Comprehensive school
The first comprehensives were set up after the Second World War. At that time the terms "multi-lateral" or "multi-bias" were also used to describe non-selective secondary schools.
The largest expansion of comprehensive schools resulted from a policy decision taken in 1965 by
In 1970,
In 1976, the future Labour Prime Minister
Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, parents have a right to choose which school their child should go to or whether to not send them to school at all and to home educate them instead. The concept of "school choice" introduces the idea of competition between state schools, a fundamental change to the original "neighbourhood comprehensive" model, and is partly intended as a means by which schools that are perceived to be inferior are forced either to improve or, if hardly anyone wants to go there, to close down. Government policy is currently promoting 'specialisation' whereby parents choose a secondary school appropriate for their child's interests and skills. Most initiatives focus on parental choice and information, implementing a quasi-market incentive to encourage better schools. Both Conservative and Labour governments experimented with alternatives to the original neighbourhood comprehensive.[7]
Experiments have included:
- Partnerships where successful schools share knowledge and best practice with nearby schools
- Federations of schools, where a partnership is formalised through joint governance arrangements
- City Technology Colleges, 15 new schools where one fifth of the capital cost is privately funded
- Academy schools, state schools not controlled by the local authority, which are allowed to select up to 10% of admissions by ability
- Free schools, state schools not controlled by the local authority, which are allowed to select up to 10% of admissions by ability
Following the advice of Cyril Taylor, former businessman, Conservative politician, and chairman of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), in the mid-1990s, all parties have backed the creation of specialist schools, which focus on excellence in a particular subject and are theoretically allowed to select up to 10% of their intake. This policy consensus had brought to an end the notion that all children will go to their local school, and assumes parents will choose a school they feel most meets their child's needs.
Curriculum
All maintained schools in England are required to follow the National Curriculum, which is made up of twelve subjects.[9] Every state school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.[10] For each of the statutory curriculum subjects, the Secretary of State for Education is required to set out a Programme of Study which outlines the content and matters which must be taught in those subjects at the relevant Key Stages.[11] Teachers should set high expectations for every pupil. They should plan stretching work for pupils whose attainment is significantly above the expected standard. Teachers should use appropriate assessment to set targets which are deliberately ambitious.[10]
Under the
- Art and design
- Citizenship
- Design and technology
- Geography
- History
- Computing
- Foreign languages
- Music
- Physical education
In addition to the compulsory subjects, pupils at Key Stage 4 have a statutory entitlement to study at least one subject from the arts (comprising art and design, music, photography, dance, drama and media arts), design and technology (comprising design and technology, electronics, engineering, food preparation and nutrition), the humanities (comprising geography and history), and modern foreign languages.[12] Optional subjects include computer science, business studies, economics, astronomy, classical civilisation, film studies, geology, psychology, sociology, ancient languages, and ancient history.[12]
The Department for Education has drawn up a list of preferred subjects known as the English Baccalaureate on the results in eight GCSEs including English, mathematics, the sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, computer science), history, geography, and an ancient or modern foreign language.[12][13]
All schools are required to make provision for a daily act of collective worship and must teach religious education to pupils at every key stage and sex and relationships education to pupils in secondary education. Parents can withdraw their children for all or part of the lessons. Local councils are responsible for deciding the RE syllabus, but faith schools and academies can set their own.[9] All schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). Schools are also free to include other subjects or topics of their choice in planning and designing their own programme of education.
School years
Children are normally placed in year groups determined by the age they will attain at their birthday during the school year.[14] In most cases progression from one year group to another is based purely on chronological age, although it is possible in some circumstances for a student to repeat or skip a year. Repetition may be due to a lack of attendance, for example from a long illness, and especially in Years requiring standard tests. A child significantly more advanced than their classmates may be forwarded one or more years.
