Americans React to the British Education System..
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One thing they left out was that at age 14 you pick your options. This is a way to cut down on how many classes you take and concentrate on the subjects you enjoy, you have to take the basics maths English science, then you can choose a language, choose between history geography and religion, then you choose between technology, art, drama. At age 16 you then take exams for the subjects you chose and you can then leave school or carry on
You don't have to do one of "history geography and religion" or one of "technology, art, drama" necessarily. You could just do the first 3.
@@42littletI think it depends on the school, mine we had to choose at least one language, one science and one humanities then pick another 3-4 subjects of interest.
It was pretty much the same as when I was at school except for science. I'm over 40 so it's more than likely changed at my school but we had the option of doing "coordinated science" which was all 3 sciences but counted as 2 GCSEs, meant for more intelligent students or for slightly less intelligent students there was "modular science" and another subject. Think 1 was related to farming, sport and other I forget.
@@johnleonard9090it depends on the pathway.
Pathway 1 students will often need to pick a language, geography, history or religion, or a vocational subject they’d need all 3
Pathway 2 wouldn’t need to pick a language. They could choose from history/geography and choose between technology, good tech, drama,Engineering.
Students in pathway 3 would only be allowed to choose own which is often something vocational as these would be students falling far behind and would concentrate on core subjects.
For one of my options I chose photography. We had our own dark room at school and could develop our photos. Really enjoyed that class and ended up with an A grade in GCSE
This is the English education system. It differs a bit in Scotland.
Just to keep in mind, I was confused at the beginning of the video when they talked about all secondary schools having a specialism, but it made sense when they revealed they were privately educated at the end. The vast majority of state secondary schools in the uk don't have any reputation for a specialism. Some schools may have adjusted their funding more in certain areas, and have better facilities than others but on the whole most secondary schools offer the basics in courses. As they came from a private school their school would be very well funded.
I don't know man, in my area there are a lot of schools that specialise. I.e mine was a science, sports and language school. I know other schools were specialists in law etc. We even had some students come from other schools for subjects like engineering because their school didn't offer it due to low interest in said subject in that school. It's mostly down to if the school is part of an educational group (collection of locale schools that pool together resources and standards MKET is the local one here) and what the board of the schools decides to prioritise.
yeah it confused me as well because it seemed like at the end they were saying private school is what we call state schools and we call private schools which u pay for public schools but idk about anyone else but i wouldnt call it those id just call it state/public and private and then yeah i think they should have been a bit more specific with the "specialised schools" because theres barely any schools which are like idk __ art school etc like yeah they focus and put a bit more money into a specific subject but that doesnt mean thats the only thing in the school and everyone is there for that thing like for example im pretty sure my school is under the sort of "sports school" label yet im not sporty and ik loads of people who arent and thats not the main focus of the school its just that its like high performing in sports (whys this so long jst ignore the fact theres no full stops LOL)
@@samuelt7000I think it depends where people live
There were a few sports focused schools around me, and I uses to get train with people from the BRIT school, which is free and is definitely creative arts focused and I don't think offers any other subjects
Oh, i'm from the UK and I thought most schools had specialism, I think that's because most of the schools around me have specialisms. My highschool has a sport specialism, another school near me specialised in drama and another in languages. They are all state schools too. I go to the sixth form which is attached to the school, I don't regret going but being around a lot of noisy 12 year old that are constantly shouting and screaming isn't fun especially when I want to get my work done.
I feel like the biggest thing they skipped was how many exams we take . At 16 I did 10 GCSEs - and most had multiple exams needed to pass. In total I had to sit NINETEEN separate exams in a two month period to pass GCSEs. On top of that, most GCSEs have a coursework component. I think I had to produce 20 different essays or projects that all count towards your final grades, baring in mind this is when you’re 14-15 years old. At 18 when you sit A-levels it’s not as many (maybe around 8-12 depending on subjects or how many you’ve taken, and they’re split over two years). But yeah… the English love testing the shit out of people!
I remember some 17 - 18yo American exchange students joining our Y11 (15-16YO) Technology (computer technical drawing session) in UK they were really shocked that we seemed to be doing something so industrial and thought it was more suited to age 21 - We all smiled at our teacher who was not use to guest students who simply called out instead raising a hand and were so informal in the way they spoke to him however he kind of grinned at their innocence - Had they stayed more than a couple of weeks I think he would have had a quiet word with them that he was their teacher not a social friend
Ya we had a teacher called mr turner and we all called him mr T outside of class and one guy called it him in class and told him if he did it again he’d get detention haha
the rules have slightly changed ( i have 2 daughters in secondary school yrs 11 and 8) now you do need to stay in education until you are 18 but it doesnt have to be in a school building. you have 3 options at 16 you can go to college you can get an apprenticeship (earn while you learn) or you can stay at 6th form but you have to do one of them
Only in England. Can still leave at 16 in the rest of the UK
In Scotland we call secondary school, high school and a few (like mine was) are called an academy. High school is from age 11/12 - 17/18. Anyone can drop out after they turn 16 to go to college, get an aprentiship or start working.
Joel - Public schools got their name because hundreds of years ago it was only monks and royalty who got any kind of education. Then parliament formed schools for the public where non-religious or non-regal kiddies could get education. However they were still the children of the very rich - so Public schools became upper-class institutions. Public schools are still considered above private schools!
What they said isn’t 100% true because in the UK your employer can send you to university and the government will fully fund your university degree as part of an apprenticeship scheme. I’ve just got my Bachelors Degree and I’m now doing my MBA, all fully funded because I’m doing it as part of my job. Not only does this mean I’m not in around £80k worth of debt but it also means I’m being paid by my employer the whole time I study.
The government don't fund it really, businesses do. Your employer pays an 'apprenticeship levy' to the government. Which allows their enployees to get funded and onto a apprenticeship scheme. Most employers pay more into the scheme than they use/take.
A degree apprenticeship
@@Em_Rose_ some even pay for the Masters and PhD levels so it'd be 6 or 7yrs at Uni which often have work placements inbetween too. Depends on the subject I guess.
Masters seems to be the goal for most.
What did u get a degree in?
@@amandaomezi7492 my degree was in Leadership and Management but covered all areas of Business Management. It also gave me Chartered Manager status and was awarded alongside an additional L6 diploma from the Chartered Management Institute.
In the UK Primary school can also be known as the older terms of infants and junior school so infants is reception to year 2 and junior year 3to year 6 which probably is similar to elementary and middle school
It’s an old video bear in mind so will be out of date and Joel & lia channel finished last year after they changed name it to these two brits. Lia wanted it to continue but Joel wanted to finish it. So there’s no point subscribing to that channel but they both have other channels of their own.
