Transcript UK EDUCATION - Los Gatos High School

UK EDUCATION
By Andria Payne
Jordan Vandenberg
Michael Farb
Option 1- Compulsory Education
Primary School (Stage 1)
Entry Age: 5
Exit Age: 11
Secondary School (Stage 2)
Entry Age: 11
Exit Age: 16
Option 2 – Compulsory Education
Primary School (Stage 1)
Entry Age: 5
Exit Age: 8
Middle School (Stage 2)
Entry Age: 8
Exit Age: 13
Secondary School (Stage 3)
Entry Age: 13
Exit Age: 16
Testing
Due to the Education Reform Act of 1988,
four key stages to education were established.
Key Stage 1: 5-7 years old
Key Stage 2: 7-11 years old
Key Stage 3: 11-14 years old
Key Stage 4: 14-16 years old
Testing (continued)
At the end of each key stage, students must take a national
curriculum exam. These tests are important because they assess the
progress of the pupils and are necessary when attempting to advance
to the next stage of education. These exams are similar to the STAR
exams we take each year. During the fourth key stage, students are
assessed through the levels of achievement aquired by the General
Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). After students
complete the GCSE’s, they have the option of continuiing school
with further education, going off to college, or becoming employed.
Testing (continued)
The International Baccalaureate (IB Exam)
The IB is a two-year program leading to the IB
diploma, which is recognized and accepted by
universities in the UK and worldwide. It is
available in some 40 schools and colleges in the
UK, both state and independent, and in some
930 schools and colleges in 105 countries. The
IB can be an attractive alternative to A levels
for academically able students who seek a
broader and more challenging program of
study. It incorporates languages, mathematics,
arts, sciences, and creative subjects.
Private vs. Public School
The English usage of the term "public school" is in direct opposition to what any
foreign English speaker would expect. In countries such as Australia, New Zealand,
Scotland, the United States and Canada, a "public school" is the equivalent of an English
"state school", while an independent, fee-charging school is called a "private school". This
is also the generic name for all fee-paying schools for children in England and Wales,
although rarely used for those which categorise themselves as public schools. Preparatory
schools (historically also known as "private schools", as they were usually privately owned
by the headmaster) take children from the age of eight (or younger) and prepare them for
their entrance exams to public schools.
The term "public" (first adopted by Eton College) refers to the fact that the school is open
to the paying public, as opposed to a religious school, which was open only to members of
a certain church. It also distinguished it from a private education at home (usually only
practical for the very wealthy who could afford tutors).
Further Education
After Secondary School and the completion of the GCSE’s,
students have the option of bypassing college and entering
specialized schools equivalent to the United States trade
schools. These schools include but are not limited to:
- culinary school
- fashion school
- massage therapy
- computer programming
- acting school
- beauty/cosmetology
- interior design
- dental assistant
Beauty/Cosmetology School
College/University
The top three universities of the UK consist of Oxford, Cambridge, and Sheffield.
Oxford
Oxford University is the oldest
English speaking university in the
world and is able to trace its
origins back over at least nine
centuries. During that time,
Oxford has educated individuals
who have gone on to excel in
every sphere, including 40 Nobel
prize-winners and 25 British
Prime Ministers. Today, the
University comprises a federation
of more than 40 fiercely
independent colleges and halls,
with more than 16,000 students
from 130 countries in residence.
Cambridge
Cambridge was a center of the new
learning of the Renaissance and of
the theology of the Reformation.It
has faculties of classics, divinity,
English, architecture and history of
art, Oriental studies, music,
economics and politics, history, law,
education,earth sciences and
geography, mathematics, biology,
archaeology and anthropology,
physics and chemistry, and
medicine. There are also
departments of land economy, and
the history and philosophy of
science as well as a computer
laboratory.
Sheffield
University guides confirm
Sheffields position as one of the
UK's leading universities. The
Virgin 2005 Alternative Guide to
British Universities, for instance,
says that “Sheffield is a top
university across the
board”.Teaching quality
assessments rate their teaching
very highly across a wide range
of subjects, and official research
assessments confirm its
reputation as a centre for worldclass research in many disciplines.
Issues – Page 1
New Quotas for Universities are promised to
not be imposed on universities for poor
students. The government is trying to bridge
the gap between grants that can be given to
students of 2,700 pounds and the typical fee of
3,000 pounds. The point of this is to make sure
that students with limited parental income are
not discouraged from applying for courses they
are qualified for, and in turn Universities would
have access to more “talent.” Liberal
Democrats on the other hand want to get rid
of tuition fees and raise extra money through
taxes to pay for college. Parents and teachers
have also been concerned that students who go
to private schools are at a disadvantage to those
who attend a public school, however a report
has concluded that leading universities are not
biased. The problem is that the amount of
applications have risen and thus it is harder to
be accepted.
Issues – Page 2
A new system implaced by the British
Government for admissions to private schools
has turned into a disaster. The system was
implaced to make the admissions process easier
for parents to inrole their kids in the top primary
and secondary schools in the area. However, the
new system requires parents to rank their top
schools as first options and the other schools as a
back-ups schools. This has caused problems
because if students do not get into their top
choices, the back-up schools are not accepting
students who rate their school as a second tier
program. This leads some students to have no
option other than to go to the local schools that
are lower ranked. The sytstem was made to
increase admissions for students from lower class
backgrounds to good schools and instead has led
to fewer students applying to schools.
Issues – Page 3
The Tomlinson report, a major school report in the
UK proposed the “biggest shake-up of secondary
schooling in UK history” over this last week. It
called for fewer exams but, at advanced levels, the
exams would have tougher questions to test the
brightest students. One of the main aims of this
proposal is to reduce the burden of exams currently
faced by England’s teenagers- often described as the
most tested in the world. The homework that the
students in UK currently complete would be
drastically reduced because it is often prone to
cheating. Due to this decrease in tests, there would
be extended projects to allow students to develop
and demonstrate a greater depth of knowledge.
Although there will be less testing, these new
questions will be more challenging to those of
higher ability levels.
THE END