Traditions Of The British School System

In the British context, a public educational institution is one that is usually historic and prestigious. It also charges some fees and doesn’t restrict admissions arbitrarily. A public school in Britain is financed by other institutions aside from the state, such as a number of private charitable trust. A government-run school is called “state school” in the country.

A number of independent schools don’t refer to themselves as “public school” because a few “minor” public schools possess the traditions and social associations of public schools sans the quality of extracurricular activities and teaching. Historically, the term “public” pertained to schools which were opened to the paying public. On the other hand, religious schools were opened only to members of a particular church or beijing housing. Private tutors were hired by very wealthy people who can afford to give their children private home education.

Public educational institutions have played a major role in developing the Victorian social elite. The curriculum of leading public schools was developed based on the physical activities for young men belonging to the upper and upper middle class families. These public schools were the breeding grounds for the gentlemanly elite of the Victorian armed forces, colonial government and politics.

Victorian public schools have been considered as superb learning environment but the usage of the prefect system and corporal punishment can also make these awful. In addition, the curriculum was criticized for being insufficient in providing skills in engineering or sciences. Currently, most public schools in Britain are selective on financial and academic grounds in addition to social grounds.

Education in Britain is managed by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The implementation of public education and state schools policies is handled by the local authorities. The education system has four stages namely Nursery (for children aged 3-4), Primary education (for children aged 4-11), Secondary (for ages 11-18) and Tertiary (for ages 18 and up). In the UK, full-time education is mandated for all children with ages 5 to sixteen. Educational progress of the students from all levels is tracked via a mixture of classroom observations and assessment. Also, formal and informal parental consultations take place throughout the academic year.

There are some striking differences between the state and private sector when it comes to education but the learning system in Wales, Northern Island and England also differ from one another. Students from various parts of the world aspire to study in Britain because of its competitive educational system.