System of the UK education <br>Children in Britain go to school at the age of 5 (4 - in Northern Ireland) until they are 16. Before school many children attend nursery schools. Some parents send their children to private (fee-paying) nursery schools or kindergartens. Children first attend the infants’ school until they are 7 years old. At 7 they move to the junior school and at 11 (12 in Scotland) children go from junior to secondary school. There are some types of state secondary schools in England and Wales: grammar schools, comprehensive schools, secondary modern schools and secondary technical schools. Until the end of 1960s most children took an examination at the age of 11 on leaving primary school (The Eleven Plus). Those who passed went to grammar schools while those who did not went to secondary modern schools. Grammar schools provided education of an academic type, and a large number of grammar school children went on to University. A few areas still select at the age of eleven, but about 90 % of secondary schools in Great Britain are now comprehensive, taking children of all abilities from their local area. Ninety per cent of secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales are co-educational. The examination for the General Certificate of Education has two levels: “ordinary” (O-level), usually taken at the age of 16, and “advanced” (A-level), taken at the age of 18 or 19. At 16 pupils take this national examination (O-level) in five, ten or even fifteen subjects, and then they can leave school if they wish. This is the end of compulsory education. Some 16-year-olds choose to go to a college of further education to study for more practical (vocational) diplomas relating to the world of work such as hairdressing, typing, or mechanics. Other 16-year-olds continue their studies in the sixth form at school or at the sixth form college. The sixth form prepares pupils for a national exam called “A” level (Advanced level) at 18. You need “A” levels in two or three subjects to enter a university. 7% of all schoolchildren in England and 4% in Scotland go to independent school sector which is separate from the state educational system, and in some cases fees can be several thousand pounds a year. About 250 of the larger independent schools are known for historical reasons as public schools.
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