Just to summarise a bit and to explain some of the bits that I think could've been expanded on more:
1yo - 3yo => Nursery
4yo - 11yo => Primary School
12yo - 16yo => Secondary School
17yo - 18yo => Sixth Form/College
18+ => University
Schools are separated into three main types:
- Public => The 'upper-echelon' of private schools. Tend to have very high fees, are quite exclusive, and are frequented by people who come from wealth. Many are often boarding schools as well.
- Private => Independent schools that require fees, but usually aren't boarding and tend to hold a wider range of students (primarily middle class).
- State => Free schools, funded by the government. Pretty similar to what you'd expect from an American state school. Some state schools are "grammar schools", which have a selection process to get into similar to public/private schools.
(I've made some generalisations about the classes of people who tend to go to each type of school, and while these are largely correct, there are exceptions as many private/public schools offer partial or full bursaries/scholarships to their students)
Exams:
SATs - Nationwide exams that are sat once at the end of year 2 (7/8yo), and once at the end of year 6 (11/12yo). Most students will sit this exam, and it's used as a means to measure the school's teaching performance, as well as to rank each student and identify which 'set' they should be put in to maximise their future progression.
GCSEs - Exams sat at the end of year 11 (16yo). Students will usually sit these exams in subjects such as English Language, English Literature, Maths, and Science as compulsory exams, and they will usually also have exams in a few other subjects that they chose at the end of year 9 (14yo). Most students will sit around 8 GCSEs. I personally sat English Literature, English Language, Maths, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, French, History, Geography, and Design & Technology (the last 4 being my choices).
* After GCSEs, students can choose to leave formal education, however they must legally remain in some form of training/education until the age of 18. However this can be in the form of an apprenticeship, the military, vocational training etc.
A-Levels - If a student decides to stay in formal education, they will choose 3 or 4 subjects (usually) that they want to specialise in and will join a sixth form/college. They will study those 3 or 4 subjects for 2 years until they sit their A-Level exams at age 17/18. The A-Levels are predominantly the exams that universities will base their requirements on for prospective students. As mentioned in the video, some colleges provide vocational training courses and apprenticeships as well.
University - You'll apply to university during your last year of college by choosing the subject that you want to study and applying to (up to 5) universities of your choice. Your school will provide "predicted grades" to your prospective universities and they will give you either a rejection, a conditional offer ("You must get x grades in your A-Levels"), or an unconditional offer to join them. As mentioned in the video, you must pick the degree you want to do at the application phase. You cannot apply to a university and decide your degree at a later date, although some universities allow you to transition to a separate degree mid-way through (although this is uncommon and completely at the universities' discretion). Some degrees allow you to choose modules, although these will be related to your chosen degree. For example I study Mechanical Engineering, and I may be offered at some stage to pick between "Mechanical Engineering with Mechatronics" or "Mechanical Engineering with Biomedical Engineering" with the associated modules.
University fees are capped by the government at £9250pa (for non-foreign students). You can either pay this out of pocket, pick up a scholarship/bursary, or take out a student loan. The video explained this quite well, but the short of it is that you don't have to pay back your student loan until you are earning more than £27,295pa. At which point 9% of your income over that £27,295 will be automatically taken off your paycheque (up to a monthly cap) to repay the loan. If you haven't managed to repay your loan after 30 years (40 years on some plans), then the entire loan will be written off and you won't have to pay anymore.
Yeah not for the UK. Scotland has a completely different education system including starting and leaving ages, exams, term times and holidays, free university tuition, names of school years etc. No one in Scotland does GCSEs or A levels for example.
Well said, you ought to have done the video as you know what you are talking about!
@@Spiklething True, I based this on the English system because the video focused on that system. Maybe the Scottish system is a good suggestion for JPS's next reaction?
Probably good to mention private nurseries take from 3-4 months and preschools attached to schools take from 3. There’s are different funding brackets for the different age brackets too 9 month 2 year and 3 year funding
This should be a pinned comment. It definitely explains the English education system in a better way.
In Ipswich , suffolk we call it High school but in London where I was born we call it secondary school .
i was born in london and grew up with the term secoundary, but i went to school in manningtree wich is down the road from ipswich and i ended up going to suffolk one college, and it was so odd bcuz manningtree was called mhs (manningtree high school) and again suffolk one was a sixth form but wasn’t attached to a secoundary lol so odd
@@maisiebardwell7819yeah it should be a college or utc if it isn’t connected to a secondary
Bomestly id say in Ipswich its a mix of both it just depends on what area your in bc ive heard many people in my school call it both
I’m not totally so done starting formal education so much earlier than the US, but from what I’ve seen on TH-cam, our kids are more independent, like they certainly feeding themselves and holding a knife full properly well before they go to school.
The system has changed a bit since I was at school, and I'm Scottish so our system is a little different to England's. I started primart school at the age of 4 (yep, we start school really young here!), then started high school at 11. I picked the subjects I wanted to study for Standard Grade (our GCSEs) at the age of 13, then a lot of Highers (our A levels) at 15. At that time you could leave school at 16 and have nothing else lined up work or education-wise. I stayed on and did more Highers and an Advanced Higher. I started my degree at the age of 17 and finished it when I was 20 🙂
sadly you are slightly incorrect with Scottish vs English education. Standard grades are no more for a start its now Nationals from Nat1-Nat5, plus Advanced Highers is what is equivalent to A levels not regular Highers which is why you will see 5 Highers or 3 A levels for entry for the same course. A little on how it works for Scotland Nursery (Kindergarten) is from 2 or 3 depending on circumstances and availability to 4 or 5 depending on your birthday month. If you are born during January or February your parents can choose if you will start school at 4 or wait until you turn 5. If you are born in March to August you will always wait until you have had your 5th birthday. The other months will be 4 turning 5 during the first year. Primary school will usually last for 7 years at which point you will go to high school (also called academies or secondary schools depending on the area). In the first 2 years you will take all subjects offered by the school and after exams in your second year depending on you results you pick around 7 subjects to study with some being mandatory like Maths and English. You will get your first set of quaifications in these subjects after 2 years and you have your first opportunity to leave school at this point if you are 16 or close to 16(eg birthday during the summer holidays). However if you were one of the children with a birthday in January and started school at 4 you will have to do a further year of study, but this does not need to be done at high school you could elect to go to college instead. In your 5th year of high school you sit Highers or elect to study a normal 2 yr course you didnt do in 3rd and 4th year in one year. You further specialise and usually only focus on 5 subjects (normally picked from the 7 you studied earlier). At this point you can go straight to University or again college or choose to stay one year further for a better chance to get into the Uni of your choice. In 6th year you are advised to only select 2 or 3 subjects from those you got a higher in previously (or if you picked a crash course to Nat4/5 in 5th year can pick the higher now). Colleges and University are completely different 1 They dont just teach academics they also have things like Nursing, Hairdressing, Joinery etc. 2 You can do subjects from a lower starting point similar to doing GED in America but you can select one or 2 subjects even there. 3 you can for some areas go on to University to get a degree eg fail at school go to college get a NC in computing then a HNC and switch to Uni for 2 yrs and get a BA or study for the HND then finish with a year in Uni for the BA. There are far more adult learners in college than University so you will often find a class with age ranges from 16-60 where as in Uni it will tend to be 17-21. Homeschooling is possible especially with the many islands and remote areas we have her plus the Traveller community, but you cannot just remove your child from a school and elect to homeschool, its a little complicated. Usually if you enroll your child into the school system they have to stay in there until 16, but as always there are exceptions, you do not however have to ever enroll your child at all to allow for above circumstances. It would make no sense to make people enroll children in the system if there is no school on their island for example. With the introduction of online learning over the past few years this is becoming less and less of a thing with many island children all learning through virtual classrooms. Likewise it used to be common practice in some rural areas for some children to leave school at 14 to work on their farms, but today I doubt this still happens although technically still legal to do so. There are many differences between Scotland and England not only in Education, but also in Laws and even charities, too many people treat the English systems as its the whole of the UK when it is far from it. A word to the wise to those across the Pond treat Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as different countries from England which we are not as just some region of GB/UK we were at war with each other for centuries after all xd.
