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A Guide to the UK Education System
Founder Member of the South African Chamber of Commerce UK, Mike Miller, discusses how parents can make the best of education opportunities in the UK, particularly challenging for those who have recently moved from South Africa.
As parents plans for their offspring start to take shape for the new school year starting in September, pupils will have been allocated schools by their local authority based on the parents’ requests and their proximity to the school. Most 4 and 5-year-olds start school in Reception, leading to an education that will take them to GCSE, A-level and, in some cases, on to College or University and then the world of work.
Most schools are state schools but there are excellent private/independent fee-paying schools. These schools have smaller class sizes with more individual teaching from very qualified and experienced teachers.
For parents of primary school children you will be concerned with choosing the right school for your son or daughter based on Ofsted reports, visits to the schools in your local area, discussions with the Head teacher and staff.
In year 9 (13-14) students will need to choose their GCSE options. Core subjects include English, Mathematics and Sciences with optional subjects including History, Geography, Business, Languages and RE. This usually means 9 or 10 subjects.
For those going on to A-level, the choice of A-level college will be very important. This can be a continuation at their current school or a move to a Sixth Form College with a great reputation for their student's acceptance at the top Universities.
Many major national and multi-national companies have graduate training schemes which are great for launching a career in the chosen field.