahh interesting. Here in the UK children legally don’t have to attend school until the 31 December, 31 March, or 31 August following their 5th birthday, but most kids will go to nursery age 3 and then start school age 4.
thats my hypothesis as to why young Americans seem to be very childish
@@seandonohue6793 American school start the Monday after Labor Day,
@@marydavis5234 I have no idea when that is 😂
Many schools offer 'pre-worn' uniforms - where I live it's encouraged. So uniforms at the end of term are handed into school and these are then sold at a discounted price.
All the schools my kids went to had 2nd hand uniform schemes. The clothes looked like new and it saved a fortune.
My daughters old school has recently started doing that to help families who are less fortunate
When my father died during my first six weeks of Grammar school, it left an unimaginable strain on my mother to afford any uniform additions or replacements. The school had a dept which one could only describe as the "hand me down " uniform dept.. This saved my mother a lot of money and enabled me to carry on my education. French, Spanish, German were my other languages used by myself whilst working across Europe. It also generated my adult interest in foundations of the English language which I still love to research ......... from 11 years old passing the 11+ until now at 73 years old.
We have a shop in our town, where everyone takes in their old baby things, kids clothes, toys, uniforms etc and swaps them for ones that fit, it works well. 😊
Love that concept!
High schools are bigger than primary schools.
High school is 11-18, but at 16, after GCSEs you start "6th form" where you do A-Levels. 6th form is usually a separate building/area on the school ground, many high schools have kept uniforms for A-Level students now.
You can leave high school at 16 and go to college for different qualifications. Obviously our college isn't university.
This depends heavily on where you're based in the country. Where I live there aren't any 6th forms, only colleges, who provide a levels and other qualifications.
You do the same qualifications at college and 6th form
I went to school here in Scotland and we had to wear a uniform, blazer and all which I liked.
I think it looks smart and everyone looks the same and don't feel left out.
Yes my parents had to pay for our umiforms, they aren't free though if your parents were on benefits they would get a grant to help for paying for them.
We also don't call first grade, to us it was primary 1-7 and secondary school was 1st year - 4th year though you can stay on longer.
Wish I had seen your comment before I explained the exact same thing about 1st year etc lol!
@@RockinDave1 😂
When it comes to college, you typically refer to colleges as buildings that are separate from secondary school and vice versa for sixth form. Sixth forms will usually have parts of the building dedicated for year 12 and 13 lessons although you can use the same classrooms as secondary schoolers as well.
I would add usually sixth forms are attached to a secondary school and a college will be it’s own school not attached to a secondary school and be it’s own place.
nope! uniforms are not free unfortunately, but i did love my uniform!
We had to buy our uniforms at specified shops, but it was when there was a scarf, tie and blazer badge specific to the school.
yep we have to do this for our 2 children, 1 in Secondary and 1 in Primary - they have logos on the shirts, trousers. blazers and ties and also the PE kit which stops you buying generic items from other shops - costs a small fortune every September
@@zo7034 lucky you! uniform around here is quite expensive, especially with the school badges on polo’s and jumpers/blazers
Uniform in some places will be given for free to kids who can't afford uniforms.
@@NE_Faye_EI thats awesome, there was nothing like that around where i live (when i was in school anyway lol, it may have changed now!)
As someone from Scotland I did:
Nursey 3-4 years old
Primary School 4-11 (Primary 1-7)
Secondary School 11-17 (Secondary 1-6)
University 17-?
You don't sit any exams until S4 where you traditionally do National 5s, Then S5 where you do Highers and Advanced Highers in S6
Same for me, except only one of my kids started Primary 1 at 4 years old. The "cut off" in Scotland is 28th February, so one of my kids was 4 1/2, the other was 5 years 5 months. He will be very popular in 6th year as the first to turn 18 in his year 😂
You don't remember how long you went to uni for? 🤣
@@c_n_b I still go to uni. The plan is to go until 22 for a masters but I haven't fully decided.
Scotland here too but I was lucky enough to be in high school/ secondary school at the time the education system changed from standard grades to nationals and highers! Don't miss the confusion that it caused the teachers!
One thing he didn't mention is that, I know in the US at the end of a subject you take a pop quiz or similar and that is your grade for that subject. In the UK, you may also take a pop quiz, but it doesn't mean anything. At the end of each year, you will have an exam for each subject that will cover everything you learned that year and maybe also a few questions on what you have learned previous years. This is the biggest differences between our systems, in the UK you have to retain all the knowledge to graduate school, in the US you only need to remember it for a short time to pass a test.
Some schools have a sixth form college on site, like my old school did. The sixth form college was on the school grounds, but in a separate building. If the school doesn't have this facility, the students would leave that school and go to a dedicated sixth form college. The reason it is called the 'sixth form' was from a previous numbering system, when you would number the years in primary school, then start again at year one when you numbered the years in secondary, so the last two years really were the sixth form (upper and lower 6th).
An alternative to six form college for students who wanted to take a more vocation option, is to attend a technical college. These places offer vocational courses, which teach the skills required and offer education courses that would lead you towards a certain career path. Examples include courses in Art and Design, Computing, Catering, Engineering or Hospitality Management.
Many colleges in the UK offer vocational courses and education qualifications (GCSE, A Level, and even some degrees)
You may have noticed that college and university in the UK is not the same thing. Colleges generally offer what we call 'Further Education', which would include the courses I mentioned. A university on the other hand would be geared towards offering degree courses. We refer to this as 'Higher Education'
It is now a requirement by UK law that young people up to the age of 18 remain in education or training until their 18th birthday, or the end of the academic year in which they turn 18.
I would say majority of sixth forms have a secondary school these days due to the way funding works in schools. (London) view
till 18 is only in england and doesnt apply to UK Law
I have to agree. In Scotland you can officially leave school at age 16. But you must be aged 16 to do so , so that is why we have 2 official leaving dates. If you turn 16 between 1st March and 31st Aug you can be what we call a summer school leaver which means you can leave school when schools break up for the summer holidays in June. If you turn 16 between 1st Sept. and 31st Dec. of that year you must stay on school until Christmas of that year and then you are what we call a Christmas school leaver. Unfortunately if you turn 16 between 1st Jan and 28th Feb the following year you must stay on and complete the full school year and therefore you will be eligible to leave school the following summer.
You have to buy the uniforms plus a p.e kit of said colour and a games kit of said colour
Was your school that strict? P.E was just white t-shirt and black shorts in my school. P.E Teams were separated by school provided sports bibs. Pretty simple and efficient stuff tbh.
@@-_-DatDude it wasn't that it was strict every school I know of was the same, pe kit was for indoors in the gym and games kit was for on the field playing football and rugby etc
My primary school was built in the late 1800s, and there were separate entrances for boys and girls. Even today, you can still see BOYS and GIRLS carved into the stone lintels at the entrances (the school is required to preserve them due to the historic significance).
Up until about 1910, primary schools were co-ed up to the age of about 6. From there to the end of school, boys and girls were kept completely separate: each had their own floor in the school, each had their own dining room, and each had their own playground, and each had their own entrance into the school (with the boy's entrance having no access to the girl's floor, and the girl's entrance having no access to the boy's floor).
There is a building near me with those entrance signs still up but it’s been turned into houses, I kinda wanted to buy one just for the sign above the front door 😄
Me too! And toilets out in the playground with no heating…brrrr
Video idea…
Evan Edinger has a video called School Exams, and it blew my mind how very different the way we are tested is 🤯 Def worth a look 😁
Thanks--sounds like what we're looking for! Will add to the list. :)
Imperial College London is a college of the University of London. There are a number of colleges that make up the University of London including King's College, Imperial College etc
And all the different Oxford and Cambridge colleges that make up those universities.
@@Will-nn6ux
The University of Durham also has a collegiate system like Oxford and Cambridge.
That was true up until a vote in 2006 to break away from the University of London and Imperial became completely independent in 2007.
I wore my school uniform from age 4 to secondary school, age 16. At 17 I became a 6th form student and was excused uniform but we still had to wear a shirt and tie and some sort of jacket or blazer. The sixth form was in the same building along with the pupils just joining age 11. Some of the young kids mistook you for teaching staff and called you Sir. I left school at age 19 after retaking my A level exams to get a higher grade. That was back in the 1974 where virtually no one went to Uni. Now almost everyone goes to Uni.
The uniform from age 4 must of been very tight at 16
Where I live not everyone goes to Uni. The school drives them that way but a lot prefer apprenticeships, which are much better in my opinion!
