5. Primary education

Most children start school at the age of 5 in a primary school. A primary school is devised into infants and juniors. At infant school reading, writing and arithmetic (three “R”) are taught for about 20 minutes a day during the first year, gradually increasing to about 2 hours in their last year. There is usually no written timetable. Much time is spent in modeling from clay or drawing, reading or singing.

By the time children are ready for the junior school they will be able to read or write, do simple addition and subtraction of numbers.

At the age of 7 children go on from the infants’ school to the junior school. This marks the transition from play to real work. The children have set periods 0f arithmetic, reading and composition which are all “11+” subjects. History, Geography, Nature Study, Art and Music, Physical Education, Swimming are also on the timetable.

Pupils are streamed, according to their ability to learn, into A, B, C and D stream. Formerly towards the end of their fourth year the pupils wrote their “11+”, Examination. The hated “11+”, examination was a selective procedure on which not only the pupils’ future schooling but their future career depended. The abolition of selection at “11+” examination brought to life comprehensive schools where pupils of all abilities can get secondary education.

6. Secondary education

Comprehensive schools dominate among all types of schools in secondary education: 90 per cent of all state – financed secondary schools is of this type.

Most other children receive secondary education in grammar school, secondary modern and very few secondary technical schools. Those who can pay go to public schools.

The transition from primary to secondary school is made between the ages of 11-12 years. At this age only some children sit for the selective examinations to be admitted to grammar schools. “11+” is retained mostly in Wales.

Comprehensive school. Comprehensive schools were introduced in 1965. The idea of comprehensive education, supported by the Labour Party, was to give all children of whatever background the same opportunity in education.

So comprehensive schools are non-selective (“all-in”) schools, which provide a wide range of secondary education for all the children of the district. They are the most important types of secondary school because they are attended by 84 per cent of all secondary school pupils.

There are various ways in which a comprehensive school can be organized. It can be, by “streaming” within the school, try to keep children of approximately similar ability in one group or class; it can leave the children to choose between large numbers of courses; or it can combine the two methods. Pupils may leave the school at the age 16 or 18.

Comprehensive schools are often very large schools with up to two thousand pupils.

Grammar schools. A grammar school mainly provides an exam-centered academic course from 11 to 18. It is the main route to the universities and the professions. A large proportion of university students is recruited from grammar schools, though they make 3 per cent of all schools.

Most grammar school pupils remain at school until 18 or 19 years old, especially if they want to go on to university. Some degree of specialization, especially as between arts and science subjects, is usually in the upper forms. The top form is always called the “six form”. Pupils may remain in this form for two or three years until they leave school. Selection of primary school children is usually based on school record cards, teachers’ reports, tests and consultation with parents. After the reform act of 1988 many grammar schools were turned into comprehensives and the change was in many cases very painful.

Secondary modern schools give a general education with a practical bias. It is common for more time to be given to handicrafts, domestic sciences and other practical activities than in grammar schools.

“Streaming” is practiced in secondary modern schools. The children in each group are usually placed in three streams A, B and C: “C” stream is for children of the least academic type, concentrating mainly on practical work.

Secondary technical schools, a smaller group (less than 2 per cent), offer a general education largely related to industry commerce and agriculture. These schools are not very popular and few places have them. They provide teaching up to the age of 18.