The ABC’s of the British School System (Part 1)

This is for all you yummy mummys out there who have come over from the States. I know that I have had a really difficult time trying to wrap my head around the UK school system. It’s nothing like looking for public or private schools in houston! Luckily one of AG’s best gal pals here in London is a teacher. She grew up in Houston and graduated from NYU, and she is going to be doing a couple of installments to help all of us understand schooling here.

The school system here is difficult to understand, nowhere similar to what the best rated charter schools in jacksonville fl, for instance, follow, but once you know the basics, it is easy to figure out what is going on for the most part, and what options are available for you and your children.

First of all, it is best to get the whole “public/private” confusion out of the way up front:

When people here talk about “public school” or use the term as an adjective, they are almost always referring to what we (Americans) would consider a private school. Nowadays, people use the term less in general, and tend to use the term independent school or private school instead, and often those who look to Be A Certified Technology Teacher, or any other kind of teacher, aim to work in these facilities.

A public school for someone from the US is known as either a state school or a comprehensive school.

Here are the main school types broken down:

Independent school: Privately funded and selective in admissions. They also set their own curriculum, but generally follow the national curriculum (come back for future posts about this). As in the US, these are the higher achieving schools, but you need to be careful in choosing one as they are run like a business, and this does not always produce the happiest teachers. If you want to put your kids in private school, you may want to look into your loan options, as they tend to be costly in the UK. You could end up with a 6 figure bill per term! Yes, per term! It’s certainly not cheap.

State/Comprehensive school: Government run and non-selective in admissions. These schools are often over-subscribed and very large, though there is a great variety in terms of size and quality. State schools must follow the national curriculum, which is set by the government. The quality of your local comprehensive will depend on a number of factors, and you will have to research the ones in your area to find out more about their specific qualities.

Faith Schools: Funded by the government but with a particular religious character or a formal link to a faith group. These schools have a certain amount of selection in admissions, and this often raises their attainment. Faith schools follow the national curriculum as state schools do, but they can teach religious education according to their faith.

Academies: These are similar to charter schools in the US, they are partially funded by the government and partially funded by a private organization, usually a charity, a faith group, or a corporation. Academies are on the rise in the UK, and the Tory government has said previously that they are planning to build more in the future. At the moment, the schools that become academies are considered “failing schools” and sometimes, they are formed by merging several schools in an area. Academies work outside of the national curriculum and are seen as being a bit more free in that way. However, they take this freedom to mean that they do not need to follow all of the standards for pay and working hours as state schools, which some teachers worry about and the teachers’ unions disapprove of.

A big thank you to our resident education expert!

{Photo Via Garden House School}

Cheers! xx

Comments

Sophie says

June 2, 2010 at 2:21 pm

The public/independent school conundrum still foxes people all the time. In the true sense of the word public school is a term to describe the oldest and most established private schools in the country (Eton, Harrow, Radley, Westminster etc) and came about because it was an alternative to the nation's finest young gentlemen being tutored at home!! So gloriously english.

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