UK Independent School Education System: An Overview
Introduction
The british education system is one of the if not the most sought after education systems in the world. Both domestic and international families spend combined millions every year to send their children to world renowned institutions such as Eton college, Harrow school and St Paul’s school. A key component of this are the many independent schools that parents can choose from.
Most students in the country attend state schools, these are schools that are funded by the government and are free to attend for students . Their admissions process is handled by the local authority
Independent Schools also known as private schools charge school fees for their students to attend. They each have their own admissions process and a prospective student will normally have to sit some kind of examination. The length and content of said examinations will depend on the particular school
Around 7% of all of the students in the United Kingdom attend a Private school. These prestigious institutions are often attended by the notable people in society including prime ministers, dignitaries and members of the Royal family. The students that attend top universities in the country and the world are overwhelmingly from private schools (insert figure there) and also many of the highest paying jobs in society are occupied by individuals that have had a private school education.
There are different types of Private schools depending on age, we’ll be looking into them.
Before we begin, let’s define some key terms that can often confuse parents.
Private schools are any that are not financed by the state but largely by school fees paid by parents,
All independent schools are private schools, and these terms are often used interchangeably, but technically independent schools are all overseen by a board of governors or trustees, whilst other private schools may be run by their owner with no governing body.
Public schools are, confusingly, also private schools: mostly the oldest and most expensive of boarding secondary schools
In the UK, ‘public school’ is the somewhat misleading and archaic term used for a group of old-established boarding secondary schools. The term ‘public’ actually refers to the fact that in 1868 a small group of boys’ schools were given independence from the Crown, church or government in favour of management by a board of governors. The original seven were Charterhouse, Eton College, Winchester College, Harrow School, Rugby School, Shrewsbury School, and Westminster. There are now several hundred ‘public schools’, including many girls’ and co-educational schools, nearly all with a proportion of day pupils, and the majority with boarding fees upwards of £35K and highly selective entrance requirements.
Pre-Prep
This is typically the entry point for children into education and would be akin to Nursery and reception in the state school system. Children begin Pre-Prep school at the age of 3 or 4 and move on to prep school at age 7 or 8 which is Year 3 or 4 in the state school system. Many Pre Prep schools will also have prep school for children to progress into. The schools will have their own admission process and entry requirements, but it wouldn’t be impossible for children so young to sit some sort of examination.
Prep School
Prep schools can range from the ages of 7 or 8 (Year 3 or 4) and go through to 11 or 13. (Year 7 or Year 9) Many Prep schools will also have a pre prep component so children transition from pre prep to prep within the same school. Children will normally sit 7+ or 8+ exams for entry into these schools.
Senior School
Is statistically when most students enter the independent school system and begin at 11 (Year 7) and go through to 18 (Year 13 or Upper Sixth). Some senior schools such as Eton have entry points at 13 (Year 9) that coincide with a student completing prep school. Many Senior schools will have an established admission process and will typically offer places based on academic performance and in a lot of cases an interview component.
At the age of 16 Children in the United Kingdom education system have to gain Gcses General certificate of secondary education. (GCSEs) Teaching is geared towards this.
Sixth Forms and Colleges
In the United Kingdom young people currently have to be in some form of learning until at least the age of 18, therefore sixth forms and colleges provide courses for students between the ages of 16 and 18 with some institutions (especially colleges) providing education for older students also.
Sixth forms are a continuation of senior schools, most senior schools will have their own sixth form that students can join internally or externally based on Gcse performance. ( The entry requirements for internal applicants (students that already attend the school) tend to be lower than external students (students joining from other institutions who may have to also complete an interview as part of the application process.
Sixth forms can offer a range of courses but tend to focus on As/A Levels, IB or some vocational courses.
Colleges are stand alone institutions they offer a range of courses from the age of 16 including Gcses, AS/ A Levels, IB and a broader range of vocational courses. Some universities have even merged with local colleges so it’s possible to do some courses that count towards a university degree.
By percentage there is a much greater proportion of students from sixth forms going on directly to university. The environment in sixth forms is more structured and formal compared to colleges but less structured and formal compared to the senior school. Sixth Forms and colleges both have their pros and cons; sixth forms can be beneficial in the sense that often teachers will know the students because many of them will have attended the senior school and they do boast a greater number of students going on to university.
Colleges are good because they mimic the environment of university and are more flexible than traditional schools and students are expected to take responsibility for their own education.
Boarding Type
There are two different types of boarding school within the independent school system they are:
1. Day Schools: Students live with their Parents or guardians and travel to school each day and then back home.
2. Boarding Schools: Students live at the school for all or part of the week.
Boarding schools can be further subdivided into weekly Students will live at school Monday to Friday and spend weekends with their parents
Flexi: Parents can determine how many nights a student will spend at school or at home.
Full: Students live at school all the time, apart from designated weekends and school holidays.
Full board is a popular option for international families because it means that parents do not have to live in the United Kingdom. Some independent schools do offer a combination of day and boarding options.
Single-sex or co-educational schools
Some schools will only have either all boys such as Eton college or harrow and others will be all girls such as whilst others will be coeducational and teach both boys and girls.
Some schools are single-sex at certain ages and co ed at other ages such as Trinity School in Croydon. Which is single sex up to sixth form and then co educational in the sixth form.
Qualifications
Most schools will have their own admissions process, entrance exams and selection criteria. but students can only take national qualifications as determined by the government at the ages of 16 and 18.
The national qualifications are slightly different depending on the school So it is important to bear this in mind when applying to independent schools. The qualifications include, Gcses, International Gcses, A Levels, As Levels, International Baccalaureate and Pre-U. Some independent schools may also offer Btechs in certain subjects but this is very rare.
The individual subjects within these qualifications have seperate exam boards and the school will decide the particular exam board they use for a particular subject
Universities both in the UK and abroad recognise many of these qualifications especially Gcses, A-Levels and IB and will offer places or rejection largely to how a student performs in these examinations.
Entry points/flexibility
The interesting thing about the UK school system is that there is a fair amount of flexibility around the path a student can take.
The most common entry point into the independent school system is 11+ many parents opt to send their children to pre prep and prep schools and then on to a senior school.
It is also fairly common for students to join the independent school system for sixth form, parents do have a number of options when it comes to independent schools.
How Can Sam Tutoring Help?
If you have any more questions or would like any support on understanding the independent school system you can use the Sam Tutoring consultancy service, we also have a dedicated tutoring service that can help students understand and get prepared for entrance examinations to these schools. Get in touch today and see how we can help you today.
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