You should check out the ‘Educating …’ series. It’s a documentary that goes into real British schools and follows the teachers and pupils. Theres lots of them like Educating Yorkshire, Educating Cardiff, Educating the East End etc. It’s a good insight into the education system here.
My school uniform was a maroon blazer, like the one on the thumbnail of this video. The other common thing, or used to be when I was at school, was "houses". My School was a grammar school. Schools are often divided into houses, often named after former headmasters or prime ministers. I was in Milner house.
You, your parents pay for the uniform, it is not provided and it can be expensive. There is probably some kind of benefit from the government for low income houses.
Me too maroon blazer and my house was Cawdor
Our houses were Byron (blue), Godber (red), Portland (green) and Cantrell (yellow), named after prominent local people. It was a convenient way of dividing everyone fairly (supposedly) for sports days and the merit/demerit system, covering a mix of age and ability.
I think in 6th form (16-18) we could wear our own clothes, I don’t really remember. You could also leave early if you didn’t have any lessons - at that point you’re only studying 3-4 subjects for A-level - which is like AP in the US but they’re required to get into university. And at university here you only study one subject completely, not a major, and you have to apply specifically to do that subject
Uniforms have to be paid for at all schools, and they can get incredibly expensive, but many will have second-hand uniform sales where they can be bought for much less money, and in my area at least, there's a bursary system for students from low-income families.
Basically, families can reach out to the school and explain that they are struggling, and be given money/vouchers to offset the cost of the uniform. As a disabled parent, I was offered a lot of financial support when my kids started secondary school, which is generally where the cost starts to mount (kids need blazers, shirts, trousers/skirts, as well as a full sports kit and trainers/sneakers etc). As it happens I didn't need that support and didn't take advantage of it, but I'm glad the system exists.
Many schools have an annual voluntary donation which is where this money comes from. Families who can afford it pay in, and the money goes on projects around the school and supporting kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. The government also allocates an amount of money per year to kids from families who are in recognised categories (eg: unemployed, disabled, fostering kids), and schools will receive it to cover the cost of free school meals, supplemented/discounted school trips, and again, to top up uniform funds.
I know of one school near where I live, which changed their gym/sports uniform part way through the school year and tried to force the parents to buy the new version just after they had changed it.
You should clarify that the financial help toward uniform is usually solely for those living on state benefits.
If you are working you won’t get any help toward the cost of uniforms which can be hundreds of pounds per child per year for secondary school students. This can be far higher if your child’s school has a uniform that can only be purchased direct from the school: the school essentially making a tidy profit on the uniform.
@@rayeasom I guess it depends where you live? Both my children go to schools which offer support to anyone experiencing "financial hardship". It's not restricted at all, you just have to reach out to the school yourself if you are struggling and ask for help, rather than it being a default option.
School funds contribution is obligatory in many schools and paid at the start of each term .
Savings bank schemes are also run and students can save money weekly to put towards school plays, day trips and foreign trips or educational visits to cathedrals, synagogue or mosques or museums .
@@rayeasomit depends where you are. I'm a working single mum and was entitled to the council grant as my income was below the threshold. So it isn't only folks on benefits.
Public schools in the UK are not just Private schools, they are usually older prestigious schools that not only are hugely expensive, pupils are often picked due to their background (who their parents are) - or at least that's the the common understanding to anyone going to a free state school. A Private school (which technically a Public school also is) are usually newer less prestigious private schools that probably dont care who your parents are as long as they can afford the school fees. So a normal average private school fees could be around 10,000 - 15,000 pounds per year. A good public school would be closer to 50-60,000 pounds per year (Prince Harry went to Eaton public school).
Some people who went to Eaton apart from Prince Harry are Boris Jonson and David Cameron (UK Prime Ministers), Huge Laurie (actor in House), George Orwell and Ian Flemming (wrote the original James Bond books).
Back in the olden days, when I was at school, we had a different numbering system. In primary school, it was Class 1,2,3&4. Then at comprehensive school (age 11) we entered Form 1. Your education was complete at the end of form 5, when you did your GCSE’s. This is where 6th form comes from - you ‘stay on’ at school for another 2 years in order to study for ALevels, which was the gateway to university. My 6th form was in the same school, but I could have opted to change school at this point to study more suitable A Levels.
Certainly in my area, 6th forms were always just a continuation of school, and every school had one.
We had to wear uniform in 6th form, but it was a little more relaxed and we had white shirts, rather than blue. When I went to secondary school, not only do you have to buy the uniform, but (back in the day) it had to be bought from a certain store too!!
College, for 16-18 yr olds was sort of more vocational education and focussed on getting BTEC’s NVQ’s rather than A-levels. But they were qualifications you gained in an area you specifically wanted to work e.g. Healthcare, childcare etc.
I’m sure I’ve massively oversimplified this, even though it still sounds complicated 😂
Nope, you're pretty much spot on.
Yep, same here, went to nursery, then infant school, 1,2&3, then junior 1,2,3&4, then secondary school years 1-5, doing o levels on 4th & 5th year, then 6th form for 2 years to do A levels
Similar for me in the 60s & 70s, except I didn't attend nursery, just went straight to reception class in the infants. No uniform in infant and junior schools, just for senior school. Then at the end I stayed on for 6th form (or lower 6th) to do a secretarial course instead of going across the road to the Technical College to do it. Our comprehensive/secondary was also split as to lower school - years 1 & 2, middle school - years 3 & 4, upper school - years 5, lower & upper 6th (girls were allowed to discard ties for lower & upper 6th)
Secondary schools changed from 1-5 to 7-11 in 1990 (I went from 3rd year into year 10)
In Northern Ireland we name our school years differently, in Primary school we name our years P1-P7 (Primary 1-Primary 7). In Secondary schools we can either refer to the Secondary School years as Year 8 - Year 14 or First Year - Upper Sixth. Our Year 14 is the same as England's Year 13. We still have to wear a uniform in Sixth Form as it's still part of Secondary School. The first year of Sixth Form is called Lower Sixth and second year is called Upper Sixth.
Primary school is Reception Year to Year 6. Compulsory Secondary school is year 7 to year 11. The remaining 2 years of compulsory education until you're 18 can be either 2 extra years of secondary school (year 12/13 also known as sixth form, often in the exact same school, and usually this is where uniforms stop) 2 years of college (what i did, not American college, not university, completely different place from secondary school, I wore a uniform but it was specific to what I was studying) or start a job apprenticeship (not common). Then at 18... university/american college.
We do have middle schools I went to one
@@laurawilson9235 where are you in the UK... cause in my 25 years of life I've never heard of middle schools in the UK. I've heard secondary schools be called high schools. But never heard of middle schools. Do you mean the second half of primary school (keystage 2/years 3 to 6/ages 7-11)?
@@jakeoliver9167 no a middle school I went to a first school a middle school and a high school all totally different schools and buildings in different villages I’m from Yorkshire
I grew up in Warwickshire and we had First (reception to year 3 ) Middle (year 4-7) then High School (8-11 )
By the time my brother went to school 4 years later it had changed to infants, junior, high
I think it is still this way now but I am 41 and my brother is 37 so could all be different again by now
I grew up in Yorkshire near Leeds. No uniform in my primary school, left before my 16th birthday as GCSEs were in the middle of it but finished mine just before and as I wasn't staying on at 6th form, bye bye school. Went on a 12 week collage course at Northern racing collage in June, then straight into work. I also spent a few weeks at hedingly middle school whilst our primary school roof was been repaired ( got burnt down 1 night) I'm now waaaaaay darn Sarth and my daughter is in primary school and needed uniform since reception. She's 11 and doing her SATs soon. Will be finding out which Secondary school she's going to soon and yus, we pay for all her uniform 😮
10:38 we don't pay to go to the school (but we do pay for the uniform)❤❤❤
16:22 I some of my classes in highschool there were 32 pupils or even more and when some teachers were off with sick leave we would have around 60 in one classroom and even in one instance we needed to have a Welsh lesson from a Welsh teacher pre exam and there was roughly 170 pupils in one room (but it was like a hall type room)❤❤❤
16:46 they have been put in sets and there are more teachers ❤❤❤
21:02 sixth-form is often the same building as the highschool but sometimes people who went to a smaller highschool will change schools for sixth form (but college is in a completely different building)❤❤❤
21:11 sometimes in sixth-form you still wear a uniform but it's just simply black and white clothing and hoodies (depend if you take PE or subjects that allow your own clothing(this depends from school to school))❤❤❤
For reference I was taught in Wales (I you're curious about curriculum the website "WJEC" (or known in Welsh as CBAC) it has the Exam curriculum for A levels and GCSE (or TGAU in Welsh))❤❤❤
I’m 21 so have a reasonably up to date experience and At my school we were given our tie and blazer for free- you could buy another blazer for around £40. The shirts/trousers/skirts are usually bought from retail stores. Asda and Tesco have a huge range of “back to school” uniform each summer time selling shirts and trousers etc for very reasonable prices (of course some people opt for a more expensive store for better quality)but with how easy the shirts get ruined with pens etc an Asda or Tesco shirt was always a popular choice. I’m sure there are some schools which are more strict on this though. I really had no issue whatsoever with wearing a uniform as it meant everyone was equal. We did however have “non uniform days” every couple of months which were usually used for fundraising where we could wear our own clothes and bring £1 to be donated to a chosen charity.
