Education in the United Kingdom

Education in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the countries of the United Kingdom.

Education in England

Education in England is the responsibility of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills of the Government of the United Kingdom. Until June 2007, education in England was the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills. At a local level the local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools. There is also a strong tradition of independent schooling.

The education structures for Wales and Northern Ireland are broadly similar to the English system, but there are significant differences of emphasis in the depth and breadth of teaching objectives in Scotland. Traditionally the English system emphasises a deeper understanding of a relatively smaller number of subjects. The Scottish system promotes the teaching of more subjects at the expense of depth.

Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_England

Education in Northern Ireland

Education in Northern Ireland differs slightly from systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom, though is more similar to that used in England and Wales than it is to Scotland. A child’s age on the 1 July determines the point of entry into the relevant stage of education unlike England and Wales where it is the 1 September. Northern Ireland’s results at GCSE and A-Level are consistently top in the UK. At A-Level, one third of students in Northern achieved A grades in 2007, compared with England and Wales.

Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Northern_Ireland

Education in Scotland

Scotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from other parts of the United Kingdom. Traditionally, the Scottish system has emphasised breadth across a range of subjects, while the English, Welsh and Northern Irish systems have emphasised greater depth of education over a smaller range of subjects at secondary school level.

Following this, Scottish universities generally have courses a year longer than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK, though it is often possible for students to take more advanced specialised exams and join the courses at the second year. One unique aspect is that the ancient universities of Scotland issue a Master of Arts as the first degree in humanities.

The majority of schools are non-denominational, but as a result of the Education Act 1918, separate Roman Catholic state schools were also established. Catholic schools are fully funded by the Scottish Government and administered by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate. There are specific legal provisions to ensure the promotion of a Catholic ethos in such schools: applicants for positions in the areas of Religious Education, Guidance or Senior Management must be approved by the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, which also appoints a chaplain to each of its schools.

Qualifications at the secondary school and post-secondary (further education) level are provided by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and delivered through various schools, colleges and other centres. Political responsibility for education at all levels is vested in the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Education and Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Departments

State schools are owned and operated by the local authorities which act as Education Authorities, and the compulsory phase is divided into primary school and secondary school (often called high school). Schools are supported in delivering the National Guidelines and National Priorities by Learning and Teaching Scotland.

Inspections and audits of educational standards are conducted by three bodies: Care Commission inspects care standards in pre-school provision; Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education for pre-school, primary, education, further and community education; with the Scottish office of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA Scotland) responsible for higher education.

Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Scotland

Education in Wales

Education in Wales differs in certain respects from the systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom. A significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh; lessons in the language are compulsory for all until the age of 16. Welsh medium education is available to all age groups from nursery (through schools, colleges, universities and in adult education). There are also plans to increase the number of Welsh medium schools. Currently, especially in the South Wales Valleys and Cardiff demand has passed supply for education through the medium of Welsh. Some schools in South Wales are now having to turn Welsh students back as there are no spaces in the schools compared to the “English schools” where in some cases pupil levels are only reaching 50% capacity. There are plans in Cardiff to close 2 “English Schools” and open two large “Welsh schools”, there are now plans for Newport to have its first Welsh medium secondary school, and there are also plans for Swansea and Llanelli to have more “Welsh schools”. This is in line with Welsh Assembly policy of having a totally bilingual Wales.

Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Wales

University education

Students who attend English universities do a three year course to earn a degree, whether it be an ordinary degree or an honours degree. There are also sandwich courses in which the student may need to do a year more. The sandwich courses offer work placement which allows the students to work for a short period of time before they complete their courses. English universities specialise subjects throughout the entire degree. All universities award a Bachelor Degree to the students who have completed their undergraduate courses. The Oxbridge universities (Oxford University and Cambridge University) which are amongst the world’s oldest universities are generally ranked at or near the top of all UK universities. Academic degrees are usually split into classes: first class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class (II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third class). In many universities ordinary degrees are often confined to vocational courses such as medicine and dentistry, or awarded when a student hasn’t passed enough modules to be awarded the honours degree.

Students who attend the Scottish Universities can do an ordinary degree in three years, or complete an honours degree in four years. There are also sandwich courses in which the student may need to do a year more. The sandwich courses offer work placement which allows the students to work for a short period of time before they complete their courses. Scottish universities tend not to specialise subjects until the third year when students may decide to complete an ordinary degree in a further year or embark on a two-year honours course (often referred to as the Junior Honours Year and Senior Honours Year). Most universities award a Bachelor Degree to the students who have completed their undergraduate courses though for historical reasons, the Scottish ancient universities (University of St Andrews, University of Edinburgh, University of Aberdeen and University of Glasgow (as well as the University of Dundee) award a Master of Arts (MA) degree to arts students who have completed their undergraduate courses. These MA degrees are equivalent to a Bachelor Degree. Honours degrees are usually split into classes: first class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class (II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third class). Students who apply for a Scottish University while attending a Scottish secondary school do not need to pay for university tuition fees as it is paid for on their behalf by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_Kingdom#University_education