British Education System Overview By Vivian Liao Deputy

British Education System Overview By Vivian Liao Deputy Director Education Promotion

Content of Presentation • British Education System Overview • UK School System • The School Curriculum & Examinations • British Council Services related to study in the U. K.

British Education System Flowchart Age Year/Form 3 4 Keystage Nursery School/ Kindergarten 5 6 Year 1 Year 2 7 8 9 10 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 11 12 13 Year 7(Form 1) Year 8(Form 2) Year 9(Form 3) 14 15 Year 10(Form 4) Year 11(Form 5) 16 17 Year 12(Lower 6) Year 13(Upper 6) 18 19 20 21 22 23 British System Primary Level Keystage 1 Keystage 2 Secondary Level Keystage 3(pre-GCSE) Keystage 4(GCSE) GCSE(2 years) A Level (2 years) Undergraduate (3 -5 years)

Taiwanese & British Education Systems Year 1 2 Taiwan Elementary School Age Britain Year 5 Primary School 1 6 2 7 3 3 8 4 4 9 5 5 10 6 6 11 7 8 Junior High School 9 10 11 12 7 12 8 13 9 14 Senior High School 15 16 17 GCSE Course GCSE Examinations 10 A-Level Course A-Level Examinations 12 11 13

The UK School System • State Schools : These are totally funded by the government and are free to all British children. • Independent (Private) Schools : These are funded by the fees charged to the parents. • About 8% of British children attend Independent Schools • Regulations do not permit international students to attend State Schools – they must attend Independent Schools

The UK School System • Schooling is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16 years : Total of 11 years. • Those wishing to gain entry to university must complete an additional two years of A Level studies.

The Academic Year in British Schools and Colleges is divided into three terms: Term 1 : September to December Term 2 : January to March Term 3 : April to July There are short holidays at the mid-point of each term and longer holidays between terms

The Curriculum • All British schools - State & Independent are required to follow the National Curriculum guide-lines set down by the government • Standard Achievement Tests (SAT’s) are administered at 7, 11 and 14 years to assess each student’s progress. • Generally, Independent Schools provide a broader curriculum than that required by law

Key stage and Subjects of studies • Core subjects: English, Math, Science • Foundation subjects: Design &Technology, Information and Communication Technology(ICT), History, Geography, Music, Art, Physical Education, A modern foreign language and citizenship.

The High School Curriculum Age Curriculum 11 – 14 Years General programme of education 14 – 16 Years GCSE Course : 8 /10 subjects Compulsory & optional subjects 16 Years GCSE Examination 16 – 18 Years A-Level Course : 3/ 4 subjects 18 Years A-Level Examination Students choose the subjects they wish to study

National Examinations • GCSE(中等教育普通証書) : A two year course taken in Years / Grades 10 & 11. English, Mathematics and Science are compulsory subjects • A-Level (進階級課程): A two year preuniversity course taken in Years 12 & 13. Students generally must have studied the subject at GCSE if they wish to study it for A -Level

The GCSE Course • GCSE Examinations take place during May and June against a National time-table • The results of the GCSE Examinations are published in August • Successful candidates are graded from A* to F • Students wishing to proceed to the A-level course must achieve a minimum of 5 passes at Grade C or above.

The A-Level Course • In most subjects, students must complete assignments or modules during the course : the marks from these contribute to the final grade • The A-Level examinations take place during May and June and the results are published in August • Successful candidates are graded from A to F • Places at British Universities are allocated on the basis of a student’s A-level results.

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