Do you mind me asking was this a private school? I've never heard of a state school providing a tie and blazer for free.
Good old ‘mufti’ days for charity
I've never heard that before, when I was at school my parents had to buy everything. I never had a cap but the school didn't enforce that part of the uniform requirement.
@@ruth1231 nope definitely not a private school- just a normal secondary school in Yorkshire.
My son’s primary school insisted on an expensive blazer from one particular shop and instead of a sew on badge with the school emblem, the badge was already embroidered on to the breast pocket. That meant you couldn’t buy a cheap blazer of the same colour as no badge would be on it. When he outgrew his first blazer I bought a cheap same colour blazer from a supermarket and got round the badge problem by cutting out the pocket from the first blazer and re-sewing it on to the new blazer (firstly cutting out the new blazer’s pocket and discarding it. ) sounds a lot of work but it really wasn’t, and I saved a packet by doing this. The school never noticed. This was in the 1980s.
I'm 67 years young and English. I started school at 4 and a half (around 1961-62) and continued in my state education till I was 16 (1973), though in those days I could have left school the year before but took the option to stay on. My first school was called an infant school from 4-5 years old till age 7. Then I went to junior school from age 7 to age 11 and then onto secondary or senior school from age 11 on. Each of the three different schools I attended started at 1st year and progressed from there, so I had three 1st years - 1st to 3rd year at infant school, 1st to 4th year at juniors and 1st to 5th year at seniors! Also, I didn't have to wear uniform until senior school and even then it was was much less enforced! How things have changed since then! This has been very informative even for me! God bless you both! Give Sophia a big hug from me! She's adorable! ❤❤❤
I'll always defend school uniforms. Routine. Fast getting ready, no thought. Not being bullied for clothes. Not worrying about looking trendy. Non-school uniform days. Ties with house colours Harry potter style.... cost being the main issue. But state/public school itself is free.
Primary uniform is usually just a jumper/sweater with a specific colour and the school logo. With some matching colour book bags etc. (nostalgia).
Secondary unifirm... is the Harry potter stuff. Black or blue blazer with logo. Tie, often with house colours (my school houses were famous alumni of the school, primary school houses were local castles) Buttoned shirt. With varying degrees of strictness. Some schools never let you take the blazer off even when its hot. Some schools require a proper looking tie at the right length.
As an example. Primary school for me was a green jumper/sweater, yellow logo, green bags etc. Black trousers, always black shoes.
Secondary (i went to a grammar school, i wont get into that but brits will know) was nice black trousers. Black blazer, fancy logo. White buttoned shirt. Black shoes. And ties with a standard burgandy stripe, alongside the house colour stripe, mine was green.
My secondary/grammar school was also all-boys. Yeah...a concept that sucked. Not even for the reason you assume. It shouldn't exist.
Definitely
I don't really buy the bullying thing. There's always something for bullies to pick on other kids for.
@@Will-nn6uxyes we got bullied for other things. But clothes was one thing off the list. That's my point.
I agree entirely. During the six yrs we lived in the US for my work, while my son's school had a uniform, my daughter's did not. The fuss about having to wear what the "in crowd" wore, and the costs of doing so, were constant harbingers of heated discussion as she entered her teens. I think my daughter's wardrobe cost over ten times as much as my 2 yr older son's did.
@@jakeoliver9167I just think that if a kid is going to be bullied to any significant extent, it isn't likely to make a difference whether or not they have to wear a uniform.
Middle schools do exist in the uk, they’re just very rare- I went to one!
I work in a boarding school in England and they must wear their uniform from when they come down for breakfast at 07.30 until 17.45 when their school commitments end including blazer which they’re aren’t allowed to take off….even in the summer 😵💫
Yep - Due to constant daily industrial levels of laundry, this requires every single item of our clothing to have your name tag sewn in to it, you could change the font and colour of the thread used to write your name and I think you ordered them in packs of 100. The 2 weeks before any term starts, my mum would be sewing name tags onto every thing I'd be taking with me....
Wow, that would suck, honestly. Blazers in the summer would be miserable!
I went to Grammar school and we had thick woolen type blazers and we would not have dreamt of asking to take them off!!!
@@reactingtomyroots In my Public School, when it got hot, we had "shirt-sleeve order" where Blazers could be taken off.
I am a sixth form student from the uk.
Schools in England usually work like this:
Reception
Year 1 - 6 = primary school
Year 7 - 11 = senior school
Over the course of y9-11 your prepare and do your GCSE’s - which allows you to get into a sixth from or collage.
You can either go somewhere different or like me you can stay at your school as it provides a sixth form.
For example when i was in y11 some people stayed and some left to go to other collages or 6th forms.
Year 12/13 - collage and 6th form- ages 16-18
In collage/ sixth form you take up to 3 subjects for your A-levels, some go beyond that and take 4, or they do an EPQ or AS - these both count as half an A-level.
This may not be completely right for collages, i dont go to one but im sure they do something similar.
When preparing to finish A-levels there’s an application process we go through to get into university’s, most use a website called UCAS.
Hope this helps and is less confusing now 😅
Uniforms in schools can save kids a world of grief if they are from backgrounds wherr they cant afford the latest fashions etc. It might be a pain but it ut is also a good leveller. Uniforms are at the parents/guardians expense but some shops do decent deals on shirts/trousers etc
'Sixth Form' comes from the old days when Year 7 (age 11/12) was called 'First Form' and counted up from there. Many schools have Sixth Forms but some don't. Mine didn't and so I did my A Levels at a local community college and some of my friends went to the Sixth Forms of other, larger schools.
We still have private schools (and call them such). The Public Schools are mainly the big, old institutions like Eton and Harrow, other fee paying schools are generally referred to as 'Private', same as in the States. 😊
Edit: And its Shrove Tuesday /Pancake Day today here in the UK. I cant remember if youve looked at it before but it might be a topic for the future!
Been in both types of school in my life and the grief was worse in the uniform schools weirdly
funny how the UK is one of the last western countries in the world that still enforces it. Only Ireland and Malta have it in Europe.
Six form is year 12 and 13 it’s optional whether you want to go to that or whether you want to go to a college or not
Sixth Form is the name given to the two *optional* years of school study to complete secondary school in the UK (and some other Commonwealth countries) between ages 16 and 18. The two years are designated Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. They end with the examinations that qualify students to attend the tertiary level of education at university etc. Those exams are called A Levels.
My old school included its own Sixth Form and we still wore uniform, but it was a different colour from the one we wore during the preceding five years. Students whose school doesn't include its own Sixth Form could attend another institution, typically called a Sixth Form College (although some other colleges offer A Level courses alongside tertiary courses, especially vocational ones).
You used to be able to leave school at 16 and claim unemployment, but now you either go to work, go to 6th form, or go to college but you will receive help from the government if you do the extra 2 years education but if you don't do either work or eduction you or your parents won't receive nothing because what was happening to many was leaving school at 16 and getting unemployment now this has stopped the government has saved a lot of money plus it forces the kids to get extra education (well most of them)
You buy ALL.of the uniforms but overall it is easier than buying loads of fashion clothes and brand names. Most schools have days where you can buy out grown, second hand uniforms which help less well off families. School uniform is great.