@@dizzydiana73 I prefaced my comment with "The system has changed a bit since I was at school" 😑
Nursery starts at 3 and depending on your birthday you can do 1 year or 2 years which means you start primary school at either age 4 or 5. The usual is 2 years of nursery covering ages 3-5 and starting primary 1 at 5. That much is absolutely still the same. You can pay for private nursery prior to 3 or if you are an eligible 2 year old you get govt funded nursery eduction too. Govt funded nursery education up to 5 isn’t mandatory in Scotland but each child is funded for 1140 hours per year and a flexible system. The term time nurseries run 30 hours per week funded. Primary is primary 1-7 then high school 1st year - 6th year. That much is still true to this day. When I was at school you could leave to go into work, apprenticeship or college at 14 years old. I was 4 years old when I started primary school so 16 when I finished 6th year. At any point from 14 onwards you can go to college but the longer you do at high school the higher the level of college course you can get into making your college course shorter. University for a bachelor’s degree is 3 years but an honours degree is 4 years. Degrees such as becoming a doctor is longer. All first degrees at bachelor and honours degree is funded by the government in Scotland. You don’t have to pay for any education until you are doing a post graduate or masters degree. I was at high school till 6th year then did an HNC at college, started one Barchelors degree then switched to a different bachelor degree with honours at the end of first year, did my full 4 years of the new course and didn’t have to pay a penny in tuition fees at all. So I had in total 19 years of education fully funded in Scotland.
The inner London area used to have the same.
Taken off a government website
age of 18, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay in school if it isn’t right for you.
There are plenty of different routes to go down when you turn 16, whether that’s going to college to do A Levels or a vocational course like a T Level, or starting to earn while learning as an apprentice.
Here we talk you through your post-16 options, from school and college, to apprenticeships and supported internships.
How old do you need to be to leave school?
Legally, you can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays. However, by September, you will need to be in official education or training.
These are your options:
stay in full-time education, e.g. at a college, doing A Levels, T Levels or other academic qualifications,
start an apprenticeship,
work or volunteer for 20 hours or more a week while in part-time education or training.
Why is education and training compulsory for 16 to 18-year-olds?
We believe that being in education or training allows young people to develop the skills they need later in life, opening doors to future employment and helping them make the most of their potential.
This also reduces the chance of unemployment, boosts earning potential, and allows young people to develop new skills in different educational environments.
Whatever route you take, we’re also considering ways to make sure everyone is getting some form of maths education that is suited to their needs, until the age of 18. This will make sure all young people have the skills necessary to thrive in their chosen career. It doesn't mean that you have to take A Level maths though. You can read more about it here.
I was 16 before my school time was over as I was born in November.
I actually wanted to start school a year earlier though.
I would NOT be staying until I was 18! Hell no!
I believe they are possibly thinking of the child benefit payment. It stops when you turn 18 if you stayed in education. I left at 17, ditched my A levels, and the child benefit my mum got stopped. (It’s capped to 2 children now).
@@Diablo_Himselfyou don’t have a choice anymore, you have to be in eduction till you’re 18 whether it’s 6th form, college or an apprenticeship, or voluntary work and part time college.
Basically, although it is against the law to quit all forms of education* before you turn 18, there are really no legal consequences for breaking this rule. The official school leaving age - which varies depending on where you are in the UK - is 16, but it is necessary to remain in some form of education until you are 18. You cannot even get a full-time job before this age; however, part-time jobs are still an open option.
Ah, then I would still leave at 16.
Though I was thrown out at 14 anyway.
Only have to stay in some form of education till 18 in England only. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland you can still leave at 16, no apprenticeship or further education required.
You mentioned some disadvantages with having a broadbased education right into the first year of university in the US, but there are also disadvantages the other way round in the way we get kids to specialise down even from aged 14 when they choose what GCSEs to study (around 8-10 subjects). Then again limiting this down to 3 to 4 A-level subjects at age 16 for 6th form or even just one vocational subject at college. That's all great if you know what you want to do for the rest of your life at age 14 and age 16, but not many of us do. That means you are funnelled towards a narrower set of options that you can apply to study for at university because of these choices made when you were really young and had no clue what you wanted to do because you can generally only apply for university courses related to your A levels or vocational subject area. Because of the high cost of going to university, it's pretty impossible to afford to go back and do a different degree in something you realise you actually need or prefer later in life. Pros and cons both ways.
The tier system is different depending where you live in the UK because I went to first school (4-9), then middle school (9-13) then high school (13-16)
You can’t leave at 14-15 but secondary school ends at aged 16. You do however choose your ‘subject options’ for your GSCE exams at aged 14 (‘General Cert of Education’ which you eventually take aged 16) to try and narrow down your core subjects in the last 2 years of secondary school. BTW, It used to be called 1st to 5th year in secondary school, so if you stayed on until you were 18, those extra 2 years were “6th form”. Most people in 6th form either further hone their core subjects and do further exams called A levels or you can opt to do more vocational courses which are perhaps less academic. You generally need to get certain exam results from 6th form to get into Uni (college) where you pick your specialist course subject (major). That said at 18 I had no clue what I wanted to do, so opted to do a more vocational art course at another college for 2 years which was someways between a college course and a degree called a BTEC. I then realised I wanted to do graphic design and went to Uni afterwards to get my degree with a better foundation of what I actually wanted to do. I left uni in 1996 though so it’s probably changed again since my days! Certainly the course fees have. Crazy how much debt students are in these days!
That's just her experience of secondary school, 150 is crazy, I had 1200 when I went to secondary school
So with secondary school (some of us do actually refer to it as high school), the child usually doesn't get much of a say in which one they go to.
