Introduction  

Over the past decade or so, the educational system in England and Wales has become increasingly decentralized in some of its features and increasingly centralized in others. On the one hand, the Education Reform Act of 1988 dispersed educational authority and emphasized local management of schools. On the other hand, the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) adopted a uniform national curriculum for the first time in the same year. Because of this combination of centralized and decentralized authority, the English and Welsh educational system has been referred to as being "national, but locally administered" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6518).

Structure of Schooling  

Schooling is compulsory in England and Wales for children between the ages of 5 and 16. The basic structure of the compulsory school years includes:

• Six years of primary education for children between the ages of 5 and 11; these years are divided into two stages, an infant stage for children aged 5 to 7 and a junior stage for children aged 8 to 11. Some local education authorities in England also operate "middle schools," which span primary and secondary education (DFE, p.88).
• Five years of secondary education for children between the ages of 11 and 16. Most of these schools (about 90 percent) are "comprehensive schools" that enroll students of all ability levels and provide a broad secondary education (Central Office of Information, p.413). Some secondary schools also include programs, called "sixth forms," for students between the ages of 16 and 18 (see below). The small number of secondary schools that are not comprehensive schools are most frequently "grammar schools," which serve academically abler students, and schools that serve students with disabilities and other special educational needs.

In England and Wales, participation in primary and secondary education is "virtually 100 percent" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6517).

Following the completion of secondary education, a majority of students (about 65 percent; Central Office of Information, p.423) continue on for additional academic or vocational training. These students study to acquire one or a combination of qualifications: the General Certificate of Education (GCE); the broad-based General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs); or the job-specific National Vocational Qualifications (GVQs). Of those students who continue with their formal education, approximately 42 percent pursue academic programs, while the remaining 58 percent pursue vocational programs (OECD, p.138).

Academic training takes place either in the "sixth form" of the secondary school or in "sixth form colleges." Students at these schools spend two years preparing for examinations that will allow them access to higher education or professional training. Vocational training takes place primarily in "further education colleges." The system of further education colleges in England and Wales is diverse, but, in general, the system has strong ties with commerce and industry, and employers are frequently involved in designing courses. Many students enroll in further education courses on a part-time basis. (Central Office of Information, pp.424-425).

School Governance and Finance  

The "maintained" educational system (see Footnote 1) in England and Wales has a complex administrative and supervisory structure. Maintained schools fall into four categories:

1. county schools, which are wholly funded and operated through the local education authority (LEA);
2. voluntary controlled schools, which are under the purview of the LEA but are owned by charitable organizations, most often churches;
3. voluntary aided schools, also typically owned and operated by a church but with more autonomy - and less financial support - from the LEA than voluntary controlled schools receive; and
4. grant-maintained schools, which are schools that have elected to remove themselves from the authority of the LEA and instead receive their funding directly from the central government. (This pattern has now been slightly amended with particular regard to GM schools folowing 1999 legislation.)

Governance  Overall responsibility for education rests with the Secretary of State for Education in England and the Secretary of State in Wales; the central offices under the Secretaries are the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) in England and the Welsh Office Education Department. These bodies are responsible for education policymaking and for maintaining the supply and training of teachers (Central Office of Information, p.410).

Most responsibility for administration and management, however, rests with the LEAs. Functions carried out by LEAs include paying teachers and other school staff, providing and maintaining school buildings, supplying equipment and materials, and ensuring that schools are effectively managed (Central Office of Information, p.410). LEA's also now have the additional, and very crucial, formal responsibility for ensuring the quality of school performance.

In recent years, there has been a shift toward situating more responsibility and control at the school level. Consequently, every county and voluntary school "has a governing body which includes governors appointed by the LEA, elected teacher and parent governors, and people co-opted from the local community" (Central Office of Information, p.411). The governors set goals for the school, and the headteacher is responsible for "the internal organization, management, and control of the school" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6519). Each school has a delegated budget, representing approximately 75 percent of the school's revenue expenditures, for which the governors are responsible.

Finance  LEAs are responsible for determining the formula that allocates funds to primary and secondary schools in England and Wales within the controls and constraints of central government. In recent years there has been a major shift towards central funding and prescription with increasingly fewer opportunitiies for local authorities to raise funds for their own educational purposes.

At both the primary and secondary levels, funding varies according to the number and age of pupils, and other local circumstances including special educational and social needs.