You get a list of uniform from the school. You have to buy it all. Black school shoes have to have no other colour on them plus they cannot be trainers/sneakers. Its very expensive on the whole. Our uniforms are more rigidly adhered to than it was when i was at school..we had a colour pallette to wear. Black, red, white and grey. That was easier imo
Your year 12 and 13 is when we in uk go to college and it is different sites and run different to schools and sixth form is put in place for that too now but still have a choice on which one you like go to
When I was at school 6th form year 12 and 13 were optional. You could stay at your high school for it or go to a college building. These days I think it's compulsory to stay at least in some form of education for those two years
You can leave school at 16, but now you can't claim unemployment or any benefits. You have to either go to work or go to college, which you will receive help from the government
not any more in England anyway. You have to stay in some form of education until 18@@terencewelch9800
Sixth form and secondary school is in the same building and in most you have to wear uniform still it’s just a different uniform
When my son started high school, his uniform, sports pe kit which all has the school badge on it, etc etc, cost me £300. (Alot of schools damd you get the badged uniform so that you have to buy it from them at huge inflated prices, and not just biy generic mass produced stuff) Kids grow fast so i have that to pay every year on top of 2 or 3 pairs of school shoes. Probably looking at $500 a year per child.
For me as someone from South West England. Collage would take place in a completely separate place. Directed at further and higher education. It also had a university center on the campus where they partnered up with university to run courses.
The campus was large and there was quite a few blocks. My collage does lots of courses. But primarily educing students 16-18/19. But you could be an adult learner (retraining or retaking courses). My collage had a range of courses (but they keep cutting courses). Including A levels, T levels, BTEC (vocational), and prep courses for people with alternative needs. The collage did not have a dress code but it relied on using your initiative. There was also 'clubs' that would be put on such as board games. My collage was a 'open' campus such as you could just walk in and out but to be identified as a student or staff member you would have to have a lanyard.
I did a vocational course which was course work based.
Lots of collages are different and each setting has uniqueness.
6th forms are normally integrated at some secondary schools. 6th forms tend to be more into A-levels and people with good grades. For my area smaller secondary schools did not have a 6th forms but secondary schools in a larger town may have 6th forms. 6th forms tend to be more strict on things such as dress and attendance.
This was my experience, step by step:
- between 5yr old and 11yr old = Primary school
- between 11yr old and 16yr old = Secondary school
** At this point, students have the choice to end their education and go straight to work, or you can continue to:
- between 16yr old and 18yr old = Sixth form (tends to be more academic) or a collage (tends to offer more technical qualifications, but there are still cross over qualifications)
- between 18yr old and onwards = Is when you go for your University Degree -> Masters -> Doctorate
** Sixth form is generally for 16yr - 18yr olds only... so if you left education at 16 and then later want to come back to education as a mature student, you will either take your work experience straight to a University degree (or some preliminary foundation diploma), or go back to and start at your local collage!
Well now they have to by law be in education until 18
Although this model is common, this isn't strictly true for all schools. I had the Primary school > secondary school system but my kids have a Primary > middle school > high school system. During Middle school they can choose to take the 11+ and if successful they can move into a grammar school half way through their time there. They then continue in Grammar for the rest of their education. @reactingtomyroots, Grammar is often a higher level of education which requires an entrance exam. Its still free, but as all the kids who go there have to pass an exam with a minimum level, it tends to be more focused on higher academic achievement. In fact, A lot of the public school children from where I live transition into Grammar at the same time as the level of education is similar but the parents dont have to pay ££££ per term in fees. Our school systems aren't quite as clear cut as this video makes out and have lots of variability depending on where you are geographically located, although this is a good overview.
@@mothermacleanwhile true you can still get an apprenticeship at 16 which is considered a fort of continued education as you still need to attend collage even if it’s just once a fortnight.
Sixth form can be in the same school or somewhere different. The reason that it’s called that, is that in bygone times (when I went to school), you went to a new (secondary) school at 11 years old, starting in the “second form”, then the next year 3rd form…etc etc
Yes, all students and parents have to pay for their uniform……. And it gets very expensive……. And what takes to piss most schools force you to buy it from their own shop
20:50 6th form is years 12/13 - you can stay at your high school if they have a 6th form, or you can move to a school that has a 6th form that has the subjects you want to study. Alternatively, after year 11 (age 16) you can go to college for 2 years and study subjects you want to get a grade in for university or a job you have in mind
We have to pay for uniform no matter what school we go to. My daughters uniform costs about £300 and she goes to a free school.
My daughters did the 15 hours free nursery from age 2 years 9 months and started full time school age 4. Education is compulsory at age 5. By the time they’re 6 they’re expected to be able to read.
I remember when my eldest started at 4 years we had meeting with the teacher about how she was struggling to pick up reading. Too much pressure too young it’s ridiculous.
Education is compulsory from 5, but ut can be home education. That choice is still available
There are non uniform schools around. I went to 2 and there's another in rhe town I live in now.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad I'm obviously talking about the norm.
That does seem like a big expectation, as all kids learn at different paces!
Lindsay / Lynsey / I’m never sure how you spell it is absolutely right - I’ve spent a lot of time in the US and have had American partners and a key difference is in the UK you are graded on your ability to argue your point and support it. And there are very few multiple choice exams, everything is essay / text based
When I went to Primary school ( a million years ago,) there was no uniform ,it kicked in at secondary level .My sons went to an infants school (4 to 7 ) where there was a uniform .Part of the thinking is security ,in the VERY VERY unlikely situation where the child goes missing then it is always known what they were wearing and as everyone always has school photos they can supply to the police etc to aid finding them.My kids then went to Canada where there is NO school uniform policy ,then back when about 16 and 13 ,where they went to secondary and wore uniforms .When they left to go to 6th form college(the school had no 6 th form) ,then they had no uniforms.
The other issue with uniforms is you have no arguments in the morning about what they should wear .Thankfully there secondary school uniform in the UK was black trousers and a polo shirt and jumper,rather than shirt tie and jacket!!
10:44 You pay for the uniforms. They are specific shops that sell uniform. I got mime from the third floor in Wallaces. Looked up the price:
£230.40 (2023 stats)
I'm 61 and when i was at school the class size was 32. Yes we wore a uniform. Black blazer, white blouse, school tie, grey skirt, white socks, grey jersey at both primary school and high school, different tie at the high school. Our parents had to buy the school uniform. There was always a few who didn't want to wear a uniform but i always did. I'd rather wear "normal" clothes after school/ weekends. Kids back then had a lot more respect for their parents and their teachers. Its actually shocking now how kids talk to their parents/ teachers.
You're the lucky one, still have my reports from p5,6 & 7 from St Patricks, Plumstead London from the early 50's and the class size was 49, 49 and 48. You sat in rows showing your position in class from the tests.
The teachers were brilliant and you could hear a pin drop in class. your family had to buy your uniforms and they were generally passed down to your younger brother as you grew out of them.when you went to secondary school the class size went down to about 30 and you got your own uniform. Schools were also mainly segregated between boys and girls although the lucky ones used to go mixed schools(like my two younger brothers). The reason the class size shrank is because there were three types of secondary schools, Grammer, Technical and secondary modern.Which one you went to depending on your educational achievement in the 11 plus. Later this changed to the all encompassing Comprehensive system.
Class sizes at my daughters school is 28 and schools she's applied for in September are 30 and 31 with the higher always over subscribed 😢
As others have said uniforms are bought by parents but some schools do have backup secondhand items. Some families are eligible for support with the funding, it’s a lot stricter criteria than when I was at school. Generally speaking to qualify for support you have to be on free school meals. I got my school blazer paid for but they only allowed one on the voucher and so my mum made me wear one designed for a full grown adult man, because she was convinced I was about to develop bosoms the size of a small country and knew we couldn’t have another voucher.
I had a blazer, shirt and tie in high school. You had to ask permission to take off your blazer in the classroom during the summer.
They always said no 😂
Even in primary school we had a uniform, although it was only trousers and a jumper with the school badge on.
Itdepends on your said area with the tier system. 3 tier system is inclusive of the lower (nursery - year 4) middle school (years 5 - 8) then on to upper school (years 9 - sixth form/12+13) where as the 2 tier is as mentioned in the video.
Uniforms and P.E kits we pay for, some schools have summer and winter uniforms, indoor and outdoor kits, even some with different coloured ties depending on the year.
Apologies for a long one here, but as a recenty retired teacher you've hit on my 'specialsit subject'.
State education is free for all - paid for out of a mixture of national and local taxes. You do have to provide the school uniform yourselves- but there is always a roaring trade in second hand uniform items which helps a lot. It can be very expensive, but other schools are mindful of this, and you can pick up generic items (like shirts/ trousers/ skirts/ jumpers) at large supermarkets much more cheaply than the school specific versions. To offset this cost somewhat, you do have to take into account that you don't have to buy as many 'everyday' clothes for your kids, as they will be in uniform 5 days a week.
