Special Country Features — United Kingdom

As early as the age of 5, the British start their journey in school. That’s when Primary Education begins for children in England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales  and they take it very seriously since that early age. In 2016, no less than 66% of pupils met or exceeded the expected standard in reading, 70% did so in mathematics and 74% achieved their goals in writing. 

This was just the first year of the new national curriculum enforced in British primary schools. According to the UK’s Department of Education, the new assessments raised the bar on what students aged 5 to 11 must be taught, consequently preparing them for secondary school and beyond.

Then, from ages 11 to 16, comes the time for secondary education. Of course, not all students can go to Hogwarts, but all of them have a chance to get a great deal of learning. Over the past two years, the main goal is to prepare students for the General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs), academic qualifications given for specific subjects. The GCSEs are highly valued by colleges and employers, so they are quite popular among young British students.

Out of all 50 available subjects, four of them are mandatory: English Language, English Literature, Sciences and Mathematics. Welsh and Irish Languages are also required in Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively. However, students are free to choose the other subjects they are going to specialize in — actually, they are encouraged to take a wide range of subjects so they can keep their options open for the future.

After school, British students can continue studying or apply for jobs.  Nevertheless, before going to a higher education institution, if they choose to, students are required to attend further education. Similar to the GCSEs, the A-level is a two-year program that develops their academic abilities before attending college. 

The UK has a 46% completion rate in tertiary education, which is a good rate when compared to other countries researched for this piece – although Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore have superior numbers. The United Kingdom is ranked 18th in the System Education World Economic Forum ranking.  

What is a matter of concern for British educators is the rise in the student dropout rate during the first year of college. In 2014-2015, 6.2% of students quit higher education even before getting to the second year. 

The UK Has Some of the Most Renowned Universities in the World

With over 100 universities – and 13 of them being listed in the World’s Top 100 rankings – the United Kingdom is one of the best places in the world to get a university degree. However, it’s one of the priciest too: local students spend an average of US$ 5,900  per semester to study in their best campuses and international students pay more than twice that amount as the average cost is US$ 12,900 per semester if you come from another country. 

Business and administrative studies, biological sciences, subjects concerned with medicine, social studies and creative arts & design are considered the top five majors in the UK. 

All universities in the UK demand a tuition fee – none of them is public or government-owned, like in most countries. They are independent organizations and the majority of them have some kind of government funding – still, students that want to get a degree have to contribute financially, unless they have scholarships. 

Recently, the financing of universities has become a sensitive issue in the UK. With the country’s decision to leave the European Union (EU), and the subsequent inability to access EU funds for higher education, institutions are becoming increasingly more concerned that international students might not be able to go to the United Kingdom to get a degree anymore. The number of 438,000 international students is expected to drop in the near future, considering 127,000 come from other EU countries. As if this wasn’t enough trouble, Brexit could also have a bear on research funding, which is also seen as a major concern.