The secondary schools generally have "feeder schools", the primary schools in a similar sort of area that children are more likely to get a place from.
But also, the parents submit the options for the secondary schools they want their child to go to, and the local authority distributes places based on the feeder schools I mentioned, as well as which schools are closest to where the child lives... things like that.
Once you're about 13-14 and picking your options for GCSE classes though, at least in my area, there were a small amount of subject options that you could take at another school that has the better facilities (such as a particular language that your school can't teach, but another school in the city does)
@ItsJps Re: Public/Private - In the UK 'Public Schools' are what elsewhere are called 'Private Schools'...originally the only previous forms of education or serious scholarship was done via religious institutions i.e. The Church...be it Catholic or Christian. The only people that received any education was either monks and clergy at monasteries etc or privately for the very, very rich and wealthy i.e. nobility, royalty etc.
Over time other forms of schooling developed along with universities etc...these were called 'Public Schools' in that they were separate from the church and (technically) open to the paying public and not confined to religious instruction by religious instructors to members of a religious institution. Really it was the beginning of the end of the Churches dominance as a seat of power...since previously the Church (be it Catholic or Christian depending on the time period) had been as powerful even as monarchs...and far, far richer.
In actuality of course, the only people that could attend those sorts of 'public' schools were still the very, very wealthy...grammar schools and the most prestigious private schools for the elite like Eton, Harrow, Rugby etc often with direct paths to the top universities...Oxford/Cambridge etc.
So called 'poor schools' teaching poor kids as the name suggests, funded by charity usually, came much later around the early 1800s. Those were the forerunners of state-run government funded schools that today are 'free'...except they're paid for via taxes obviously.
Today in the UK, all public schools are private, but not all private schools are public schools. Yes it's confusing and weird...but it is what it is...and there's also independent schools now that may be either free or paid tuition which doesn't help make the waters any less muddy.
There are exams you take at the end of year 6 (11 years old) called the 11+ that also determine the secondary school you go to as there are grammar schools which are schools for the top 25% smartest of each year. In year 9 (14 years old) you pick options which are maths, English and science. Then you pick history or geography. Then you pick 2 classes such as heath and social, sports, art, dance, food tech etc and sometimes you also have to do a language and religious studies. I’m in my second year of university studying forensics for a bachelors of honours degree! If you want a masters you stay for like 2 years longer in university.
As well as state schools (which are called public schools in America) and fee-paying schools there are also grammar schools. There are only around 160 in the UK and when you are in year 6 (7th grade for usa i think), you can choose to do a test called the 11+, and there's a pass mark and a priority mark to get in. They generally have a good reputation and are very focused on academics. I go to a grammar school, and I do enjoy it but you are challenged because the expectations are very very high which is quite stressful.
UK University
Fees = £9,000 (approx $10,800) per year…no matter what degree course you take. This amount is then deducted from your wages in small instalments depending on your salary when you start working after finishing University.
Normal time to achieve Degree
3 years = eg BSc
4 years = BSc (2 years study. Then 1 year work experience. Then Final Year back to University study)
3 (BSc) + 1 Year MSc
3 (BSc) + 2 Years (Ph.D)
Some degrees can be studied on a part-time basis ie: if you have regular job during the day but are able to study in the evenings.
One thing they don’t communicate is that until university you live at home unless you go to boarding school. So for most people, college is normally in your village/town or the next town over which for us is probably only 20-30 minutes away. So the big independent step is when you move away for university.
University can cost different depending on if accomodation is included, and high reputation may have higher fees. Year 4 of a degree is a masters degree, then medical degrees may be 5 or 6 years, 4 year courses may have 1 year working in industry in the middle of the course. Then there is Phd and doctorates after a masters which may take 3 years. These are oist graduate studies getting one allows you to call yourself Dr.
Students go to college (university) to read for a bachelor's degree, e.g bachelor of arts.. A master's degree is usually a post-graduate degree awarded also by colleges (universities). Sixth form colleges do not award degrees. They are colleges where pupils go to study for A levels prior to going to college or just to complete their secondary education.
n Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin universities, the status of Master of Arts is a mark of seniority within the University which may be conferred 21 terms after matriculation. These MAs are about reaching a new status within the University and not an upgrade of a BA or an additional qualification.
Sixth form tends to be more academic focused whereas college is vocational such as trades etc that is the modern day distinction I think
Not at all. The colleges I know of are extremely academic but also offer other subjects too. Sometimes students like to stay at their school for 6th form as classes are smaller but the choice of subjects more limited. Conversely some students want the independence of colleges and it is a good stepping stone between school and moving away to uni.
Now in UK students have to stay in education until 18 or get an apprenticeship. Some colleges you can be at for years depending on subject. Some offer Higher education so HNC and HND, which is basically your 1st year uni but it's a much cheaper way of doing it as it would cost around £3000 - £4000 per year instead of about £9000 per year.
I’m the Uk when you go to college you usually are still living with parents as your like 16-18 but when you go uni it’s like 3-7 years of living with other people who attend the same place. You can stay living at home but many like to move out to have the “full experience”
This is an old video you have to stay until 18 now but you can leave school and go to a six form or college for the last two years. there are small colleges within university's. university modules in the uk are specific to the corse and you still get to pick them there just more niche to you course like doing film studies and and a module film noir. also our uni's don't over subscribe on modules. There is only as many places on the modules as there are students on the course
Only have to stay to 18 in England. You can still leave at 16 without any further education at all in the rest of the UK
The Education system in the video describes the English education system.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have control over their own Education systems.
For example University degrees in England are typically taken over a three years period and the students have to pay £9,250 per year.
In Scotland University degrees are typically taken over a four year period and there are no fees for Scottish students to pay.
I'm glad I'm not the only one pointing this out.
I went to a tiny school (2 houses knocked into one) in the seventies/eighties which had classes of between 10 and 15 for each year, It was basic and had no heating apart from gas fires with no fire guards! Some of the lessons were done in the living room of the headmistress who lived next door! Wouldn't be acceptable now but I was very happy. There was no school hall as such but we met as a school in a room we called the "big room"! The playground was a small garden
Not all schools are specialised, and even if it is, they will still the national vocabulary enlgand, not sure for the rest of the UK and the 11/12 year olds dont normally hang with 16 year olds in school, they just passing each other in the corridors etc and classes have each age group for every subject, at least as it was when i was in secondary/high school (we called it high school too). Also, collage wasn't just 2 years, I was there for 3 years so it depends how many courses you do, and I did 2 courses, so not the same as doing Alevels that are a year or 2. I went university at 20 years old
In the UK college is a place where school leavers (usually age 16) can take up a professional qualification after which most will go into employment rather than more courses. The main alternative (Sixth Form) is basically a two year course continuing on the students selection of school subjects and acts as a feeder course to university. Universities in the UK are where you qualify for degrees of various levels and where you can obtain a doctorate.
