Education in Britain

EDUCATION IN BRITAIN

I. Overview and historical background

1. Overview

The basic features of the British educational system are the same as they are anywhere else in Europe: full time education is compulsory up to the middle teenage years; the academic year begins at the end of summer; compulsory education is free of charge, but parents may spend money on educating their children privately if they want to. There are three recognized stages:

* The first stage is primary education at the age of five to eleven. This is compulsory stage to achieve basis general knowledge.

* The second stage is secondary education at around the age of eleven or twelve to prepare for either higher education or vocational training.

* The third stage is tertiary. It is a ‘further’ education, award academic degrees such as university, college and liberal arts colleges. However, there is quite a lot which distinguishes education in Britain from the way it works in other countries.

2. Historical background

The British government attached little importance to education until the end of the nineteenth century. It was one of the last governments in Europe to organize education for everybody. Britain was leading the world in industry and commerce, so, it was felt, and education must somehow be taking care of itself. Today, however, education is one of the most frequent subjects for public debate in the country.

Schools and other educational institutions (such as universities) existed in Britain long before the government began to take an interest in education. When it finally did, it did not sweep these institutions away, nor did it always take them over.

Most importantly, the government left alone the small group of schools which had been used in the nineteenth century to educate the sons of the upper and upper-middle classes. Private charitable organization and parents pay for their children to attend these schools.

At these ‘public’ schools,...