School System in England

  
                                                     Schooling In England




     In England children start primary school at the age of five.  Schooling broken up into four key stages: Stage 1, 2, 3, and 4.  Stage 1: ages 5-7, Stage 2: ages 7-11, Stage 3: ages 11-14, and Stage 4: ages 14-16.  Usually students enter secondary school after Stage 2 of their education.  Students are assessed at the end of each of the stages, the most important assessment is named the GCSE, General Certificate of Secondary Education, which is taken at the end of Stage 4 when the student is sixteen.  After this the student can either choose to further in his or her education or enter into the working force.   Primary and secondary school is mandatory in the U.K. and further education is optional.  It's sort of like college in a sense.
     They attend primary school for seven years studying English, math, science, religious education, history, geography, music, arts and crafts, physical education , and informational technology (computers).  Schools also require that the student learn one modern foreign language, religious education, and prove his or her personal, social and health education.  During the 3rd stage of learning students learn about English, Maths, Science, Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), History,  Geography, Modern Foreign Languages, Art and Design, Music, Citizenship, and Physical Education.  At 4th stage students are considered at GCSE level in which they have to take English, Maths, Science, IT, Citizenship, and Physical Education.
     Approximately 8.5 million kids are enrolled in the 30,000 schools in England and nearly 1.8 million students are enrolled in the U.K.'s higher education system.  Undergraduate degrees take three years to complete in London.  Schooling in England is much more complex than ours but they do have similarities, such as the higher education system.  I think it would be extremely fun to go to a secondary school.