Education in England

Some 93% of children between the ages of 3 and 18 are in education in state-funded schools without charge (other than for activities such as swimming, cultural visits, theatre visits and field trips for which a voluntary payment can be requested, and limited charges at state-funded boarding schools[31]).

All schools are legally required to have a website where they must publish details of their governance, finance, curriculum intent and staff and pupil protection policies to comply with The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 and 2016. Ofsted monitors these.[32][33]

A primary school in England.

Since 1998, there have been six main types of maintained (state-funded) school in England:[34][35][36]

• Academy schools, established by the 1997-2010 Labour Government to replace poorly-performing community schools in areas of high social and economic deprivation. Their start-up costs are typically funded by private means, such as entrepreneurs or NGOs, with running costs met by central government and, like Foundation schools, are administratively free from direct local authority control. The 2010 Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government expanded the role of Academies in the Academy Programme, in which a wide number of schools in non-deprived areas were also encouraged to become Academies, thereby essentially replacing the role of Foundation schools established by the previous Labour government. They are monitored directly by the Department for Education.[37]
• Community schools, in which the local authority employs the schools' staff, owns the schools' lands and buildings, and has primary responsibility for admissions.
• Free schools, introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, are newly established schools in England set up by parents, teachers, charities or businesses, where there is a perceived local need for more schools. They are funded by taxpayers, are academically non-selective and free to attend, and like Foundation schools and Academies, are not controlled by a local authority. They are ultimately accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. Free schools are an extension of the existing Academy Programme. The first 24 free schools opened in Autumn 2011.
• Foundation schools, in which the governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions. School land and buildings are owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation. The Foundation appoints a minority of governors. Many of these schools were formerly grant maintained schools. In 2005 the Labour government proposed allowing all schools to become Foundation schools if they wished.
• Voluntary Aided schools, linked to a variety of organisations. They can be faith schools (about two thirds Church of England-affiliated; just under one third Roman Catholic Church, and a few another faith), or non-denominational schools, such as those linked to London Livery Companies. The charitable foundation contributes towards the capital costs of the school (typically 10%), and appoints a majority of the school governors. The governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions.[38]
• Voluntary Controlled schools, which are almost always faith schools, with the lands and buildings often owned by a charitable foundation. However, the local authority employs the schools' staff and has primary responsibility for admissions.
• University technical colleges (UTCs), established in 2010 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, are a type of secondary school in England that are led by a sponsor university and have close ties to local business and industry. They are funded by the taxpayer, and are non-selective, free to attend and not controlled by a local authority. The university and industry partners support the curriculum development of the UTC, provide professional development opportunities for teachers, and guide suitably qualified students to industrial apprenticeships, foundation degrees or full degrees. The sponsor university appoints the majority of the UTC's governors and key members of staff. Pupils transfer to a UTC at the age of 14, part-way through their secondary education. The distinctive element of UTCs is that they offer technically-oriented courses of study, combining National Curriculum requirements with technical and vocational elements. UTCs must specialise in subjects that require technical and modern equipment, but they also all teach business skills and the use of information and communications technology. UTCs are also supposed to offer clear routes into higher education or further learning in work.

In addition, three of the fifteen City Technology Colleges established in the 1980s still remain; the rest having converted to academies. These are state-funded all-ability secondary schools which charge no fees but which are independent of local authority control. There are also a small number of state-funded boarding schools.

English state-funded primary schools are almost all local schools with a small catchment area. More than half are owned by the Local Authority, though many are (nominally) voluntary controlled and some are voluntary aided. Some schools just include infants (aged 4 to 7) and some just juniors (aged 7 to 11). Some are linked, with automatic progression from the infant school to the junior school, and some are not. A few areas still have first schools for ages around 4 to 8 and middle schools for ages 8 or 9 to 12 or 13.

English secondary schools are mostly comprehensive (i.e. no entry exam), although the intake of comprehensive schools can vary widely, especially in urban areas with several local schools. Nearly 90% of state-funded secondary schools are specialist schools, receiving extra funding to develop one or more subjects (performing arts, art & design, business, humanities, languages, science, mathematics, technology, engineering, etc) in which the school specialises, which can select up to 10% of their intake for aptitude in the specialism. In areas children can enter a prestigious grammar school if they pass the eleven plus exam; there are also a number of isolated fully selective grammar schools and a few dozen partially selective schools.[39] A significant minority of state-funded schools are faith schools, which are attached to religious groups, most often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.

All state-funded schools are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education, often known simply as Ofsted. Ofsted publish reports on the quality of education, learning outcomes, management, and safety and behaviour of young people at a particular school on a regular basis. Schools judged by Ofsted to be providing an inadequate standard of education may be subject to special measures, which could include replacing the governing body and senior staff. School inspection reports are published online and directly sent to parents and guardians.

