Corporal punishment was abolished in state schools in 1986.

     Schools in England and Wales

     

 

     

     Ordinary State Schools

     are controlled by the Local Education Authorities and the exact arrangement of schools can vary from authority to authority. There was a lack of state pre-school provision but the new Labour Government is doing something about that.

     Voluntary Schools

     are funded partly by the religious groups and partly by the LEAs. Muslims want their schools to be included in this group but so far only Christian schools can be voluntary schools.

     City Technology Colleges

     are a new idea paid for by central government and private sector sponsors. The LEAs are not involved. The schools teach the national curriculum but with emphasis on mathematics, technology and science.

     Grant- maintained Schools

     have “opted out” of LEA control and get their money direct from central government. About 18% of secondary schools in England and 5% in Wales have GM status. GM schools are run by a Governing Body consisting of representatives of parents, teachers and members of the local community. These schools choose their pupils themselves.

     Independent Schools

     Independent schools range from small kindergartens up to large day or boarding schools and from experimental schools to the most traditional institutions. They receive no money from the state but are inspected to see that they meet certain minimum state requirements. They get their money from fees which can be as little as £300 and as much as £4000+a term. The so-called public schools are those which belong to the Headmasters' Conference, the Governing Bodies Association or the Governing Bodies of Girls' Schools Association. The Labour Party has been traditionally opposed to private education and , when in opposition, wanted to phase it out. However, now they are in government and have a leader who was privately educated they seem to be having second thoughts. Many people are also opposed to the idea that the state should have a monopoly on education and choice is seen as a prerogative of a democratic society.

     Scotland

     Most schools (3,704 in 1996) are publicly maintained schools run by boards consisting of elected parents and staff members and co-opted members.

     Only two schools in Scotland “opted out” of local authority control and will soon be returned to their original status.

     There are 115 independent schools in Scotland.

     Northern Ireland

     There are four types of publicly funded schools:

     *Controlled schools (660) - owned by the education and library boards, financed completely from public funds

     * Voluntary maintained schools (550) - mostly owned by the Roman Catholic Church but funded wholly or partly from the state

     *Voluntary Grammar Schools (53) which may be either Roman Catholic controlled or non-denominational are funded from the Department of Education for Northern Ireland

     * Integrated Schools (32 taking about 2% of the school population) with financing from central government (DENI)

     As part of the peace process there has been a concerted effort to introduce more mixed faith schools.

Teachers

     Teachers in state schools must have Qualified Teacher Status. They can get this either by doing a four-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) honours degree or by doing a three-year degree course followed by a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course. Most teacher training has been moved out of universities and colleges to the schools. This was partly a result of the Conservative government's suspicion of the teaching profession and the feeling that the universities were undermining the policies they were trying to put into practice. Groups of schools can now apply for funds to run their own teacher training courses. All those who provide teacher training have to be accredited by the http://www.canteach.gov.uk/ which also provides the necessary funds.

     The TTA is one of the quangos which has acquired a great deal of power and is an example of how such power has moved from diverse institutions (universities, colleges) to one unit tightly controlled by central government.

     In England and Wales teachers are also now formally appraised to assist professional development, strengthen the management of schools and improve the quality of education.

     Many teachers experienced the situation in the schools in the 80s and 90s as stressful and a great number took early retirement. In the past few years things have improved but there is still a problem recruiting teachers. 

     No one who has a criminal record can become a teacher in a state school. From August 2002 everyone who works in a school must have proof that they do not have such a record.

     Those who teach in independent schools do not need to have qualified teacher status.

Further Education

     England and Wales

     Further education is the provision of education outside school for people over the age of 16 and is funded by central government by the Further Education Funding Council. Much of the education provided is vocational and is closely linked with business and commerce in the area. Many of the students study on part-time courses or day-release or block release. Day-release means that they are freed from their jobs for part of a day or sometimes several days a week to study - so they study and work at the same time.  

     Block-release is when people are freed from their jobs completely for a period of time to enable them to study. The qualifications obtained are NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and other examinations concerned with practical and professional competence.

     There are about 480 further education institutions in England and Wales with 743,00 full-time and sandwich-course students and about 850,00 part-time day students on further education courses.

     Apart from ordinary vocational courses there are special FE colleges which offer training in such things as the performing arts. One of these, the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, shown in the picture, has taken over a Jewish synagogue and adapted it to its requirements. There are many special FE colleges for music, art etc.

     Check out Newham College to see the kinds of courses these institutions offer.

     Scotland

     The further education colleges in Scotland have their own boards of management and are funded at the moment by the Scottish Office. The qualifications, which are similar to those in England and Wales, are awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Some of the courses are modular and work-based and range from immediately post-16 courses up to postgraduate or post-experience levels. A Record of Education and Training for each student has been introduced to provide a single certificate to show what courses or modules have been completed.

     There are 45 further education institutions in Scotland with 31,000 full-time and sandwich-course students and about 195,000 students on non-advanced vocational courses.

