Okay, so I was wondering what the typical age is for people in the UK grade wise. I heard that they start college at 16? Is that true? Please clue me in on the details. I am 12 myself, but I am in 8th grade. Everyone says that I should be in 7th, even though I am usually the top of my class. Most people are usually a year older. (My birthday is in December) And I have a friend who just turned 14... Sooo, I was just curious about the ages & schooling age, & everythig. Thanks!! :)
Other - United Kingdom - 7 Answers
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1 :
4-11 = Primary School (Reception class & Years 1-6) 11-16 = Secondary School (Year 7-11) 16-18 = College / Sixth Form (Years 12 & 13) 18+ = University (degrees normally take three years) What the Americans call college is effectively what we call university. What we call college / sixth form is the last two years of secondary education (these two years are non-compulsory) and can lean more towards the academic or vocational. However, if you are doing the most academic route, called A-Levels, then the work is said to be at the level experienced in the first year of US College.
2 :
Helena has it right - and it depends what you call college. 16 is the school-leaving age, but more and more will stay on until 18 - a recent change in the law will make it compulsory soon to do that or to at least do some kind of education or training for two years while you are working if you leave at 16 and get a job. Exams at 15-16 (I was 15 when I did them as my birthday is in August so I was always the youngest in the class!) are GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Though when I did them they were O levels (General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level) - there were also CSEs (Certificate of Secondary Education) and which one you did depended on how good your teacher in each subject thought you were. O levels were more difficult. GCSEs are the result of a government decision to merge them, but it hasn't really worked - teachers still have to make the choice of whether to put you in for the "higher tier" paper or not, and if they don't, you can't get higher than grade C. The point really is that people vary so much in ability that one exam can't fit all, but British politicians DO love to fiddle about with the education system! And most teachers are fed up with it and wish they wouldn't... There are quite a few choices at 16. Some schools have sixth forms and you can stay on in that, some don't. The name "sixth form" is a bit of a hangover from the way it used to be - Years 1-13 are a fairly new way of describing it. I'm 45 and when I went to school, it was three years of infant school (ages 4-6), four years of junior school (ages 7-10) and five years of grammar or secondary modern school (ages 11-15) - so if you stayed on after that you were in the sixth year or sixth form, geddit? :) Since then, the UK has "gone comprehensive" which has meant that the names of all the types of schools have changed and in particular, grammar and secondary modern schools are all high schools now. There were two types of school based on ability - there was an "11 plus" exam and if you passed it you went to a grammar school, if you failed it you went to a secondary modern. (To be exact there were three - there were secondary technical schools as well but very few of them. I know about them as my dad went to one.) If the school has a sixth form, you can stay on there for your A level (General Certificate of Education Advanced Level) exams, which qualify for university entrance. If it doesn't, or even if it does, you can go to a further education college or a sixth form college for the same exams - that's the kind of place you'd know as a community college. Those colleges generally offer all kinds of other qualifications too, mostly the practical job-related kind, and to us, if you say "college", that's the kind of place that we'd be thinking of. Sometimes this is a good thing to do - you might want to do an A level in a subject that the school doesn't do but the local college does because it's bigger. I know Americans often talk about university as "going to college" but we British don't - we always call it by the proper name of university. Well almost always... I went to Imperial College in London, which was part of London University (I say "was" as it's become independent now). London University is unique in the UK - it's a federal university and you actually go to one of its colleges though the central university awards the degree, so it was natural to us to talk about being "at college" - but that's unusual. Edit - ja, Brian C, Kindergarten ist ein deutsche Wort, nicht wahr?
3 :
We do not have the confusing 'grades' that you have in America - we have 'Years' and everyone will be in a school year class depending on when their birthday is - and everyone moves up one year every September (In England - Scotland is different) Compulsory school starting age is 5 - so every child who is 5 on the first of September goes into Year 1 - if they are 6 on the 1st Sept they go into year 2 etc. Most primary schools provide schooling for younger children - many have 'Reception' classes for 4 year olds and also 'Nursery ' for 3 year olds. Children younger than 3 can go to private nurseries but their parents will pay for that. We do not normally use that strange foreign word 'Kindergarten' in England - we start with Nursery Children stay in full time education until they are 16 - when they may leave and start work or go on to 'College' for two years - they can then go to University from 18 - basically for as long as they need to get the academic qualifications they are after.
4 :
There are two schooling systems in the UK: 1. The most common. Primary School (Ages 4-11) Secondary School (Ages 11-16) (16+) 2.The less common First School (lower school) (Ages 4-9) Middle School (Ages 9-13) Upper School (Ages 13-16) (16+) (16+) education can either be completed at secondary school in "6th form" or can be completed at a separate college and pupils take A levels which are needed to go to most Universities. A bit like Advance Placement exams in the US. However some pupils choose not to do A levels and do an apprenticeship or go straight out to work.
5 :
4-11 = primary school 11-16 high school from here onwards it is voluntary 16-18 = college 18 + university
6 :
Well this is how it works, however it can vary depended on your location. Compulsory Education Age 4-11 Primary & Infant School (Reception - Year 6) Age 11-16 High School (Years 7-11) After you can either; *Go to work *Study at College, however college over hear is more about training and educating you in a trade Two/Three year courses Ages 16+ *Or Study at "A level" this is advanced level education Starting at 16 and ending at 18. (Years 12-13) This is where you study 3/4 subject, Like I currently study Sociology, History, Geography and Design. Taught in schools or 6th form college's, free of charge. Then if you have carried on in education after 16 you can; *Go to work *Go to University were you are trained for a particular Job I.e architecture The great thing is the only education you have to pay for if you live outside of Scotland is University. After the devolution of education from Westminster to Hollyroude the Scottish government made Uni free for Scottish students.
7 :
yes u start college at around 16, but thats if you dont go to sixth form, which is another extra 2 years in school, after year 11, alot of kids finish school in year 11 after there exams and go onto college or work in a job, thats normally about age 16 yes, but like i said some go on to stay for another 2 years in sixth form school and could then stay in school till 18 but like i said most just go to college or work. i went to college at 16, i was nearly 17 as my birthday is in october , and here u start new school and college years in september , so i was a month before my 17th. when u are 12 here u are in the first year of comprehensive, which is the 1st year of bigger school, year 7 basically. kids here go from nursery at the age of about 3 years then infant school till 4 - 7 years then junior school till 7 - 11 years then comprehensive school 11/12 - 16 years then sixth form (if choose too stay on) 16 - 18 years
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