The specifics of school unforms vary from school to school, and also often depend on the age of the pupils. Primary schools (3-11 y/o) typically have a uniform coloured polo shirt, oftten with the school badg embroidered on the front, with a uniform sweatshirt or jumper/ cardigan, paired with dark (black/ grey is typical) joggers or trousers, or skirts or 'pinafore dresses' (do you call them that? Sleeveless overdresses). Secondary schools (11-16y/o) typically have a more formal 'Hogwarts' type uniform. (Some Primary schools do also insist on button up shirts and ties in school colours, like the secondary schools). Older pupils (16-18 y/o) who continue their education at school rather than college often have a separate uniform from the lower part of the school.- basically busines wear.
Laurences description of the Year/ Grade system was a little out. The 'Reception Year' is the first year in which children are of compulsory school age in England. This is the school year (which runs from September- July) during which they become 5 y/o. Technically, compulsory school age starts from the term (semester) after they are 5, but effectively, in most cases these days children start full time school from September, even if theye are not 5 until the following summer. Year 1 is then their second year at school, and they will typically be 6 during that year.
Children aged 3-5 y/o are entitled to 15 hours a week free education which they will spend in pre-schools or Nursery classes attached to schools. There are technical variations to this depending on family circumstances - some children get 30 hours a week of pre-school.
Standard English class sizes in Primary school is 30 pupils. Anything less and teachers are laughing at their good fortune! The size of classes in secondary schools drops because they are much bigger than the primary school. Typically Primary schools have Year Groups of between 1-4 classes (for very big schools) of 30 pupils of the same age. A secondary school takes pupils from many different primary schools and will split the pupils into10+ classes of 22-25 pupils in each.
'Sixth Form' is confusing to outsiders. The naming of it harks back to a previous numbering system, but has stuck. Traditionally, secondary school started at age 11, and was called 'First Form' and went on to Fifth Form (when one took GCSE's) and then went on the 'Sixth Form' if you wanted to study 'A' Levels. These days, our numbering sytem runs right through from Primary school, so the new secondary school pupils, aged 11, are in Year 7, and they take GCSEs in Year 11, before deciding on their next stage of learning. We've stuck with the name 'Sixth Form' for those staying on at school because we all know what that means.
What happens at age 16, after GCSEs, varies considerably from place to place, and from student to student. These days, all 16-18 year olds are required to be in some form of education or training. For some, they stay at school to do 'A' Levels (competely academic and prep for University). In some areas the Sixth Form are part of the same school they have been at since 11, and in some areas the sixth form is in a totally separate establishment. Others choose to go to a local College- either to do 'A' Levels in a slightly less formal environment, or to follow other courses and qualifications, which may be much more vocational. Yet a third group will do some sort of apprenticeship where they work in a 'real job' for some of the week, and then do one or two days a week at the college to gain formal qualifications related to that work.
Sixth form is our final year of High school.
A friend of mine went to both Uk and USA schools and she said that one of the biggest problem with USA should not having a uniform was it was more like a fashion parade , it all depend on how much money you had to spend on clothing
So to answer some questions that popped up (from my experience in the UK).
- we have to pay for our uniforms
Preschool is 2, 3 & 4year olds (although mainly caters to 3yrs and early 4’s).
Then we move into Primary school. This is one building (or multiple buildings in one space) split into three.
First is reception. Kids are typically late 4year olds or early 5’s.
Then you have the ‘infant school’ which includes reception but also has years 1 and year 2.
Then you have the double doors that separate the building to move up to Junior School which is years 3-6. In year 6 that’s when we do what we call SAT’s which gives our next school an indication on what class levels we should be in etc.
You then move to a completely separate school for Secondary school.
This is for years 7 all the way up to year 11.
Years 7-9 you have to learn all subjects.
Years 10-11 is when you choose 5 subjects to learn and you have to do your GCSE’s in them (this is I believe the equivalent to your SAT tests which enables us to get into college/sixth form).
(All throughout this time we wear uniforms btw - even during P.E. We have a set uniform kit haha).
Now after GCSE’s you have two options.
1) college - this is for more hands on courses where you will generally do one week in a placement and one week studying and it keeps alternating. So for example if you choose childcare as your course, you will have alternating weeks of 1) work placement 2) lessons/coursework in the actual college. No uniform is needed, and there are no ‘exams’ as such, it’s generally all coursework based.
2) sixth form. There’s two different types. You have the sixth forms that are ATTACHED to secondary schools. With these, you will still wear the school uniform.
Or you have one that’s totally independent- and you can wear what you want.
The common denominator is that sixth forms tend to be pretty much solely lesson based (like school). Most you have to pick 3 courses to study but can choose to have 5 courses.
Either way they generally all finish once you’re aged 18.
After you leave sixth form/college, you can then choose to go to university to get degrees etc, which I believe is the equivalent to your colleges.
In primary and secondary schools we generally had class sizes of 30 students. College/sixth form we had average class size of 15-20
It varies on the colleges; I went to Truro College and studied the International Baccalaureate there, as most colleges in Cornwall also offered A Levels alongside any vocational courses they offered. Some colleges were dedicated to farming/animals etc which is understandable as they're specialised, whereas Truro was the main college for the county and has a huge campus, including University courses.
Some 6th forms in Cornwall would also expect you to go to them if you attended their secondary schools because of their location (far from any other schools/colleges etc) or because that's just what was done. Heck, we had people travelling in from Bude for 2 hours each way just to go to Truro college. I had 2 friends on the IB who chose to study it PURELY so they didn't have to attend their 6th form. Which is a shame in a way but I guess when you're stuck with the same people for seven or more years it can get very tiring.
@@EmmaHawkins94 ooo that’s very interesting!
I’m Essex based, and I literally only know of colleges and sixth forms being separate with one being hands on and the other being structured exactly like school.
It’s honestly fascinating how much it all varies depending on where in England you study
@@jasmineschol_ oh absolutely! I live in Kent now and people always look at me odd when I tell them I went to college, as though I didn't do well in school lol. Here it's very much grammar schools and 6th forms... so when I tell them I did the IB they then look really confused ahaha. My husband's experience of 6th form was also very different to my experience with college. It'll be interesting to see how things are in 10 years when my kids are about to go to 6th form/further education
5 subjects for GCSEs? I am jealous, I had to do 12 😢. Even my husband who went to a grammar school only did 9. I only passed at grade C or above in 8 subjects though. It was too much!
@@rainbowharrisonyeah so you have to take 3 mandatory GCSE’s (English maths & science), but you only have to choose 5 others to take. (So technically 8 in total, but only 5chosen). That being said you can take more if you want, but I’ve never known anyone to
I really wouldn't rely on this bloke for anything re the UK. He has been away for so long he is hopelessly out of touch.
I am glad I am not alone. In some videos I have seen usa yt react to he has been so wrong about some subjects. Anything cultural he is so far off the mark.
You guys should react to “Educating the east end”. It’s an all old series that takes place in a certain secondary school in different areas of England and goes through the process and phases that kids experience whilst at secondary school. The series is very popular and super accurate as to what the kids live through during their time as young teenagers. For people who aren’t familiar with the culture of schooling in England, this series will give you a lot of information and understanding.
Thanks for the suggestion.
To give you a basic idea, education in the late 80s to 2000 for me was -
Age 3-4 Nursery
Age 4-11 Primary school
Age 11-16 Secondary school
Optional -
Age 16-18 - a choice between leaving to work, leaving to go to college (different place from school) or staying on at school to complete 6th form.
Same for me 90s to 2008. It was just after I left school in 2008 where it was made that you stay in education until 18, whether it be 6th form, college or an apprenticeship.
You are misunderstanding the world "public"... public does not mean state owned. It means it's open to the public as long as you pay the fee - as opposed to being restricted to a specific group of people like a religious group (That would be "private"). It's the same with every other use of the world public... like the British Pub (i.e. "Public House"), anyone can come as long as you pay for the beer! Like public paths, public parks etc. they are all mostly owned by individuals/corporations and not by the state. It's just the public are invited to use them!
