Education in Scotland. Traditionally, the Scottish system at secondary school level 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. 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 learning and teaching by Education Scotland (formerly Learning and Teaching Scotland).
There are also private schools across the country, although the distribution is uneven with such schools in 22 of the 32 Local Authority areas. At September 2011 the total pupil population in Scotland was 702,104, of which 31,425 pupils, or 4.5%, were being educated in independent schools.[4] School years[edit] Children start primary school aged between 4½ and 5½ depending on when the child's birthday falls. Curriculum[edit] Education in Northern Ireland. Coordinates: Education in Northern Ireland differs from systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom, though it is more similar to that used in Wales than it is to Scotland.
A child's age on 1 July determines the point of entry into the relevant stage of education unlike England and Wales where it is 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 Ireland achieved A grades in 2007, which is a higher proportion than in England and Wales.[2][3] Central administration[edit] The Department of Education's main areas of responsibility cover pre-school, primary, post-primary and special education; the youth service; the promotion of community relations within and between schools; and teacher education and salaries. Its primary statutory duty is to promote the education of the people of Northern Ireland and to ensure the effective implementation of education policy. Local administration[edit] Curriculum[edit]
Education in Wales. Education in Wales differs in certain respects from education elsewhere in the United Kingdom. For example, a significant minority of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh: in 2008/09, 22 per cent of classes in maintained primary schools used Welsh as the sole or main medium of instruction.[2] Welsh medium education is available to all age groups through nurseries, schools, colleges and universities and in adult education; lessons in the language itself are compulsory for all pupils until the age of 16.
Since devolution, education policy in the four constituent countries of the UK has diverged: for example, England has pursued reforms based on diversity of school types and parental choice; Wales (and Scotland) remain more committed to the concept of the community-based comprehensive school. The structure of the Welsh educational system[edit] Compulsory schooling[edit] Primary education[edit] Secondary education[edit] Higher education[edit]
Education in England. The education system is divided into early years (ages 3–4), primary education (ages 4–11), secondary education (ages 11–18) and tertiary education (ages 18+). Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor's degree. Postgraduate degrees include master's degrees, either taught or by research, and the doctorate, a research degree that usually takes at least three years. Universities require a Royal Charter in order to issue degrees, and all but one are financed by the state via tuition fees, which cost up to £9,000 per academic year for English, Welsh and EU students. History of English education[edit] Until 1870 all schools were charitable or private institutions, but in that year the Elementary Education Act 1870 permitted local governments to complement the existing elementary schools, to fill up any gaps.
The Education Act 1902 allowed local authorities to create secondary schools. The Education Act 1918 abolished fees for elementary schools. Education to the age of 18[edit] Education in the United Kingdom. Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England; the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for Scotland,[1] Wales[2] and Northern Ireland, respectively.
For details of education in each country, see: In each country there are five stages of education: early years, primary, secondary, Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE).[3] Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) and 16;[3] before this children can be educated at nursery.[4] FE is non-compulsory, and covers non-advanced education which can be taken at further (including tertiary) education colleges and HE institutions (HEIs).
See also[edit] Notes[edit] References[edit] Gearon, Liam (2002). Education in the United Kingdom. External links[edit] Education in the United States. Private schools are generally free to determine their own curriculum and staffing policies, with voluntary accreditation available through independent regional accreditation authorities. 88% of school-age children attend public schools, 9% attend private schools, and nearly 3% are homeschooled.[5] There are also a large number and wide variety of publicly and privately administered institutions of higher education throughout the country.
Post-secondary education, divided into college, as the first tertiary degree, and graduate school, is described in a separate section below. History[edit] In 1823, Reverend Samuel Read Hall founded the first normal school, the Columbian School in Concord, Vermont,[7][8] to improve the quality of the burgeoning common school system by producing more qualified teachers.
Starting from about 1876, thirty-nine states (out of 50) passed a constitutional amendment to their state constitutions, called Blaine Amendments after James G. Statistics[edit] Education in Australia. Adults employed in the education and training industry as a percentage of the adult population in Australia divided geographically by statistical local area, as of the 2011 census Education in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. Each state or territory government provides funding and regulates the public and private schools within its governing area. The federal government helps fund the public universities, but was not involved in setting university curriculum.[8] As of 2012, the Australian National Curriculum,[9] under development and trial for several years, has already been adopted by some schools and will become mandatory soon. Generally, education in Australia follows the three-tier model which includes primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (secondary schools/high schools) and tertiary education (Universities, TAFE colleges and Vocation Education and Training providers (VET providers)).
Pre-school[edit] School[edit] Education in England.