Compulsory education in the UK begins at age five. The first stage - Prepreparatory School - includes only two compulsory subjects: English and Mathematics, but optional subjects such as history, geography, music, and art can be studied.
Students move to the next stage - Primary (Preparatory) School - at age eight. The basics of physics, chemistry, and biology are added to the core subjects.
Serious, by our standards, study begins at ages 11-13 in Secondary School, whose program includes all main school subjects and various electives. At age 14, students choose from five to ten subjects, which they will take in the exam for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in two years. At 16, compulsory education ends; students can enter a vocational college, lycée, or go to work.
Those who plan to enter university spend another two years at school, studying the pre-university A-level program. Students choose three specialized subjects for in-depth two-year study and two additional subjects that will be in their schedule for only one year.
When to apply
Enrollment in private British schools occurs at the "boundaries of stages," i.e., at age 8 (primary school), ages 11-13 (secondary school), and age 16 (A-level program). Foreigners are usually placed one grade lower than their age to help them adapt to the new environment more easily.
It is better to send children to Primary School - at this stage serious divergences begin between the domestic and British general education programs. However, one should soberly assess whether your eight-year-old child is ready for independent living and has sufficient language skills to understand classmates and teachers. Moreover, boarding is only allowed for children from age 7-8. If parents decide to send a five-year-old child to school, they must accompany him and find housing themselves.
Choosing a school
It is best to contact an English school at least six months in advance: by March there are no available places left. Up to 20% of applicants are not admitted mainly because they do not submit their documents on time.
Choosing a good private school in the UK is a very difficult task. The British themselves, faithful to tradition, send their children to the same schools where they and their ancestors studied. Foreigners rely more on rankings published annually by the Financial Times, Independent, Daily Telegraph, Times. They are compiled based on the results of A-level or IB exams and intermediate GCSE. It is believed that the most accurate rankings can be found in the Financial Times.
The top places in the rankings are held by so-called selective schools, which enroll children with high IQ levels and demonstrated success in one or more related disciplines. The most famous schools: Sevenoaks, Westminster, Cheltenham Ladies, Roedean, Haileybury, Malvern Girl’s, Rugby, Malvern, Oakham, Oundle, Bromsgrove.
However, not everyone aspires to send their son or daughter to such schools. For a child of average ability and intermediate English, a worthy option is comprehensive schools. They provide very high-quality education. Among such institutions, the most famous are: Caterham School, Dean Close, Downe House, St. Swithun's School, The Leys, Repton, Uppingham.
For foreign students, comprehensive schools offer a special English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course and an individual study plan with a minimum of unfamiliar subjects.
Whichever school your child enters, he will have to pass entrance exams in English and mathematics. In schools for gifted children, exams in physics, chemistry, and biology are usually also taken. Additionally, an IQ test may be offered.
Most institutions prefer to conduct exams on their premises, but some allow entrance exams to be taken at an educational agency that cooperates with the school, or at a British Council representative office.
English-style upbringing
British schools are characterized by asceticism, strict discipline, and constant supervision by teachers. This Spartan upbringing instills in students endurance, independence, and determination.
Living conditions are the most modest: a typical boarding house consists of several dormitory buildings. Younger students live in large rooms of five to ten people (considered to foster collectivism), from age 16 - in ones or twos. But showers and toilets are shared per floor. The Housemaster is responsible for organizing life in the house, order, and relationships among peers.
Almost all schools have a uniform or a dress code: formal suits with shirts for boys and blouses for girls. Girls may be prohibited from using cosmetics and jewelry, and from making elaborate hairstyles. Smoking, drinking alcohol, and fighting on school grounds are severely punished.
Nevertheless, one should not associate English school only with prohibitions. All conditions are created for the development of creative abilities: students can engage in drawing, painting, sculpture, music. Traditionally, special attention is paid to sports. Schools have swimming pools, football fields, golf courses, basketball courts, tennis courts. Studying in the UK without being friends with sports will be difficult: regular training, passing standards, and competitions are unavoidable.
In the UK, the tradition of single-sex education has been preserved. It is believed that in single-sex schools, children are less distracted from their studies. However, educational institutions are often located close to each other, such as Loughborough Grammar School for boys and Loughborough High School for girls, and they hold many extracurricular activities (dance evenings, theatrical performances, competitions) together. Our children are more often sent by parents to the more familiar mixed-type schools.
The price of prestige
English secondary education is an expensive pleasure: in elite schools, a trimester will cost 7,500-9,000 pounds sterling (GBP). In more democratic educational institutions, 5,500-8,000 GBP per trimester. Note that primary school education is about 4,000 GBP lower than in middle and high schools, and rarely exceeds 2,000 GBP.
The cost includes: tuition, accommodation, meals, and partly - participation in entertainment activities. Some schools also include the cost of textbooks. But school uniforms have to be purchased at your own expense.
One is no warrior alone
By law, all minor schoolchildren and students living in the UK without parents must have an official guardian - it can be any UK citizen or a special guardianship organization. The guardian must:
* help in choosing a school;
* monitor the student's academic progress, regularly come to school, meet with teachers;
* maintain contact with the student's parents, send them progress reports;
* meet at the airport and accompany the student to the place of study;
* arrange insurance;
* house the child in their home during holidays;
* provide treatment by a family doctor;
* buy necessary items, solve household issues, etc.
In the UK, letter grades are adopted:
A - excellent
B - very good
C - good
D - not quite successful
E - bad
F - very bad
N - not certified
U - fail (unclassified).
Formally, only U means the exam was failed. But in practice, grades below E are equivalent to a 'two'. When taking the A-level exam, grades below D can be considered unsatisfactory - with such a result, you are unlikely to get into university. When applying to universities, letters are often converted into points.