Approximately 7% of school children in England attend privately run, fee-charging independent schools. Some independent schools for 13–18-year-olds are known for historical reasons as 'public schools' and for 8–13-year-olds as 'prep schools'. Some schools offer scholarships for those with particular skills or aptitudes, or bursaries to allow students from less financially well-off families to attend. Independent schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum, and their teachers are not required or regulated by law to have official teaching qualifications.[40] The Independent Schools Inspectorate regularly publishes reports on the quality of education in all independent schools.

State-funded schools are obliged to teach thirteen subjects, including the three core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science. The structure of the national curriculum is:[41]

Subject	Key Stage 1 (age 5–7)	Key Stage 2 (age 7–11)	Key Stage 3 (age 11–14)	Key Stage 4 (age 14–16)
English
Mathematics
Science
Art & Design
Citizenship
Computing
Design & Technology
Languages[lower-alpha 1]
Geography
History
Music
Physical Education

All schools are also required to teach religious education at all key stages, and secondary schools must provide sex and relationship education.[41]

In addition to the compulsory subjects, students at Key Stage 4 have a statutory entitlement to be able to study at least one subject from the arts (comprising art and design, dance, music, photography, media studies, film studies, graphics, drama and media arts), design and technology (comprising design and technology, electronics, engineering, food preparation and nutrition), the humanities (comprising geography and history), business and enterprise (comprising business studies and economics) and one modern language.[41][42]

The National Curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge they require to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said, and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievements. It covers what subjects are taught and the standards children should reach in each subject.

These aims set out to support the statutory duties of schools to offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, while preparing pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life, as set out in the Education Act 2002.[41]

In Early Years, the curriculum is organised into seven areas of learning;

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive arts and design

In foundation, the curriculum is organised into six areas of learning;

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication, language and literacy
• Mathematical development
• Knowledge and Understanding of the World
• Physical development
• Creative development

In primary school, school children remain in one class throughout the year, but may change classrooms for English and Mathematics. Each school can decide the name of classrooms: some choose world animals, significant individuals, world countries and continents, or simply their year range (Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, etc).

English, mathematics, and science are normally taught in the mornings and art & design, history, geography, design & technology, ancient & modern languages, religion, citizenship, computing, music, physical education, etc in the afternoons. Literacy, reading, mathematics, science, geographical and historical skills are often incorporated in cross-curriculum assessments and activities.

Topics & themes are covered around world affairs, healthy eating, nature, wildlife, the environment, mindfulness, etc. Every primary school has a library, assembly hall, computing facilities, and playground. Exercise books, novels, pens and stationery are provided by the school.

National Curriculum assessments (known as standard attainment tests or Sats) in Reading; Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling; and Mathematics are taken place at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In addition to the tests, teachers are required to provide teacher assessments in the core subject areas of Reading, Writing, Mathematics and Science.

In secondary school, school children have their own tutor group, but are split up into different classes and have their own timetable (sometimes divided between week A and week B).

Tutoring lessons in the mornings and late afternoons are for citizenship studies and the rest of the day consists of subjects such as English literature, English language, mathematics, science (biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc), citizenship, history, geography, art and design, design and technology, drama and media arts, modern languages (French, German, Spanish, Italian, etc), business and economics, religion, music, photography, engineering, computing, physical education, etc.

In the final two years of secondary education, school children pursue an optional programme of study from interests or career prospects; English language, English literature, mathematics, science, citizenship studies, religious studies, computing, and physical education remain core and foundation subjects. A range of entitlement and optional subjects from the sciences and mathematics, humanities and social sciences, business and enterprise, arts and design, design and technology, and ancient and modern languages are studied.

Non compulsory subjects such as journalism, digital technology, home economics are offered and studied by some schools.

England allows children to specialise in their academic learning fields earlier on than other countries. This allows stronger educational engagement and more time for children to spend in their most respected subjects.

School children are provided with school planners; which hold learning resources, school management, and timetables. Every secondary school has a library, assembly hall, playground, dining hall, computing facilities, and a sports hall or gymnasium. Some secondary schools have a theatre for performing arts. Exercise books, novels, pens and sometimes stationery are provided by the school, although, school children are expected to bring in a basic level of stationery equipment.

In Key Stage 1 and foundation, all children in government-funded schools are entitled to free school meals and fruit. In Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, students from low income families may be eligible for free school meals.[43] All school meals must follow the government's healthy eating standards and promote a healthy diet.[44]

School uniforms are defined by individual schools, within the constraint that uniform regulations must not discriminate on the grounds of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief. Schools may choose to permit trousers for girls or religious dress.[45] Local councils may provide assistance with the cost of uniforms and PE kit.[46]

Schools may provide childcare outside of school hours, including breakfast clubs in the early mornings and after school curriculum activities (languages, food preparation, arts, crafts, geography and history, gardening, sports, reading, science, mathematics, etc).[47]

The Education Act 1944 (Section 36) stated that parents are responsible for the education of their children, "by regular attendance at school or otherwise", which allows children to be educated at home. The legislation places no requirement for parents who choose not to send their children to school to follow the National Curriculum, or to give formal lessons, or to follow school hours and terms, and parents do not need to be qualified teachers.[48] Small but increasing numbers of parents do choose to educate their children outside the conventional school systems.[49][50][51] Officially referred to as "Elective Home Education", teaching ranges from structured homeschooling (using a school-style curriculum) to less-structured unschooling.[52][53] Education Otherwise has supported parents who wished to educate their children outside school since the 1970s. The state provides no financial support to parents who choose to educate their children outside of school.

