Education in Britain Essay

?Each child in England at the first school term after their third birthday, is entitled to 15 hours per week free childcare funding. This entitlement is funded by the government through the local council. The Early Learning Goals cover the main areas of education without being subject driven. These areas include Personal, social and emotional development (prime area) Communication and Language (prime area) Physical education (prime area) Literacy (specific area) Mathematics (specific area) Understanding the World (specific area). Expressive Art & Design (specific area) Until the mid-1980s, nursery schools only admitted pupils in the final year (three terms) leading up to their admission to primary school, but pupils now attend nursery school for four or five terms. It is also common practise for many children to attend nursery much earlier than this. Many nurseries have the facilities to take on babies, using the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’, framework as a guide to give each child the best possible start to becoming a competent learner and skillful communicator. A primary school (also Elementary school) an school which where children receive primary or elementary education between the ages of about five to about eleven, coming before secondary school and after preschool. It is the first stage of compulsory education in most parts of the world, and is normally available without charge, but may be a fee-paying independent school. In England and Wales secondary school is for children from the ages of 11 to 18. After 11 years of compulsory education ends, and young people can decide whether to continue their studies further at school or sixth form college, or leave the education system. After five years of secondary education, at the age of 16, pupils take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination. When they are in the third or in the forth form, they begin to choose their exam subjects and prepare for them. After finishing the fifth form pupils can make their choice: they may either leave school  and go to a Further Education College or continue their education in the sixth form. Those who stay at school after GCSE, study for 2 more years for â€Å"A’ (Advanced) Level Exams in two or three subjects which is necessary to get a place at one of British universities. The typical first degree offered at English universities is the bachelor’s degree, and usually lasts for three years. Many institutions now offer an undergraduate master’s degree as a first degree, which typically lasts for four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between undergraduate and traditional postgraduate master’s degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former) makes taking an undergraduate master’s degree as a first degree a more attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate master’s degrees means that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear. Some universities offer a vocationally based foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue on to a first degree but wish to remain in employment. Postgraduate education Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which might be a: Master’s degree (typically taken in one year, though research-based master’s degrees may last for two) Doctorate (typically taken in three years) Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the state.