State-funded nursery education is available from the age of 3, and may be full-time or part-time, though this is not compulsory. If registered with a state school, attendance is compulsory beginning with the term following the child's fifth birthday. Children can be enrolled in the reception year in September of that school year, thus beginning school at age 4 or 4.5. Unless the student chooses to stay within the education system, compulsory school attendance ends on the last Friday in June during the academic year in which a student attains the age of 16.[15]
In the vast majority of cases, pupils progress from primary to secondary levels at age 11; in some areas either or both of the primary and secondary levels are further subdivided. A few areas have
Age at birthday during school year[14] | Year | Curriculum Stage | State Schools | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Nursery | Foundation Stage | Nursery School | ||
5 | Reception | Infant School
|
Primary School | First School
| |
6 | Year 1
|
Key Stage 1 | |||
7 | Year 2
| ||||
8 | Year 3
|
Key Stage 2 | Junior School
| ||
9 | Year 4
| ||||
10 | Year 5
|
Middle School | |||
11 | Year 6
| ||||
12 | Year 7
|
Key Stage 3 | Secondary School or
High School |
Secondary School
with Sixth Form | |
13 | Year 8
| ||||
14 | Year 9
|
Upper School
| |||
15 | Year 10
|
Key Stage 4
GCSE
| |||
16 | Year 11
| ||||
17 | Year 12 (Lower Sixth)
|
Sixth Form
, etc.
|
FE College
| ||
18 | Year 13 (Upper Sixth)
|
Scotland
Scotland has a very different educational system from England and Wales, though also based on comprehensive education. It has different ages of transfer, different examinations and a different philosophy of choice and provision. All publicly funded primary and secondary schools are comprehensive. The Scottish Government has rejected plans for specialist schools as of 2005.
Australia
When the first comprehensive schools appeared in the 1950s, the
The Australian education system is organised through three compulsory school types. Students commence their education in Primary school, which runs for seven or eight years, starting at kindergarten through to Year 6 or 7. The next is Secondary school which runs for three or four years, from Year 7 or 8 to Year 10. Finally, Senior Secondary school which runs for two years, completing Years 11 and 12.[18] Each school tier follows a comprehensive curriculum that is categorised into sequences for each Year-level. The Year-level follows specific sequence content and achievement for each subject, which can be interrelated through cross-curricula.[19] In order for students to complete and graduate each tier-level of schooling, they need to complete the subject sequences of content and achievement. Once students have completed Year 12, they may choose to enter into Tertiary education. The two-tier Tertiary education system in Australia includes both higher education (i.e.: university, college, other institutions) and vocational education and training (VET). Higher education works off of the Australian Qualifications Framework[20] and prepares Australians for an academic route that may take them into the theoretical and philosophical lenses of their career options.
References
- OCLC 1108696740.
- ^ "Vocational education and training in the United Kingdom" (PDF). p. 35. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "Traineeships". Skills Funding Agency. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- JSTOR 3119908.
- . Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ a b Peter Medway and Pat Kingwell, "A Curriculum in its place: English teaching in one school 1946–1963", History of Education 39, no. 6 (November 2010): 749–765.
- ^ a b Comps – here to stay?, Phil Tinline, September 2005, BBC, accessed 12 August 2008.
- ^ "TEN QUESTIONS | Independent, the (London) | Find Articles at BNET". Archived from the original on 28 April 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
- ^ a b "National curriculum". Teachernet. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ a b "National curriculum in England: framework for key stages 1 to 4". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 September 2021. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
- ^ National Archives (1 April 2018). "Education Act 2002 Part 6". H M Government. Retrieved 14 October 2020. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
- ^ a b c Government Digital Service. "The national curriculum: key stage 3 and 4". Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "GCSE subject content". GOV.UK. November 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ a b Education Act 2002, s.82.
- ^ "School attendance and absence: the law". Directgov.
- ^ Barcan, Alan (2007). "Comprehensive Secondary Schools in Australia: a View from Newcastle, New South Wales" (PDF). Education Research and Perspectives, University of Newcastle, NSW. 34: 136–178. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ISSN 1328-8091.
- ^ Technology, Elcom. "Education system overview". studyinaustralia.gov.au. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ^ "F-10 curriculum". australiancurriculum.edu.au. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ Agency, Digital Transformation. "Higher education | australia.gov.au". australia.gov.au. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
External links
- Comprehensive Future – the campaign for fair admissions
- Centre for the Support of Comprehensive Schools
- Comprehensive Education – Examining the Evidence Report of 1999 seminar organised by CASE (the Campaign for State Education in the UK).
- Campaign for State Education
- Secretary of State for Education Ruth Kelly on comprehensive education
- Comp, a BBC Radio 4 documentary about the creation of comprehensive schools
- Discussions in 2002 about the future of comprehensives
- Melissa Benn: To abolish the class divide- abolish private schools
- Educational Inequality and Sociological Models Dave Harris