😮 America has an EDUCATION system wow,you learn something new everyday, especially after watching some videos of American students being asked questions, especially about history
12:57 we don’t have to do preschool/nursery either - we also don’t have to start school in reception year (age 4) they have to start school in year 1 no matter what (age 5)
Good morning! 😁
School years in Britain are a bit confusing because they combine a mixture of school systems from the 20th century. Way back school years were called "forms" not years or grades as you call them. Back then kids would leave school at 16, in the 5th form of secondary school. Those who wished to stay on at school past 16, for higher education would therefore go onto the 6th form. It is still called sixth form to this day for some reason, even though it would technically be years 12-13.
So sixth form or years 12 & 13, are usually within the same school building, but may take place in a separate section or may be a separate building altogether. Sixth form generally used to cover academic lessons to a higher level of knowledge, but if kids wanted to study past 16, but NOT restricted to academics, then they could go to college instead and learn something like mechanics, building, technology, childcare or hairdressing etc.
When I went to school you left at age 16, (or 15, if you turned 16 before September 1st) That was the age school ended, unless you CHOSE to continue your education in sixth form or college.
But a few years back they made the decision to make education COMPULSORY to the age of 18 like America.
HOWEVER, unlike America, children do still leave "school" as such at 16, but they MUST then pick sixth form, college, or find an apprenticeship until they are 18. It kind of combines the same choices available to 16 year olds today as I also had, except now there's no CHOICE about it! You can leave school at 16...but you can't leave "education" until you're 18.
School uniforms are not free. Schools tend to opt for one of two "styles" of uniform, formal or less formal.
The formal uniform generally means a proper button up shirt, a proper tie in the school colours, black or grey trousers or skirts, a knitted jumper or cardigan in a specific colour, white socks or black or grey tights, black formal shoes, a school blazer with the colours and logo of the school, and a black winter overcoat. This style of uniform which is more dressy and grown up, is generally for children in secondary schools or private schools, although some schools do opt for this style right from primary. I wore this type of uniform for my middle school, but it was also a private school that my parents paid for.
The less formal uniform style tends to be white polo style t-shirts, a school colour cardigan or sweatshirt, black or grey trousers, skirts or smart jogging bottoms, black school shoes or smart trainers.
It depends on each school which they choose as their style, some are more relaxed about kids wearing jumpers or cardigans in the correct colour, whereas others insist you buy the items from them, which have the school logo embroidered onto. Some may insist on the logo sweatshirt but the rest of the uniform can be plain generic, some schools insist you buy every item from them with official logos on.
It sounds expensive, and of course it can be as an initial cost, particularly the formal school blazers, but it actually works out cheaper than buying them ordinary clothes. Most families buy 3 sets of shirts and bottoms and jumpers, but only one blazer. Considering the same size lasts them a year, it's actually pretty cheap, especially as kids get older and want designer trainers or jeans etc!
All UK supermarkets sell school uniform basics (plain colours) every summer ready for the September start of the new year. You can buy packs of 3 polo shirts for around £10 and 2 pairs of trousers or skirts for £7. The school embroidered sweatshirts are around £10+ each, school blazers can be £30 or way more! It depends obviously on age and size of each child. School shoes can be £10 a pair. Obviously you can spend much more from different shops, but the idea is, all parents can kit their kids out in the correct uniform even those who are poorer.
Uniform has tons of benefits...
If kids go out on a day trip, it is easier to keep an eye on the whole group.
Children know the uniform represents their school overall, so tends to make each child act more responsibly knowing bad behaviour reflects on all of them.
It works out cheaper than ordinary clothes, particularly as they get older and fussier.
Children are less likely to bully as they are all dressed the same so their family financial situation is less obvious.
Children won't ridicule another for what they're wearing as they're wearing it too.
It helps to focus children on school time, when dressed in school clothes, the same as you would wear a work uniform at work, and casual clothes at home.
I'm glad I left school at 16, I had a full time job lined up for the week after I finished my exams. It was making jewellery in a factory, boring as hell, but paid really well. I was employed and earning, but also applying for better jobs, so I was only there for two months before I went to work as a hairdresser. I could not have bore the thought of going to college! I wanted to earn money too much. I'd worked 12 hours a week since the age of 14, and liked having my own money for clothes, shoes, make up......and cigarettes and alcohol! 😂 I paid my parents rent, it wasn't loads, around £20 a week, but when I had my daughter at 18½ and got a house, my parents used the rent I'd given them for 2-3 years to buy pots and pans, bath towels, cutlery, curtains, bedding etc to get my home started which I wasn't expecting, but they'd put my rent money away for me.
Just like you Steve I hated homework! I hated doing my own, and then later hated trying to get my daughter to concentrate on doing hers! After a day at school you hardly want to do more school work! Ugh! Half of what we learned hasn't been useful in life anyway, haven't done simultaneous equations or trigonometry since I was 16 so that was a waste of time! 😂
So, are you ready to look for school placement for Sophia over here??? 😜😜😜
Haha! Lots of love to you guys! 😘😘😘 xxxxx
Leaving school at 18 is only compulsory in England. You can still leave school at 16 without any ongoing education in the rest of the UK.
@@Spiklething Ok...thank you for clarifying. I am English myself, I should have made that clearer. 😘 xx
A word of advice when leaving a comment. Keep it short. Very few people will have the time or inclination to read through your comment. 🙂
@@williamdom3814 my comments are always long. That's just me.
Steve knows that, I'm writing to him and his family - so I'm not bothered about what anyone else thinks. If they don't like long comments, I'm not holding a knife to their throat forcing them to read it, they do that to themselves. I'm not responsible for their inability to just scroll.
SOME people don't like long comments, SOME do! Those are my kind of people. I live alone, with serious health issues and have a gazillion words trapped inside of me yet no one to share them with. I'm aware I waffle on. I'm a waffler! I wear that badge with pride! What can I say? This is my conversation, you don't have to listen!
I'm also extremely stubborn and do not like being told what to do, I had years of domestic abuse and I broke free! I'm now expressing myself exactly as I choose to....and no longer prepared to be silent because others have low intolerance! Hence why my defiance is coming out in this reply to you, in the form of making this reply far longer than it needs to be... 😜
Don't blame me for you reading it! You have a good day now! 😁
......................
PS: William, I guarantee out of all the TH-cam comments you've read today, mine will be the one that you'll think about hours later....maybe even days! I don't know why, but I just seem to have that effect on people! 😘
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PPS: are you still here....?
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PPPS: I can still see you. 👁️👁️
Also in Scotland many students receive a Grant for clothing yearly, traditionally around 190 dollars per year, per child for clothing
Love Lost in the Pond, he's both funny and sweet
He's about as useful as wolters world 😂
I was born in the UK and left school in 2017 and I recently got a part time job cleaning a high school for a few hours a week in 2023 and I was shocked at how focused on mental health they are now. They have tents for kids to calm down in with blankets and pillows. And different zones based on feelings etc... when I was in school the teacher didn't give a crap how you felt they just did the lesson and if you didn't take notes they didn't care. So different than now.
I think it just makes kids obsess about how they feel, and doesn’t help them build resilience or problem solving skills.
Age roundup: Age 4 (5) Reception - Year 2 (Primary school) age 7 - Year 3 - 6 ( Finish age 11) High school - Start age 11 (Year 7) Through to Year 11 (Age 16). College or 6th form start after that for up to 3 years depending on the courses you do. 6th form are typically attached to a High school and typically have uniforms like the school does where as College's are separate buildings elsewhere not attached to a high school. After this from age 18 onwards it would be University.
I enjoyed the video, the commentator was witty but love hearing your comments both of you on the differences between US & England education..
The biggesr change,in our school system,was putting boys and girls,in the same classes.From,High schools for girls ,grammar schools,for boys,and secondary schools,for girls or boys,(if you hadn’t passed the Eleven plus exam),along came comprehensive schools.
16:52 it's the other way around - there are more, smaller, primary schools in the UK and because they're more spread out the classes get mixed up when you move school.