In the UK private schools operate a different system from the State system. It is common in the system of private schools (in the UK, private schools are called "Public Schools", which are fee-paying schools) that pupils attend Preparatory Schools from age 3 or 4 until age 13. Then they transfer to a Public School (High School) until age 18 (though they can leave at age 16). In the State Sector some regions operate Infant/Primary Schools until age 11 whereas other areas operate infant schools from age 3 to 6 than Middle Schools until age 13. Other regions (the majority) have a system of Infant/Primary Schools from age 3-4 or 5 till age age 11 followed by transfer to High School (Secondary School) until age 16 (optionally age 18).
But in the end they take the same exams as everyone else.
Yeah my "primary school" actually consisted of an infant (nursery-year 2) and a junior school (year 3-6). The 2 were literally next door to each other so, despite having different names and separate buildings and playing fields, effectively operated as a single school.
I'm Scottish and we don't have Reception. I started Primary School aged 4 so it went Primary 1 - Primary 7. 4-10 coming on 11. I started Secondary School aged 11 and it is different than England. There are 6 years - aged 11-18. You can leave Secondary School as soon as you turn 16. Some pupils leave at 16 and go to College which is not University. You can do Childcare, Hairdressing, Car Mechanics, Computing, Food Technology at College. Most pupils stay on at school until S6 or Sixth year. I left school during my Sixth year and went to College to study Childcare. My mum left school at 15 and went to a College to study Secretarial. My dad left school at 18 and went to University to study to become a teacher. The summer holidays in Scotland are different than England too. We stop for our summer break at the end of June and go back in the 2nd week in August - 6 weeks. England and Wales stop in the 3rd week week in July and go back at the 1st week in September - 6 weeks too. Ireland stop at the same time as Scotland and go back at same time as English schools. We were always told growing up that they got longer summer holidays because of the troubles.
Thanks guys, fascinating subject ... Thank you 🤗
I love that you're watching Skins!!!! I was in College same time as them and it's so nostalgic for me.
Misfits is also great, it was on TV here around the same time as Skins
You definitely start to specialise in your education a lot earlier in the UK, at 14 you choose which subjects you want to do your exams in at 16. I dropped History, Technology, Art, Music, Drama, ICT and picked up Separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics instead of just 1 combined science class), Psychology and Physiology.
You then pick 4 subjects to do in sixth form/college and after the first year you drop one and continue with the remaining 3. I dropped English and continued with Biology, Chemistry and Psychology.
By the time university comes around you have hopefully whittled the 3 down to one subject you want to pursue a career in. I studied Biology at university.
Funny thing is though if I could go back to being 14 again I’d pick such a different route. Science is interesting and all but I think my true passion is English, History and the arts 😂
Joel. Perhaps on your next visit to England, you could go to one of the big Uni's & ask if you can have a tour. But it's best to go sometime between October & February. This is because they will be preparing for exams in the latter part of the term/semester.
This is the English education system in the British education system.
uni in the UK is batcherlors degrees. you can do "post-graduate", phds or masters after that at uni
Reception is equivalent to Pre-K not Kindergarten, which is why I had to do year 1 and then 1st grade when my family moved to the US
Cost of University courses can vary slightly between courses and Universities - but is capped by the government, so can't cost more than £9,000 per yr for an undergraduate course - for a home student. Students from overseas pay full costs. Masters courses cost more, and have more variation in price between universities. I am of the age where I did O level exams at age 16. I chose the subjects at age 14 - but had to choose one language, one humanity and one science, maths and English were compulsory for all, and then two other subjects could be any area at all. A levels followed this at age 16-18, where you only took 3-4 subjects in total. These led to University - where your choice of A level can dictate which course you can do, as the entry requirements might be subject specific. Often they are grade specific, to ensure you are academically able to cope with the course. Undergrad courses are typically 3 years, but more are becoming 4 years - with a year spent in industry to gain work experience. Masters courses are 1-2 years. PhD's are 3-4 years. You can leave school at age 16 - but there is an expectation that you are in education or training (if you have no job) until age 18. So you may choose to do an apprenticeship instead of go to college, for example.
I get annoyed when people only speak from experience but then assume everyone has the same experience. My wife, my kids, and I went to school in England. They have first, middle, and high school. That's 4-9, 9-13, 13-16. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different school systems to England and Wales.
Joel and Lia have demonstrated a pretty limited view of UK & US life, despite having greater access than most. 🤔
Before school age there are basically 3 categories:
1) Nursery - Any age from babies to school age, for parents who are probably both working.
2) Playgroup - age probably 2½, where they just need to learn to socialise and play with other children.
3) Preschool - Age probably 3½/4, where they go to play, but in a more educational manner, guiding them towards learning skills they will need once they're at school...like starting Reception class early.
School system:
In my day you had 3 years at Infants school, 4 years at Junior school, and 5 years at Senior school, before going into an optional 6th form at either your own school (if it had one) or a separate 6th form college. University is where you go after you've taken your A Levels in 6th form. Nowadays, the Infants & Juniors are combined into one Primary school. The seven years then become a Reception year, to learn what school is about, whilst still having a lot of play time, followed by Years 1-6. This means what was your 8th year at school (1st year senior school) is now just called Year 7, and is your 1st year at Secondary school. In Year 9 you choose options to study in Years 10&11 towards GCSE exams. In Years 12&13 (6th Form) you study for your A Level exams to get into university.
I'm going back a few decades now, but we did have a system where we would call the first 3 years infants, then the next 4 years juniors and the next 5 seniors. We also, called the last 5 years high school and secondary interchangeably. Years 12 and 13, were optional 6th form education. Before infants, you could go to what was called nursery. We certainly didn't think in terms of years 1 to 11, as this is a relatively new system
each school is seperated by keystages.
in primary school you have key stage 1 which is year 1 to year 2, key stage 2 is the year groups 3 - 6. secondary school, year 7-9 is key stage 3, and year 10 and year 11 are key stage 4. further education takes us to colleges and 6th forms which are suited for the age ranges between 16-18 when secondary school finishes. (however, unlike sixth form, at college any person of all age can go there to learn). sixth forms are attatchments to already existing secondary schools, however just because your secondary school has a sixth form doesnt mean you have to go there, you can go to any if you are accepted, though usually you have a higher chance of being accepted into the sixth form that is attached to the secondary school you went to. and then higher education is of course universities which you have to be 18 or over to attend. if you want to attend uni straight after college or sixth form then you must have achieved a high enough grade in college or sixth form to attend at 18, though at 21 you can attend uni regardless.
We all have to wear uniforms as well , Black shoes , trousers, white shirt , tie , and blazer or jumper with school logo on it . Think Harry Potter films and that’s basically the uniform that we all wear . Without the wands obviously 😆.
i would love to see you guys about the actual subjects and how we actually have to do work and exams here in the uk because that is a major difference !!!
