English Education System

Ok, so first things first this is just the education system for England and not for Great Britain as I am pretty sure there are slight differences between the systems for each country.

So I shall start from the very beginning.

Now when you are really small you can go to nursery, but I never did. I stayed at home and skipped this stage. I don't think it really mattered too much and it hasn't done me any harm to have missed it. So I can't really expand on Nursery as I have virtually no idea what happened there.

Then we have Primary School. This is where I started on the education system. Primary school is for when you are 4/5 to 10/11 years old. I have to say I loved Primary School, I went to a really small one which had less than 20 in my class. At the end of Primary we had exams called SATs although I am not altogether sure these still exist. These helped when applying for secondary schools.

In the last year of Primary (year 6 although technically it was the seventh year....confusing I realise) we had to apply for a place at secondary school. Now this involved picking about 4 schools and then the schools would accept you or decline. The schools sometimes had issues with how far away from the school you lived so I didn't have too much choice about where I went. When I got to this point though I applied to go to a Grammar school. Now Grammar schools vary across the country on how selective they are and how posh etc. To get into my Grammar there was three entry exams we had to pass in order to get in. It sounds kind of harsh but actually I think it was a good idea. However, Grammar schools aren't the only secondary schools here, there are also Private schools (you have to pay fees) and State high schools (free education and no entry exams).

So I passed the exams for the grammar school which happened to be an all girls school called Lancaster Girls' Grammar School (LGGS). This is where my account of the English education system may vary significantly from a person studying in a State school. Grammar schools are designed to be hard and to push you to your limit. I have to say I both loved and hated grammar school. To get a B grade at my school was seen almost as a failure. Which was harsh, especially as my grades were never consistent. However, the pressure you were under to work and produce good grades paid off in the end. People that went to Grammar tended to want to work and to work hard, so in lessons people concentrated and there wasn't much messing about. We had exams at the end of every year. Also in year 11 we had GCSE's which are needed to carry on into further education.

Secondary school lasts from when you are 10/11 - 15/16 years old. Then you have the option to leave education or to carry on into Sixth Form. Not all secondary schools have a Sixth Form as well, and there are independent Colleges which offer Sixth Form. However, my school did have a Sixth Form so I carried on at Grammar for another two years.

These were the two hardest and most difficult years of my life so far. In Sixth Form you study AS levels first. This is one year and at my school we took around 5 subjects which we chose individually and then had exams throughout and at the end of the year. We needed to achieve a minimum of something like 4 C's or D's which although sounds low grades was hard because the work load was huge and the work itself was incredibly difficult and was so different from what we had experienced from Secondary School.

Then comes the last year of Sixth Form, the dreaded A levels. These are needed for further education and so are incredibly important. Also they happen to be evil and difficult and just EURGH! The work was so hard and we were under so much pressure due to being at Grammar school people were having breakdowns and at the end of the year everyone was miserable and exhausted. Truly it was hell.

Also it doesn't help that whilst studying A Levels you have to apply to universities.... you apply to 5 different universities and then wait for them to give you a response of declined, a conditional offer or an unconditional offer. Then once all universities have replied you have to pick your top uni and a second back-up. The back-up is in case you do not reach the grades needed for your first choice. However, if you do get the grades for your first choice you HAVE to go. You can't change your mind and decide you would prefer to go to your second choice instead. If you don't get good enough grades for either then you go into clearing and have to hope another uni has a place for you. Otherwise you could wait a year and reapply the next year.

University is optional but we have to pay fees. Basically tuition fees for most universities are £3000 a year however a recent and very controversial change by the government has increased these fees to £9000 a year. We get loans and grants to cover these expenses however the loans need to be paid back when we get a job and start earning above a certain amount.

Universities who give you a conditional offer require certain grades to be met at A level. For instance Newcastle uni wanted me to achieve 3 B's else I couldn't go. My first choice uni was the one I am now attending so i was lucky. All uni courses vary. I am on a 4 year sandwich course. This just means I have two years of study, one year of placement and then I return to uni for my final year. Most courses are really 3 years of study.

We have a whole range of different courses which I don't really understand. I am study a BSc course which is a Bachelor of Science degree. There are many other types. Once you have achieved your degree then depending on how well you have done and graded then you can continue to do your Masters and then a PhD which makes your title "Doctor". However, I am leaving after my course and not continuing for Masters or PhD.

I know this is probably very confusing and this is only the surface of it all!!!! there is all sorts to do with university about grades such  as 1sts, 2.1, 2.2 etc but that is far too confusing and unnecessary. Plus there are so many different routes you can take and different exams depending on which school you go to. There is no one standard route of education after Primary School. So this is my account of my education but there are so many different routes it is mind boggling.

Sorry it is so long and please feel free to ask questions. :)

Also HAPPY FEBRUARY ^^