I went to school in Scotland which is quite different to England. We have primary school which is p1-p7 (aged 4/5 to aged 11/12), then secondary school which is sometimes referred to as high school which is s1-s6 (aged 12/13 to 17/18) but as 16 is considered adulthood, you can choose to leave school after this point. In s4 you sit your national 5 exams which we did 8 of in my school and you pick those 8 subjects towards then end of s2 and then study them in 3rd and 4th year. In 5th year you sit your highers (usually 5 of them) and these are considered the important ones as they are what you apply to uni with. In 6th year you sit advanced highers which are considered the same level as first year of uni in terms of difficulty and you usually do 2 or 3 subjects although you can also choose a mix of highers and advanced highers depending on what you want to do. Plus, all grading is done A-D (and no award below that), 6th form/college doesn't exist and public and private schools mean the same things as in the US. The other major difference between Scotland and England is the years of which pupils start in. In England as school starts in September, the oldest people in the class will be born in September. However, in Scotland we start school in the middle of August but the oldest children are born in January as we use the beginning of the calendar year. What makes it more confusing is the cut off for children entering that school year does not come around until February or March of the next year, so it was not uncommon to have a 13 or more month age gap between people in the same class! Parents with kids born at this time of the year are often given the option of choosing whether they believe their child is ready for school or if they should wait another year before starting
21:25 from what I've experienced, most sixth forms have secondary schools (they're all one big school but registered separately because you have to apply to get into sixth forms and people change schools, don't wanna go to sixth form, etc). Not every secondary school has a sixth form though - mine didn't so I had to go to another sixth form, which had it's own secondary school. There were some buildings that were just for the sixth form, but we had classes in other buildings too, and there were no buildings just for the secondary school. A lot of the time colleges are their own schools, because a lot of them tend to be for specialised courses like hospitality, engineering, etc.
And for the uniform, sixth forms usually have a dress code of suits, with a school tie or lapel pin. It's kind of a uniform but with more choice
Hey Steve. Some answers.
My secondary school uniform could be purchased anywhere as long as it confirmed to the school colours. School ties and blazers both with unique school colours on were purchased via the school.
Colleges can be on the site of a secondary school or desperate. Some are stand alone and specialise in creative, trade or educational learning.
I was invited to speak with a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds at my local college that were all studying business. The principal asked me to explain there was another route of starting your own business (I'm a 30 year business owner). I got a lot of engagement and questions.
Education is compulsory in the UK from the age of 5 (reception) until 16 (secondary school).
Nurseries: 3-4 years old
Reception - 5-6 years old
Primary schools: 7-11 years old (SATS EXAMS)
Secondary School 12-16 years old (GCSE EXAMS)
College - 16 - 18 years old (A LEVELS)
University - 18+ (DEGREE)
College onwards (optional education) becomes more specialised, you can pick 4 subjects and everyone knows about university.
Also really enjoy watching your stuff :) Keep it up.
10:15 yes you have to pay for school uniforms and if your unlucky it can go over £70. dependant on what school you choose to go however if you go to primary school go quite cheap.
20:58 I’m in sixth form. College and sixth form are determined by school. If it’s for year 12 and 13 only with campus it’s college. If it’s in a school with other years such as mine then it’s sixth form.
It varies from school to school, some have the 6th Form as part of the same institution but they normally have a separate building where, their have their home rooms, common rooms and some classes. The 6th Form will often have a different dress code too, rarely a uniform per se but some schools do request 6th Formers to wear "Business Attire", mainly so they get used to office wear but also it means they have something appropriate for an interview either for work or university.
Some 6th Form colleges will be completely separate schools and will offer a mix of A-Level academic courses and BTEC vocational courses.
Another thing which I have realized that is different is the school supplies you are expected to buy. In the uk school supplies are mostly always provided by the schools . It is only when you reach high school where you are expected to bring your own pen and pencil, however books are always supplied .
I was very fortunate to have been privately educated from Nursery to Sixth Form in the UK. My boarding school (Public School) from 11-18 (Lower IV, Upper IV, Lower V, Upper V (GCSEs/O' Levels), Lower VI and Upper VI (A' Levels) - hence where 2 years of sixth form comes from) the school had 4-5 pages of school uniform that could only be bought from one of 2 specialist outfitters - but second hand were available. The list included a long wool navy cape with your house colour as the hood's lining - the cape touched the ground when you first bought it but was never replaced so just shortened as you grew. Also included in the list were things like day blazers, kilt type skirts in navy, straw boater, Sunday suit jacket and skirt, house coloured ties (with tie pins), PE kit, two types of shirt (day and Sunday), etc., etc. And all with name tags sewn into everything. And don't forget the lacrosse stick! But at £16,000 ($20,000) per term (semester) in 2024, it's expected the parents can afford it. Mufti (your own clothes) could be worn in the evenings and on weekends after classes finished at 12:15 on Saturdays and after chapel on Sunday - but "lecture" dresses (conservative tea dresses) had to be worn for any evening lectures and concerts.
20:57 To put it simply, our 'sixth form' and 'college' both serve the same purposes. But sixth form is basically connected to a secondary school with the same system and rules e.g. uniform may still be required, and the level of disciplinary actions remains the same for all grades including the secondary students. So typically, the students from secondary and sixth form will both reside in the same building or a different building nearby. They will have the same name too e.g. Apple Secondary School or Apple Sixth Form.
However, our 'college' is a separate independent school with only two age groups (17/18). So they are not connected to any other school. They have the same curriculum and exams as a sixth form but have their own rules. They usually have no uniform and are much more lenient than sixth forms. Their school schedules are also more flexible and vary a lot between students.
Scottish schools are different from English schools also
We have Primary school which is P1- (4/5) - P7 (11/12) depending on birthday then you move onto High School (secondary) which is S1 (11/12) - S6 (17/18) in high school you can leave after S4 age 16 we take exams from S4 - S6
Love your reaction videos❤. As someone who lives in England and therefore went to school in a uniform, I have no objections. We all wore the same, looked the same which as a teenager is something less to worry about. My children all wore uniform (one still does), no complaints.
I am 43 now but when I attended school girls wore skirts only, boys trousers. I was on the school council, the girls wanted the option to wear trousers, there was a big campaign, we won, we could wear trousers but now the girls had to wear ties like the boys! Works both ways, good lesson for us thinking back now.
Most uniform can be brought in everyday clothing stores but Blazers and school jumpers are usually found in uniform shops, each area/bourough with have their local schools. Also in terms of class sizes, in primary school you stay with the same class the whole way through. Classes are split by capability secondary/high school. Also in terms of Nursery the government gives you 15 hours free (3-4yr olds), as it isnt essential or mandated attendance if both parents work and they need more time they will have to pay. If you are a low income family or a parent of a special needs child it starts at the age of 2, but the parent has to apply it doesnt automatically kick in.
okay the easiest way is to break this up into three parts (and im telling you this from my own experience since ive been in london my whole life):
- i first went to a nursery that was seperate from my primary school. meaning it was in a seperate school that specialises in nursery years only. nursery and reception are often categorised together as 'early years foundation stage' or 'EYFS' in the primary schools that have both nursery and reception.
- next i went to a primary school. i joined when i was in reception and i stayed there the whole duration. so primary schools include the years nursery, reception, and year 1 to year 6. (grade 2 to grade 7)
- then i went to secondary school. this is in a different building, completely different from the primary school. completely seperate. btw we DO have to pay for our own uniforms, we dont get ones provided to us. we get books, planners, lanyards, provided to us every year. secondary school is like how the guy explained. year 7 - year 11. (grade 8 - grade 12 im guessing) at the end of year 11 you take a test called GCSE's that determine the rest of your life basically. you start preparing for it from the end of year 9 when you choose your subjects.
to answer your questions about sixth form, that happens after year 11 and is usually joined with the secondary school. they dont have to wear uniforms and tbh i dont know why. in my school they do have to wear a yellow lanyard to identify themselves as sixthformers. sixth formers usualy take a test called A levels at the end of sixth form/college to determine what university they can go to.
hope this helped
Hi guys from uk. 🇬🇧. I’m 65 but remember I always wore school uniform whichever school I attended, and I personally think it’s a good idea because it helps to take pressure off the kids who can’t afford top brands of clothing. Lyndsey, ( hope I’ve spelled your name correctly ) you are a very pretty lady, your skin is lovely. Love to you all ❤
21:03 whether or not you are separated when going into sixth form depends on your area and school - some have separate buildings, some don't.
As a parent you buy all uniform, p.e. kits, even in preschool which is usually just a polo top. Girls uniform is usually more expensive because of special skirts, which at secondary school is £30/40 per skirt while boys can have unbranded black or grey uniform trousers.
To muddle things further we also have further education colleges where people can go after year 11 to gain A levels or t levels and btecs . A levels are generally a route to university while btecs and t levels are more vocational. Many secondary schools offer a levels too but further education colleges are separate sites and offer more vocational courses.
