British Education System

The main standard in the schools are not the years but the levels of study GCSE, SCE, As and A level. Britons enter school at the age of 05, and they are appreciative to stay in school up until the age of 16.

Understanding the British Education system is necessary to enroll your child into a British education system school or look into various education system schools.

SYSTEM DIVISION

A British Education system has 04 parts:

• Primary
• Secondary
• Further
• Higher

 There are four other key stages for the primary and secondary education system. In several schools, secondary starts with years 7 and 8, while in others, years 7 and 8 are included in primary. In British system, children have to legally attend primary and secondary, basically until 16 years old.

To enter secondary school, students need to take some exams. Year 9 from secondary school is their basis on GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) preparation.

While year 9 is the GCSE foundation, years 10 and 11 prepare students for the GCSE Exams. In year 11, students take their exams and receive their GCSE certification.

Once students complete the GCSE program, they have to decide whether to leave school or continue.

Year 12 and 13 are 02 year programmes when students specialize in 3 or 4 subjects to prepare them for university studies. At the end of year 12, students take their AS Level examinations, which will prepare them for the A-Level courses and tests at the end of year 13.  After the A level (Advanced Level) tests, students receive the A level certificate.

International Baccalaureate is a program that some of the independent schools have. It offers the possibility to study more than the 3 or 4 courses that A level provides. The IB program adds six more courses to your studies curriculum, 3 of a higher and 3 of standard levels.

MANDATORY COURSES:

• GCSE
• Each student needs to have five mandatory courses:

English, Mathematics, Sciences, Humanity and Languages

Besides them, students can choose from other available courses offered by the school. They can range from Music, Drama to Design Technology and Computer Science.

A LEVEL

Students at the AS/A level program have to choose between 3 to 4 mandatory subjects that best fit their interests.

SCHOOL YEAR

The school year starts in September and ends in July in most of the regions in England.

It is usually divided into six terms, while some schools prefer three terms division.

These are as follows

• September to October
• October to December
• January to February
• February to March
• April to May
• June to July

SCHOOL HOURS

The school hours range is between 5 to 6 hours, starting around 8 or 9 in the morning and ending at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. However, both the schedule and the number of school hours per day depend a lot on the school.

Spark School is one of the International Hybrid High Schools that offer British curricula to whoever wants to have the flexibility of an online school and the knowledge and benefits of a British system education.

WHY DOES THE LOVE A BRITISH EDUCATION

Not a few times did we encounter people stuck on offering British education to their children. But what is it about British education that makes them so keen to choose it and look for the best British schools out there?

According to what we have heard and some of our research, many reasons support the British school education choice.

Some of the reasons are:

 ACADEMIC QUALITY

• It is an international brand in itself.

• Trustworthy – the system, grades, and accessibility to information relevant to your future as an adult.

• Extra-curricular activities that is very attractive. There is a wide array of them to choose from, and each school can offer different programs – face to face or online.

• An international education program prepares you to go to any university of your choice.

• Easier access to a good university, as the A level, is very well seen by most of the good universities.

• A bridge between cultures. There are students all over the world, and you can connect and form friendships and have global awareness at your fingertip.

CONCLUSION

A national education system from your country of residence is, by all means, an excellent choice for education. Each education system has its advantages and you have to know what your plans and desires for the future are, to be able to choose accordingly.

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” (Clay P. Bedford)