     Northern Ireland

     At the moment the Education and Library Boards control the colleges of further education but from 1 April 1998 these institutions will become self-governing (as in the rest of the UK) and funding will be direct from the Department for Education Northern Ireland. The courses will be of the same type as in England and Wales and the qualifications will be administered by the same examining boards.

     There are 17 institutions of further education with 21,000 full-time students and almost 52,00 part-time students on non-advanced courses.

Higher Education

     Higher education consists of degree courses, or their equivalent, usually given at a university.

     There are at present 88 universities in the UK including one private university (Buckingham) and one devoted entirely to distance learning (the Open University). Until the 19th century there were only six universities, Oxford, Cambridge and the four ancient Scottish universities - St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. London University was the first new university to be founded, in 1836, and following the pattern of Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) it was organized in colleges. Today it is one of the largest in the UK with over 30 colleges scattered all over London and the Home Counties.

     Like schools, universities in the UK are ranked according to a set of criteria involving publishing, research, graduate and undergraduate courses. The funding they receive depends on their ranking. Newspapers have also published ranking lists “to help you pick your way through the higher education maze”. 

     Expansion of the universities

     In the 19th century many of the newly rich industrial cities wanted to mark their civic pride by building universities. The universities came to be known as Redbrick - a derogatory term referring to the fact that these new institutions were built of red brick rather than stone - like the Oxbridge colleges.

     There followed another period of expansion in the 1960s when seven more universities were established. Several of them were built in historic market towns and named after counties e.g. the University of East Anglia at Colchester. They sounded like characters out of a Shakespeare play and so came to be known as the Shakespearean Seven.

     The 1960s also saw the establishment of Colleges of Advanced Technology, which later became Polytechnics and, from 1992 onwards, universities on the same footing as the other universities. As a result of this change many cities in Britain now have two or even three universities.

     The buildings erected in the 60s and 70s were not always very beautiful nor did they wear well.

     The universities saw further changes under the Conservative governments of the `80s and early `90s. Overall the number of students increased and there are now about 1,150,000 full-time students and 600,000 part-time students including those studying distance-learning courses with the Open University. However, there was no corresponding increase in funding, in fact some universities saw their budgets cut by more than a third.

     At the same time the government increased its control over the universities by changing the methods of funding so that money could be directed to those subjects, such as technology, which the government thought were important and away from less “productive” subjects such as classics. The 1988 Education Act created the Universities Funding Council, a government appointed quango, with the power to attach terms and conditions to the provision of funds.

     Students

     If you want to apply for a university place to do a first degree course you have to do so through the University and Colleges Admission Services in the spring before you want to start your studies. UCAS sends the forms on to the universities you have applied for in descending order. The universities themselves choose which students they will have according to their own criteria. If you are accepted by your first choice the process stops. If not, ACAS send your form on to your second choice, and so on. What you are offered by the university, sometimes after an interview, is a provisional place.

     Hence you will be offered a place provided that you get two grade As and a grade B in the A - level examinations. Not everyone gets the grades they need to take up their places and just after the A-level results come out there is a special service to help would-be students find places and university departments find students.

     Most first degree students used to receive some sort of grant from the LEAs. The exact amount depended on the parents' or spouse's income - in other words, it was means tested. In 1998 all student grants were abolished by the Labour Government and replaced by student loans, administered by banks with the interest rate linked to inflation. Recently there has been a move to bring back a system of grants as the loan system discouraged working-class people from applying for university places. This situation was not heöped by the fact that the universities started to charge tuition fees in 1998. This was very unpopular. 

     Student life at a British university is a little different from Sweden. Most students are younger as generally people go straight from school at 18 to university, although recently it has become fashionable to take a year out to travel or work before starting university studies.

     There also tends to be less teaching - which is expensive - and more reading and studying on your own.

     Many universities have close links with industry and the Government is encouraging universities to cooperate closely with industry on research. Today there are more than 50 science parks set up by higher education institutions together with industrial scientists and technologists where the development and commercial application of advanced technology are promoted. There are, so far, no Arts Parks!

     When you pass your final examinations and are awarded your degree you “graduate”. Usually there is a big ceremony in early summer each year where the new graduates wear “academic dress” and receive their degree - an impressive certificate - from the hands of the vice-chancellor in front of their admiring families.

 

     

Conclusion

     Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England, and the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively. While the systems in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are more similar, the Scottish system is quite different.

     The governments of England and Scotland are committed to providing a high quality education at all levels from primary schools to universities, and recognize the importance of education. They are still discussing changes now and there will be more changes to come. The English exams for 18 year olds - A levels - are likely to be replaced by a broader range of exams. The question of university funding is still changing.

     Over my lifetime there have been many changes. The school system is very different since I was at school. And, when I was a student I was lucky enough to get a free university education and grants not only for my BA but also for my doctorate. I hope that by making a career teaching in universities I have been able to repay for the education I received.