The extra 10% for the uniform in uk is more than likely colleges/6th forms were it tends to be non uniform
I work in a school and we require parents to buy a uniform from the school shop: Skirt or school trousers , Jumper (the colour on the jumper changes between school houses), blazer, pe kit (with school branding). Students also must wear either tights or white socks and black SHOES (not trainers, dolly shoes, boots) school shoes.
( I work in a girls school so no ties).
We do have a second hand store for cheaper uniforms.
We buy our own uniforms, but we need less everyday clothes as a result as we only wear 'normal' clothes on weekends so I don't think its that different to anywhere else. Uniforms are available in most clothing stores so you can get a variety of prices / quality....
Some secondary schools will have a Sixth Form on site, this will year 12&13, other secondary schools may have separate buildings for Sixth Formers but still being on the same site. Other Secondary schools may not have Sixth Form’s, and yes Sixth Formers most often don’t have to wear uniform whilst staying on the same time, instead having to wear identification lanyards. College’s are normally big buildings offering many courses for all ages, they don’t have uniforms again unless this is required for a course eg. Construction. There are also now “Sixth Form Colleges” these are college’s who only cater towards ages 16-19 (Year 12&13 ages).
17:00
I’ll be using the English school terminology here, so I’m sorry if you get confused haha.
I think for most schools in England, each year group has two sets, so you’ll have two YEAR reception-YEAR 6 classrooms/year groups.
There’s no rule to determine what class you go into, it’s just random to help spread out class sizes. So if you have twins for example, one will go into one class and the other in the other class.
These groups will move up the years together so everyone is the exact same so you don’t get new people each year, everyone moves up together and generally you won’t see students from class “A” switch to class “B”, whatever classroom group you’re in, that’s where you stay. The only thing that changes is the teachers. Teachers themselves can request to teach any year and so theoretically can follow their Y1 class all the way to Y6, but this hardly happens.
However once you reach Secondary school which is Year 7-11, things change. You get put into a Tutor Group which generally speaking is made up of the same students throughout the year but again like primary school, the teacher MIGHT change each year. Tutor is just a place to get told on the weeks events and any news that’s happened which students need to be informed about.
There could be anywhere from 4-6 different tutor groups per year too.
It’s also important to note that a Secondary School can be made up of 2-5+ different Primary Schools and the catchment area system is sometimes different compared to Primary. So there’s a chance you might be in a tutor group with maybe 0-2 people you know, whilst someone else has 3-5 people they know. Just luck really.
In terms of education itself, I think generally speaking (at least for me anyway) you stay with your Y7 tutor group for majority if not all subjects. Unlike Primary where the same teacher teaches you every subject in the same class room, in Secondary, you have to go to different rooms, floors and buildings for each subject where you are taught by a different teacher.
From Y8-9 or 10, core subjects such as Maths, English and Science is made up of students learning abilities, so the more academic you are and the better grades you are predicted, the higher set/class you are in.
For my school, we had about 6 maths sets, 5 or 6 English sets and for Science was split further. You could either Biology, Chemistry, Physics separately or you could do Combined Science which is them three together.
For subjects like History, Art, Drama for example, you tend to do these with your tutor group again.
Now here’s the fun bit. From Y9-Y11 students get to pick their GCSEs which are subjects your able to study for the remainder of your Secondary School life which can/will determine which college and college courses you can pick and get into!
(For some people though this is from Y10 and depending on the school can depend on the amount of subject you can pick/learn and also depending on how academically gifted you are too, so if you go to a school that only allows you to pick 3 things PLUS your core subjects, if your good academically you could pick a further one or two subjects).
Everyone has to still do Math, English and Science (this is where you can pick between biology, chemistry, physics or all three) but can then pick extra subjects too and sometimes there’s only subjects you can do once you reached GCSEs, so for me, I picked Media Studies and you could only do that once you’re in your GCSE years.
I don’t know about other schools but in mine, once we got to Y11, our tutor group was split. The students that were academically gifted were all put together where they focused on college and Uni things as these were the individuals who were predicted As-A**s.
Some were kept in traditional tutors and others put in this merry-go-round system where for six weeks your tutor was either a math, English or science teacher and for the 30-20 minutes that you were in tutor (usually from 8:30/40-9:00am) you would do extra bits of whatever your tutor taught.
Then finally around March/April time in Y11 (sometimes later or earlier depending on the subject) you would do your exams which everyone in the country would be doing at the exact same time to prevent any potential leaks.
For me, this wasn’t the case as that’s when Lockdowns happened and so we got our predicted grades which was a mix between our Mock tests and in class work.
After Secondary is college which is only two years of learning. During this time you can pick I think 1-3 and then for the “gifted” 3-5 A-levels.
Some students did BETECS which where a more practical subjects (construction, childcare, hairdressing) and now there’s T-levels which idk much about but I think they are a new version of BETEC. Your in college from 16-18 years old but can still go when your older than that but once your 19 you have to pay. College is also a place where students who were unable to get a GCSE in maths, English, science can go and retake it. There’s also adult classes too usually once students have left.
Also good to note that college in the UK is FREE but you everyone other than Scotland has to pay for Uni.
Then after college you have Uni.
We do have to buy uniforms, and in high school/ secondary school these can be quite expensive cause u need specific ones with badges and would be sent home/ put in isolation rooms if u come in with slightly wrong uniform items, effectively costing u education as ur not allowed in the classroom
I would say here (NI) primary school classes usual have 30 kids per class and three classes per year group. In secondary level education there would be maybe five or more classes per year group which explains the smaller class sizes in secondary schools.
OK so I really feel the need to explain something stuff.
When you enter school depends on your birthday.
You can start preschool the term starting after your 2nd birthday, example summer birthday start in sept, autumn babies start in Jan and winter birthdays start after Easter.
Starting at after 2 is optional but by 3rd birthday it's extremely expected. You stay in the preschool building until the September after your 4th birthday which is when you start primary school.
Example is your birthday is in late Aug you will start school with someone who could turn 5 by the end of Sept.
Primary school is a building that has kids from
age 4 turning 5 = reception
5/6 = year 1
6/7 = year 2
All the above are classed as key stage 1 (ks1), often all share one playground.
Key Stage 2 (ks2) while still in the same building may have a different playground with more age appropriate playground equipment.
7/8 = year 3
8/9 = year 4
9/10 = year 5
10/11 = year 6
That's the end of primary school, the following sept you start secondary school. Kids are never kept back a year at any stage of school. Primary school usually has approximately 2 or 3 classes of 30 kids in each class In each year group including reception. At secondary school it's normal to have 5 to 7 classes of 30 in each year group. Depending on location catchment area.
Secondary school is a totally different building from primary school.
You start in year 7, there's in exams to pass to get in. Secondary is the start of (ks3)
11/12 = year 7
12/13 = year 8
13/14 = year 9
In year 9 you decide which subjects you want to drop or start for your gcse exams there's core subjects that everyone has to do, maths, English, science, ( and a humanities subject which is an option between foreign language( French, Spanish, German,) , geography, history, Latin or computer science).
Then there's a list of subjects the school offers that you can choose from. Examples like food tech, art, drama, childcare, media studies, graphic design, to name a few. Gcse exams are big exams done at end of year 11
14/15 = year 10
15/16 = year 11 gcses at end of year 11.end of secondary school - end of school uniform years
Exam results decide what avenue of education you will and want to follow next.
Generally if your exam results are good enough you have all options open to you, the best option is 6th form also known as college. Other options are T-levels, and apprenticeships but school attendance is still required. You by law must stay in full time education until the age of 18.
16/ 17 = year 12 or yr 1 college / 6th form lower
17/18 = year 13 or yr 2 college / 6th form upper
At 6th form colleges you study 3 subjects for your A-levels, for 2 years, the results of your A-levels exams will decide if you get good enough results to go to university.
Most regular university undergraduate courses are 3 years some are 4 years.
18/19 = uni yr 1
19/20 = uni yr 2
20/21 = uni yr 3
21/22 = uni yr 4.
Obviously medicine and some other courses are longer.
You can also do a post graduate course which is 1 to 2 extra years. It's a higher level of qualifications.
So to sum up.
Building 1, preschool 2/3 -4 yr old
Building 2 primary school 4/5 yr old up to 10 /11 yr olds with a split in playground space.
Building 3 secondary school 11 to 16 yr olds all these levels of education must wear uniform every day
Building 4 (sometimes it's a wing of a secondary but normally a totally separate building)
6th form college
Building 5 university.
Footnote there are also technical colleges which are like university but more practical subjects like chef, builder, hairdresser, etc where you may continue your apprenticeship studies.