Brit here. When I went to school it was infant school, junior school and high school. And none of this year 10 nonsense. Infant was 1st, 2nd and 3rd years. Junior school was 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th years. High school was 1st,2nd,3rd,4th and 5th years. This makes it easier when someone asks what year of the 12 you're in. If asked you say 3rd year junior or 4th year high. And we have 6th year because of this system as 6th year was the 6th year of high school you volunteer for for more education before moving on the college or university. Start infant at 4, junior at 7 and high at 11 6th form at 16.
Nice thumbnail. JP knows how to get his fans 😊
Germany has hochschule which is highschool by literal translation, gymnasium is academically more like our high school, Germany has kindergarten- the US school system is based on an older version of the German school system
It's changed since I started school in 1970. I started school at 5 years old, and went to what we called an infants school. Stayed there for two years and then moved up to what we called a primary school. We stayed there for 4 years. Them we moved up to secondary school for 4 years. Above that it was pretty much the same as now - 5th form, college and Uni. When my own kids, and then my grand children went to school i found it hard to grasp the year system they were using, what they were calling year 4 i was still used to thinking as being second year at junior school, and year 7 being the 1st year of secondary school. Etc.
I finished at 17 staying on to take what was then secretarial classes. Went when there was the A plus, secondary and grammer schools. Came to states after marriage to american. When I enrolled for college programs they would not recognize my english education. Even with a letter from a college professor who was an expert in the system they would not accept it I had to take the GED to be able to start college. Still get confused when kids say their grade instead of age.
It was similar to that where I lived growing up in the 90s/00s.
When I started aged 4, we had first school - middle school - high school, first school being reception through year 3, middle school years 4-7, high school years 8-11.
But as I was going from year 7 to year 8, they changed to be more in line with the rest of the country and switched to infant - junior - secondary. This was also when our city's secondary schools got their specialisations.
Infant is (I think) reception to year 2, junior years 3-6, secondary 7-11. They also had to rebuild all of the secondary schools that year to be able to accommodate all of the additional students they now had (which meant a winter term of freezing temporary class rooms while our new school was finished being built)
Growing up in Scotland I did 7 years of Primary, 5 years of High School then 4 years of University.... graduated when I was 20yo and that was perfectly normal..... the system is different in different areas of the country so what the video says is..... not entirely correct in a lot of places.
Hi guys i went through infants, big school, then secondary but i left at the age 15 to start work, 52 yrs later i have retired at last, but education has changed so much we never had a choice.
Im 47 it was then nusery, primary school, middle school, secondary school, sixth-form or college/sixth-form college, University. You could at 16 do a YTS (Youth Training Scheme where you did day release at college worked the rest of the week for £40 until qualified. Now its vocational apprenticeships start on minimum wage and work up until qualified. YTS no longer available. Also in year 11 schools ask that you prepare your CV (Curriculum Vitae).
You could back then choose in your second year of middle school to either stay till year four of middle school or leave and go to secondary school.
My education dates back years now and some things were different like GCSEs were separate then: GCEs for the more highly educated heading for university and CSEs for the "less clever" headed for college. I also feel we were more channelled academically with subject more important than future job prospects. Fortunately the government paid for university education at the time so I felt no qualms in changing to child care immediately after getting my physics degree.
I went to what is called a 'grammar' school which is a secondary school where you take a specific exam to get into. Its handy for escaping from primary school bullies who just go to the local comprehensive. I'd say having your school specialise in something like sports or technology is the exception rather than the norm though, its usually just a general education until you get to start picking some subjects at GCSE around the age of 14. Also when it comes to sixth form or a further education college, you get an early taste of university in that you get to pick all your subjects from what qualifications that institution offers. For example, I went to a college that did Law because I was interested in doing it at university (in order to become a rich lawyer). That was a fortunate decision as I was able to discover I was rubbish at it before I was having to pay for a degree. With this ability to pick and narrow down subjects from age 14 onwards, the UK system seems to emphasise becoming more and more specialised if you stay in education. Certainly a more generalised system like the European Baccalaureate (equivalent to A-levels) or US credit system where you're required to continue doing ever more advanced science, maths, etc. seems unappealing if you've already got a good idea of what you enjoy and/or are good at.
My grammar school was yr10 - yr13
My bullies moved onto grammar school with me, but since the year group was larger we didn't share many classes there.
Sooo happy to hear you’re watching skins. Wow love that show thats the city I went to university in. Love bristol ❤ love skins ❤
When I went to uni, I picked an "umbrella subject" before I went. In 1st year, we had to do set modules that were chosen for us. Then in 2nd year, there were some different modules we could choose from and then in 3rd year, we chose which of those modules we wanted to pursue further and have them as our specialties. So for example, I chose Tv and Radio as my degree, then in 2nd year one of the modules was editing and then 3rd year it was called something like advanced editing. Another thing is, uni can last longer than 3 years if you decide to do a masters, or even further education following on from that. The length also may change depending on what you are studying, for example midwifery courses have like a year of placement, which basically means working alongside professionals to train on the job. Or if you need to retake a year to be able to qualify to progress to the next year. Apprenticeships are when you go into a workplace and get trained on the job but may also have college classes mixed into your schedule for more formal learning to get qualifications.
PS- we deffo call secondary school, high school (informally)
It depends on the university one chooses.
The biggest difference between student loans and other loans is in the repayments. You only start paying it back when your income is over the repayment threshold of £25,000 a year, which is £2,083 a month or £480 a week. Repayments are calculated at 9% (or 9p in every £1) on everything you earn over the threshold.
The thresholds are different depending on when you went to university.
You can fo a foundation degree at uni for a year, then do a normal course which is normally 3 years but can be 2 in some cases. If you do an apprenticeship course on a day release, you work 4 days go to uni 1 day and it's all paid for and you get paid too. Once you finish your bachelors (first course at uni) you can then do a masters degree. Hope this makes sense
University can be longer than 3 years it’s not just 3 years & done, but that’s usually a standard entry level course & you can choose to carry on to get higher qualifications or leave & come back. I’m training to be a radiographer currently & it’s an apprenticeship with the hospital & uni, so it’s all funded for me, I work full time & also have to keep up with studying online
In Scotland, we are different. We do primary 1 - 7, then high school up to age 16 if your birthday is before the summer holidays. If not , we have to stay on for a 5th year. You can also stay up to 6th year (17 -18yrs old). Our high schools do not “specialise” in anything. We don’t have sixth form. From high school we can go straight to university or non academic studies or employment. Our high schools typically have between 500 - 2000 pupils.
Preschool is from 3 years old, nursery comes before that. Many nurseries also have a preschool room for children ages 3 and up.