Students at both state schools and independent schools typically take GCSE examinations, which mark the end of compulsory education in school. Above school-leaving age, the independent and state sectors are similarly structured.

In the 16–17 age group by August 31st, sixth form education is not compulsory, but mandatory education or training until the age of 18 was phased in under the Education and Skills Act 2008, with 16-year-olds in 2013 and for 17-year-olds in September 2015. While students may still leave school on the last Friday in June, they must remain in education of some form until their 18th birthday.[12]

Students over 16 typically study in the sixth form of a school (sixth form is a historical terms for Years 12–13), in a separate sixth form college, or in a Further Education (FE) College. Courses at FE colleges, referred to as further education courses, can also be studied by adults over 18. Students typically study Level-3 qualifications such as A-Levels, BTEC National Awards and level-3 NVQs. Some 16–18 students will be encouraged to study Key Skills in Communication, Application of Number, and Information Technology at this time.

The National Apprenticeship Service helps people 16 or more years of age enter apprenticeships in order to learn a skilled trade. Traineeships are also overseen by the National Apprenticeship Service, and are education and a training programmes that are combined with work experience to give trainees the skills needed to get an apprenticeship.[54]

T Levels are a technical qualification introduced between 2020-2023 in England. The aim of the new T Levels is to improve the teaching and administration of technical education which will enable students to directly enter skilled employment, further study or a higher apprenticeship.[55] Students will be able to take a T Level in the following subject areas:[56]

• accountancy
• agriculture, land management and production
• animal care and management
• building services engineering
• catering
• craft and design
• cultural heritage and visitor attractions
• design and development
• design, surveying and planning
• digital business services
• digital production, design and development
• digital support and services
• education
• financial
• hair, beauty and aesthetics
• health
• healthcare science
• human resources
• legal
• maintenance, installation and repair
• management and administration
• manufacturing, processing and control
• media, broadcast and production
• onsite construction
• science

Students who have completed a first degree can apply for postgraduate and graduate courses. These include:

• Graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, professional graduate certificate in education – level 6 courses aimed at those who have already completed a bachelor's degree, often as conversion courses
• Postgraduate certificates, postgraduate diplomas, postgraduate certificate in education – level 7 courses shorter than a full master's degree
• Master's degrees (typically taken in one year, though research-based master's degrees may last for two) – taught or research degrees at level 7
• Doctorates (typically taken in three years) – research degrees at level 8, the top level of the qualifications frameworks, often requiring a master's degree for entry. These may be purely research based (PhD/DPhil) or research and practice (professional doctorates). "New Route" PhDs, introduced in 2001, take at least 4 years and incorporate teaching at master's level.[63]

Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the state.

Since October 1998, most undergraduates have paid fees that had risen to a set maximum of £3,375 per annum by the academic year 2011–12. These fees are repayable after graduation, contingent on attaining a certain level of income, with the state paying all fees for students from the poorest backgrounds. UK students are generally entitled to student loans for maintenance. Undergraduates admitted from the academic year 2012-13 have paid tuition fees set at a maximum of up to £9,000 per annum, with most universities charging over £6,000 per annum, and other higher education providers charging less.

Postgraduate fees vary but are generally more than undergraduate fees, depending on the degree and university. There are numerous bursaries (awarded to low income applicants) to offset undergraduate fees and, for postgraduates, full scholarships are available for most subjects, and are usually awarded competitively.

Different arrangements apply to English students studying in Scotland, and to Scottish and Welsh students studying in England. Students from outside the UK and the EU attending English universities are charged differing amounts, often in the region of £5,000 to £20,000 per annum[64] for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The actual amount differs by institution and subject, with the lab based subjects charging a greater amount.

The gap between rich and poor students has slightly narrowed since the introduction of the higher fees.[65] This may be because universities have used tuition fees to invest in bursaries and outreach schemes.[66] In 2016, The Guardian noted that the number of disadvantaged students applying to university had increased by 72% from 2006 to 2015, a bigger rise than in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.[67] It wrote that most of the gap between richer and poorer students tends to open up between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 4 (i.e. at secondary school), rather than when applying for university, and so the money raised from tuition fees should be spent there instead.[67]

A study by Murphy, Scott-Clayton, and Wyness found that the introduction of tuition fees had "increased funding per head, educational standards, rising enrolments, and a narrowing of the participation gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students".[68]