Curriculum  

As a major departure from past practice, a national curriculum was prescribed in 1988 for all primary and secondary schools in England and Wales (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6520). The national curriculum includes both the "core subjects" of English, mathematics, and science and the "foundation subjects" of technology, history, geography, foreign language (only at the secondary school level), music, art, and physical education. In Wales (which maintains both Welsh-speaking schools and English-speaking schools), "Welsh may be a foundation subject and the curriculum studied through the medium of Welsh" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6520). Attainment targets exist for each of the subject areas. A review of the National Curriculum is in hand in 1999.

Standards for Student Performance and Gateways to Promotion and Higher Education  

A system of national assessment has been developed over the past several years to reflect the core subjects - English, mathematics, and science - of the new national curriculum. Together, the national curriculum and the national assessment system articulate both content and performance standards for the English and Welsh educational system. In addition, the system of examinations taken by students hoping to enroll in universities has also been modified in recent years, encouraging a broader curriculum for these students. This, too, is being reviewed in 1999 with a view to broadening still further the curricular experience of school students.

Promotion.  Advancement from primary to secondary school is virtually automatic in England and Wales. Decisions on accelerated or delayed promotion are usually made by the school in consultation with the parents. Thus, at about age 11, the vast majority of students (about 90 percent, DFE, p.95) advance automatically to a local comprehensive secondary school, with parents having the right to state a preference for a particular school. In those parts of the country that retain selective secondary schools, a small number of students from the top 20 percent of the ability range advance to secondary grammar schools.

Examinations.  National assessments are administered to all students at the ages of 7, 11, and 14 in the core subjects of English, mathematics, and science (ages 11 and 14 only); an assessment in Welsh is also administered in Welsh-speaking schools. (Originally, assessments were to be introduced in more subject areas, but for the moment, the DfEE has decided to limit the national assessments to only the core subjects.) The national assessments are administered under the supervision of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. In the case of the assessment administered to 7-year-olds, the assessments are marked by the regular classroom teacher and verified by an external agency; for the 11- and 14-year-olds, the assessments are scored by an external agency. (Central Office of Information, p.419; Garet & Moskowitz, pp.IV-5-IV-7). At the end of secondary school (at the age of 16), students sit for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination. The GCSE examination, which assesses student achievement in individual subjects, is scored on a seven-point scale, ranging from A to G; grades A through C are usually considered passing grades. After two years of further study (either at a sixth-form college, at the sixth-form in a secondary school, or in a further education college), students may sit for one of three types of exams:

• The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-level) and Advanced Supplementary Level (GCE AS-level). Students generally sit for between two and four (usually three) examinations. The GCE AS-level examinations were introduced in 1989 as a way to encourage students to continue broader academic study during their years of sixth-form or further study (these examinations require less preparation than the GCE A-levels). These examinations constitute the standard entry requirement for universities (DFE, p.100; Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6521; Central Office of Information, p.427).
• The Advanced General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) which provide students with a broad-based vocational certification.
• The National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) which provide students with job-specific vocational certifications.

Access to Higher Education.  Admission to university or a polytechnic (most of which are now known as universities) depends primarily upon a student's performance on the national GCE A- or AS-level examinations. Usually, two or more passes on the GCE A- and AS-level examinations "provide normal minimal entry requirements for higher education" (DFE, p.100). In addition, a growing number of adults are able to gain admission to universities after taking "access courses," which provide academic preparation and "an appropriate test" for students who do not possess the typical GCE qualifications (Central Office of Information, p.427).

Teacher Training and Certification  

Academic and practical training for teacher candidates lasts between three and four years. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programs are offered by university departments of education and other institutions of higher education. There are two main types of qualifications: the four-year Bachelor of Education and the three-year degree course supplemented by a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Central Office of Information, p.417). Practical training lasts between 24 and 32 weeks for teacher candidates (U.S. Department of Education, 1993, p.6). After an initial year of teaching, degree-holding teachers receive a teaching certificate. In 1994, legislation created the Teacher Training Agency with the mission of financing ITT courses, establishing national standards, and ensuring that they are met, and promoting recruitment into and the professional development of the teaching profession (Central Office of Information, p.417).

References  

General Reference  

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1995). Education at a glance: OECD indicators. Paris: Author.

Husen, T., & Postlethwaite, N. (Eds.) (1994). The international encyclopedia of education (Second edition). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

U.S. Department of Education (1993). Teacher training abroad: New realities. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

References - The United Kingdom  

Central Office of Information (1995). Britain 1995: An official handbook. London: HMSO.

Department for Education (1994). Education statistics for the United Kingdom, 1993 Edition. London: HMSO.

Garet, M.S., & Moskowitz, J. (1996). Multilateral comparisons of national assessments in education. Washington, D.C.: Pelavin Research Institute.