Yeah, our system is a little confusing tbh. I left school in '99 and things have changed a bit since then 😅 Generally speaking, primary school is subdivided into "infants" and "juniors" and secondary school is known as "seniors". In my day (god how old do I sound?!) we still had grammar schools, and some exclusively boys' and girls' schools. At secondary school we all wear official school uniform until year 11, and don't have school lockers (the recent Gillian Anderson show had these things in it to appeal to the American market more). Things are further complicated these days, because schools can apply to become "academies" which basically turns them into private businesses... No school in my town was ever "specialised" or a "sports" or "science" school or anything... Maybe these people grew up in a middle class area and such things existed, but they certainly weren't common. At college (or sixth-form) you need to choose your subjects with your uni courses in mind, but you can take whatever you want otherwise. I only needed 2 subjects for what I wanted to do, and the other 2 could be anything I liked. Similarly at uni, some modules can be taken to broaden your hoizons, and study beyond the scope of your specialism. You don't necessarily have to *really* settle down until the 2nd year. I even knew some people who completely changed what degree they were doing partway through. Oh, and we don't have sororities or "frat houses" to join. That's just weird to us. At least at the schools I went to (normal comprehensive types), and when I went, we got a good general education in a wide range of subjects, and really only honed our focus with a career in mind at university level. This isn't universal by any means, but was certainly my experience.
Grammar schools still exist in parts of the U.K. my daughter goes to one.
In England the narrowing of subjects starts at 14, up to then kids do the full range, but from 14 to 16 they will all do the core subjects plus their choice of optional subjects. At 16 they will either leave school or go to college/sixth form picking three or four subjects to study to 18. Often if they do four they drop one after a year, after AS Levels as she said, that's the exam halfway through. Then it's time to pick 1 subject to do for 3 years at Uni, though some courses are longer. A masters is 2 years following that.
in some parts of the UK, its first, middle, and high school, which are ages 4/5-8/9, 9/10-13, and 13/14-16, so that may be a closer comparison to the US school system. The rules are now that you have to stay in some form of education until the age of 18, whether it's an apprenticeship, or sixth form/college. Their description was based around being privately educated, and it's rare that you'll find 'specialised' high/secondary schools. You'll choose which subjects you want to study for your GCSE's during high school, then again choose which A levels you take at sixth form, based on your GCSE results. After those years are complete there's no requirement to go to university but similarly to the US, there will be some fields of work that require degrees to work in. Colleges also tend to be fairly local, and so you stay at home whilst going to college, there's independence in taking responsibility in your own work, but we're not moving away from home aged 16 to go to college
The scottish education system is pretty different to the english system.
Nursery - up to 4
Primary - 5ish to 12ish
Secondary (generally not specialised) - 12ish - 16/17/18 (at 14 and 16 choose courses to specialise in)
College - start 16 and up academic and vocational (optional)
University - 4 years start 17 or up (free in scotland for scottish citizens)
The word College can mean many things: eg a 6th form or trade training centre; a hall of a university; an independent secondary school; or a senior medical authority like the Royal College of Surgeons.
Sixth form will also do GCSEs if you’ve failed them at secondary school. So you can do up to 4 GCSEs the first year, then 4*A levels for the next two years.
In England,
You can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays.
You must then do one of the following until you’re 18:
* stay in full-time education, for example at a college
* start an apprenticeship
* spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training
* be employed
This is different to Scotland, Wales, and N. Ireland whose governments have their own rules (as allowed under devolution) 😊
Great video! 😊
This is either an old video or they have their information way off. Currently students have to stay in education until they are 18. This doesn’t mean they have to stay in school and take A-levels. But they do have to say in some type of education. So that could be apprenticeships or something similar. I left school at the end of 2007, just before my 17th birthday, I hated my new course and dropped out of the first year of 6th form. Back then it was still allowed. I took a week off to recoup then I spoke to a friends mum who was on the board of a local nursery to see if I could volunteer.
Very true. I think a long time ago you could quit education at 16 though.
@@carlawilson2931 indeed you could. I think it changed about 5-10 years ago. Like I say I left in 2007 at 16 and it was fine.
Most Degrees in the UK are 3 years but medical degrees are 5 years and veterinary degrees are 7-8
Architecture is 7 years also
Don't forget to add on the extra for medical students if they decide to go into specialist subjects. If I did trichology, you can add a good 3-4 years onto it.
Medical degrees are 5 years at university, but you will then need to train to specialise in specific areas. If you want to be a GP (general practicitioner) you will have to train for another 5 years. A surgeon will need another 9 years' training. So, it can take anywhere between 10 and 14 years to get the appropriate qualifications.
Vet degrees are typically only 5 years, like med school. Some are 6 years.
As a kid , Primary school was called Lower Junior and upper Junior , when I moved schools it was Primary
My secondary School was a High School and the one in the other village was called a Comprehensive school .. just different terminology
So yes, some of these schools allow you to stay to year 13, and study A level - but not all.
At college, you can study subjects from a GCSE/Year 11 - through to A levels, and some even offer Foundation Degrees, where you do your first 2 years of university at the college and then do the final year at a university.
- Alternatively a number of colleges and universities + online universities offer evening classes on all sorts of levels - I did a couple of Spanish and French evening classes which over the years mount up to a an Entry into a Degree if not leading to a Degree itself.
College VS University - A number of universities are called colleges in the UK
Particularly those involving performing arts - music/drama/ballet.
As someone who didn't do well with school I was able to do A Levels in music and music tech through private music studies which lead to exams satisfying the needs of the course additionally those same exams added positive points for universities to accept me if I wanted to study music or a teaching degree at university. - But I am more than happy to continue down the private music path as I don't feel university would get me better results in terms of the career I want.
The fact that Joel is watching Skins has made my day 😂 it was filmed all over Bristol which is where I am from. There’s abit of a running joke that when we were all younger and experimenting with drugs everyone thought they were living skin characters and the University students that come to Bristol always ask Bristolians you “have you watched Skins?”
SAME!
Also in year 5 you can take exams called the 11+ (that picks out the ‘smarter’ kids) which lets you go to grammar schools (which are basically posher secondary schools). You can’t get into a grammar school without passing the 11+.
We do have some middle schools in the UK it depends on which county you live in but think it’s being phased out. You can’t just leave and go to work at 16 now you have to continue with some form of training or qualification until you are 18 .
I think that only applies to England, in the rest of the UK you can leave at age 16 and start working.
In Quebec (Canada), its kind of the same, highschool is called secomdaire, after that its college which can be 2-3 years and then after its university but you can stop at college if you want but theres also vocational schools too with which are more technical degrees that are usually 1-2 years which have a stage (apprenticeship) period included during the program and then you can go off to work in whatever you graduated in, but in the ROC its a bit different. Also, we never use "middle school" that's such a strange term lol
My daughter went to 6th form the September falling her 16th birthday. There she had to do Maths, English & Science. When she was there in the 2 years, she chose to do childcare for University. (She did her 3 years of childcare at Uni.)
