School organization

The academic year starts in September and is divided into three terms. Pupils have holidays at Christmas and Easter and during the summer, and short breaks at half-term. National GCSE and A level exams take place in May and June.

Most schools have a five-day week, from Monday to Friday. The school day begins around 9 a.m. and ends around 3 p.m. for the youngest children, and 4 p.m. for older ones. There is a break of 15 or 20 minutes in the morning and sometimes also in the afternoon. Many children take a packed lunch from home; others have school dinner, a cooked meal at the school for which parents have to pay.

Parents may support their children's school by join­ing the РТА (Parents' and Teachers' Association). They meet teachers at regular parents' evenings to discuss their child's progress.

Life at primary school

After teachers have marked the register most schools start the day with assembly, a religious service. Parents may have their child excused from this service.

Pupils are divided into classes according to age.

Formerly, individual schools decided how much time they would give to each subject, but in 1988 the National Curriculum was introduced which set programmes of study in a range of subjects for all state schools in England and Wales. It does not apply in Scotland, and independent schools do not have to follow it, though many do. In primary schools a class teacher teaches most subjects, but some schools have specialist teachers for music or tech­nology. Pupils at primary schools do not usually have homework but may take part in after-school clubs. Their progress is tested by their teacher through standard assessment tests (SATs) set nationally at the ages of 7 and 11.

Secondary schools

Secondary education used to be selective, i.e. secondary schools accepted children based on their performance in an exam called the eleven-plus. Grammar schools and high schools, which con­centrated on academic subjects, creamed off the best pupils. Those who failed the exam went to secondary modern schools which taught more practical subjects. In the 1960s it was thought that 11 was too young an age for a child's future to be decided in this way. It was also clear that the eleven-plus reinforced social divisions, as most children who passed the exam were 'middle-class. As a result selective education, and with it the eleven-plus, was ended in many areas. Secondary moderns and many grammar schools became comprehensive schools offering a broad education to students with a wide range of abilities. Some grammar schools and high schools became inde­pendent. A few areas kept a selective system based on an eleven- or twelve-plus exam.

Many schools are under the control of a Local Education Authority (LEA). Grant-maintained schools are run entirely by governors, parents of pupils and members of the local community, and are responsible to central government. Grant-maintained schools are free to change their status, so a compre­hensive school may choose to become a grammar school and admit only brighter students, as under the old system.

Secondary schools are much larger than primary schools and students may have to travel longer distances by school bus or public transport. Most secondary school students wear school uniform. Students in each year may be divided into groups based on ability. Classes are taught by teachers who have specialist knowledge of a particular sub­ject. Students continue to study subjects in the National Curriculum and take SATs at 14, and then work towards GCSEs in as many subjects as they can manage, often eight or ten. Students who hope to go to university stay on at school or go to a sixth-form college to study for A levels in two, three or four subjects. Some secondary schools now offer more practical courses leading to GNVQs as an introduction to work-related skills.

In Scotland students take the Scottish Certific­ate of Education (SCE). The standard grade, which is roughly equivalent to GCSE, is taken at 16 at one of three levels, and the higher grade is taken at 17. Students take five or six subjects as Highers and may then take A levels.