Key Stages and Forms
Grade levels go from Reception (pre-school) to Year 13. These grade levels fit into Key Stages I-V. Within each Key Stage, there are Forms. For example, my youngest is Year 5, which is Key Stage II, Third Form. The oldest is in Year 9, which is Key Stage III, Third Form.
GCSE's and A Levels
When students get to the equivalent of 10th grade (Year 11), they are required to take the GCSE Exam. GCSE stand for General Certificate of Secondary Education. Think the Owl exams that Harry Potter and friends had to take for future prospects at the Ministry of Magic. If you pass the 5 core subjects on the GCSE, you can continue on to Sixth Form and the eventual GCSE Advanced or A-Level Exams required for entrance into university (like a the SATs in the U.S.). If you do not pass your GCSE's, you can retake them or you can accept the results and look into other options like technical college, an apprenticeship or a trainee program. Of note, employers here look at potential employees GCSE scores. This is a very big deal here. It is on par with the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.
Quality of Education
All I can say is that the curriculum here is rigorous and far more advanced than in the U.S. These kids focus on their studies. It's not cool to flunk tests and not turn in assignments. I joke with my oldest that if we return to the U.S. for his last two years of high school he will have it very easy.
Character Education/Religious Education.
Schools have lessons called Personal and Social Health Education and Citizenship Programme. These lessons are like health class in that it teaches students to make healthy choices in life.
The majority of schools in the UK are Church of England schools. However, there are other protestant denominations here as well as Catholic schools. My oldest attends a Church of England school. He attends chapel on Friday evenings. He also takes Theology. My youngest attends a Quaker school. They have Meetings of Worship at the start of the week and at the end of the week. I knew nothing about any of these religions, but I like what I have read thus far.
Parental Involvement
There is a hands off approach for parents in the UK. There are equivalents to PTA or PTOs here, but they take on more of a fundraising role. Parent teacher conferences are rare, but when they do happen, you get to chat with the teacher over a glass of wine. There is no volunteering in the classroom.
Uniforms
There is a uniform and shoe for everything and these kids spend at least an hour of their free time dressing themselves in/out proper attire for lessons, sports, swimming etc. In my son's senior school, laundry is done once per week and the House Matron sends a reminder to students to bring clothes to her for laundering. It is wonderful in the sense that we do not spend time every morning figuring out what they should wear, but there is a lot of laundry and, even worse, ironing. Whether public or private, all kids here where uniforms unless they are in sixth form where business attire is expected. They all look sharp and smart at the bus stops throughout our area.
Social Life
There is no tolerance for bullying here. I am not saying that it doesn't happen, but it is not acceptable. Cyberbullying in particular is against the law and can be prosecuted. My oldest noticed that the popular kids were very welcoming and inclusive to him. He reports feeling very at ease not just with Third Form students, but even with the Sixth Form (11th-12th grade) students.
Sports and Activities
While these are optional in the Junior School, sports and activities are compulsory in the Senior School. There are activity options to choose from, but sports are offered by season. They play rugby in the fall, field hockey in the winter/spring and cricket in the summer. There are activities like clay shooting and fencing, music ensembles, and clubs to join. With the exception of music lessons, horse riding and afternoon tea (snack), activities and sports are free of charge.
Since some schools like ours are also boarding schools, activities are planned on Sundays too. Day pupils are allowed to participate if they wish.
Half Terms and End of Term
School days are long and therefore, there is more vacation time than what many of us are used to. As I previously mentioned in another post, schools here have three terms. Public schools tend to refer to these as Autumn, Spring, and Summer Terms while Independent (i.e. private schools) tend to refer to them with a more religious connotation: Michaelmas term (derived from the Feast of St. Michael on 29 September) runs until December, Lent term runs from January to the end of March, and Trinity term runs from mid April to July.
In between these terms, they have half term holidays. These occur three times per year and range from one week off to up to four weeks off. My kids will have nearly three weeks off for October's half term, almost four weeks for Christmas end of term, a week off in February for ski week half term, almost 4 weeks off for the Lent end of term, another week off for the Trinity/Summer Term in May and two months of summer vacation. It is very challenging for working parents to juggle all the school holidays here.
That's the British Education System in a nutshell based on my experience so far. Hope it answers any questions you may have. If not, please ask your questions in the comment section.
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