College in Scotland is further education where you can study vocaional qualifications or do HNC / HND ( highner national diploma) where you can gain entry into Uni which is Higher education. So good for mature students or for those that need more time to decide
I left Secondary School (Grammar) at 15 to work in a local office in the 70s, great money, my mum left School at 14 to be a Secretary in an office in Central London back in the 50s
The way to simplify the British education system is like this. Think of it as from the age of 4 or 5 depending on the month your were born you attend primary education for 7 years, followed by 4-6 years of secondary school depending on whether you want to stop your education @16 or continue, followed by 3-5 years of tertiary education which would be at university
In Namibia we gain subjects doing 8 at 14 (normally a third language, accountacy or business economics ) and another one again at 15 before cutting down at 16 to then take your final subjects for graduation HIGCSE (Cambridge or UCLES edu) for government school, or if you finish at private school Abitur (German) A levels (British) and International Baccalaureate (int) for the final 2 years before completing school (normaly at 18 but some kids are 17) and then off to university. We do write an exam at 16 called grade 10 externals to decide who gets to do the final 2 years of school based on a curve or percentage (a little scary). Thought you can go to a private school if you dropped off the curve - only it's expensive and might be hard to find a spot. Some kids also leave at 16 to start apprenterships or join mining training colleges. Government schools are free until 16 but if you can afford the relatively cheap fees it is considered good form to pay and if not parents are expected to help the school in other ways, normally time effort etc. Nobody will be kicked out for not being able to pay right up to graduation - but poor grades or behaviour will see you dimissed after 16.
In Australia we used to go from primary/elementary age 12 to high school to age 17, some high schools are changing their names to colleges. They are adding years 6 and 7 and a year to year 12, calling the first 2 years of college, middle school having a separate campus within college
Great video. I had a rough idea of the US education system but never understood middle/high school
The video they watched was misleading.
Oh, and you can get approval baby care from generally between 3 months of it’s needed but they usually start babies if they do go at nine months when the mothers maternity leave is over.
They did pretty well this time, so primary school was split into infant and juniors but in the same place. Secondary is split by years and often the years do not mix with each other many schools have separate recreation areas . Secondary school also has broad topic coverage so we dint need to do that at college or university this also helps us choose our subjects as we get a feel for them early. In the last 10 to 20 years secondary schools have moved to specialising as they said but it just means they put more money in those departments but you still do most other subjects
This is the system in England. Scotland is very different. There is no 6th form and you also do not study A levels. It’s highers instead. You do yourfinal year at school or you can do 2 if you wish Then you go to university if you chose to or start work.
When I was at school in the 80’s, we had lower school and upper school, so years 7-9 (ages 11-14) didn’t really mix with years 10, 11 and sixth form. My boys have gone to the same school I did but they don’t have the lower and upper school anymore, so everyone just mixes. The reason it’s called sixth form or years 12 & 13 is because when I was at school it wasn’t years 7-13, it was 1st year secondary to 5th year secondary and then the optional 6th form, lower and upper sixth form. I didn’t stay on in sixth form, I went to a college where you could study subjects like hairdressing, mechanics, that type of thing. You have to be academic and do A (advanced) Levels to go on to University. My eldest son took 3/4 subjects at A Level and is now in his 3rd year at Uni. The amount of years at Uni depends on the subject you are studying, medicine would be around 7 years. My son is in his 3rd and final year, he’s studying Architecture Technology & Design (he’ll be an Architectural Technologist when he graduates).
When u mentioned watching programmes where uk teens are doing stuff younger than teens in America, Iv noticed that as well when i watch American tv programmes or films. They seem to be treated like children even thought they’re 18! I think people feel older at a younger age here and treated older as well, in general. Iv also noticed that Americans who are 16/17/18/19 Wil saying things like “kids my age” etc. Here in Scotland people of that age would never refer to themselves as a kid.
My experience was slightly different because my town split the school years up differently (perhaps more archaically?). So, my primary school was split into a "First school" (years Reception to 3, ages 4-5 up to 7-8) and a "Middle school" (years 4 to 7, ages 8-9 up to 11-12). Then we went to a high school (years 8 to 11, ages 12-12 up to 15-16) as our secondary school. And then we did what the rest of England did with sixth-form colleges.
Once I started university, my home town started to change the way they did things so the high schools started offering sixth-form education and they were encouraged to have a specialism. My high school had a history of putting on musical productions each year so they decided to specialise in performing arts. But that was all after I had left it.
Then there was a wave to rename high schools/secondary schools "Academies". For the schools that decided to do this, it meant the Principal/Head teacher running the school received all their funding at the beginning of the school year and had more say over how to spend it but it also meant if they ran out of money it was on them to raise more (the government or local councils weren't going to bail them out).
I think in more recent years my home town has changed the schools years to make Year 7 part of the high schools now (making them a proper secondary school).
Another thing that wasn't covered is the school uniforms. Even our state-funded schools have school uniforms for primary and secondary education. I also think that there's an expectation that sixth-form/college students dress 'smartly' (ie if you're a guy, wear a two-piece suit with a tie) but maybe that's not everywhere. When I was going to sixth-form it was the first time I didn't have to wear a school uniform and we didn't have to dress smartly (so I wore a t-shirt and jeans).
The name Sixth Form is a hangover from the old way of naming school years. Primary School used to be decided into Infants for three years (Infant 1,2 and 3), then Juniors (Junior 1 to 4). When you started Secondary School you were a First Year or First Former, by your last year (15 to 16) you were a Fifth Year/Former. So if you carried on it was in the Sixth. The name Form is an even older hang over from when pupils sat in large rooms on Forms grouped with those of similar ability, when the progressed they literally moved up to the next Form/bench. Strangely there was never a seventh Form, it was always the lower and upper Sixth.
I must be old then as these are the terms I was used to at school. Is 68 "old"?
yea when i was at secondary school it was 1st - 5th year then 6th form.. i dont know why they felt the need to change it
Probably to tie in with those areas that have Middle School.@@iallyl3877
In primary school its generally 30 in a class (each grade GENERALLY has 1 class sometimes you end up with more though depending on the grade)
Not sure if it still stands. I was enrolled and started college at 15 because of my birthday to study full time in scotland. I knew what i wanted to do which helps.
Thank you! Now I know what the British “College” is. We don’t have that in Australia - it’s just high school from Year 7 (12-13 years old) until year 12 (17-18 years old). Then Uni (we don’t use the term “College” for university or school). Vocational education (plumbing, electrician, etc.) might be called college, but the acronym TAFE (technical and further education) is usually used.
We don't pay for Uni in Scotland. The rest of the UK does have to pay for it.