General Chat

Last weekend my family were discussing the education system in England, and my Mum told us allllllllllllllllll about her schooling and how she was a scholarship student etc. Well, since that was over 70 years ago I would think, and hope and pray, that the education system had changed.
I was wondering want it was like now. Like do you still start when your 4, do you still have to pick you profession when your 10! (or something like that :-S)

Taken from http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/childcare/student/nonuniv2.html

In England you are required by law to make sure your child begins education from the beginning of school term after he or she turns 5 years old. However, children normally start Reception class in a state school from the September after their 4th birthday.
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As the calculation for the school year runs from 1 Sep - 31 Aug the following year, it is conceivable that a child who turned 4 on 31 Aug could be sent to school when the autumn term started a few days later. In practice, the school would probably suggest that the parents left it until later in the school year.
There is a governmental drive for all pre-school aged children to attend Nursery, the cynics thinking that is so that the caregiver can return to work (and pay taxes ;-) )

Pick your profession at 10? Your mum was probably referring to the selective school system when 10/11 year olds had to sit a test to decide what type of school they were most suited to. This was called the 11+

By the 1960's (possibly earlier) there where in order of academic achievement
Secondary Schools
Technical Schools
Grammar Schools, these being for the most academically minded.

Although some Counties have retained Grammar Schools, most have Wide Ability schools with variations.

Secondary aged students do have to choose what subjects they want to study for GCSE (General Certificate of Education) at the end of year 9 (about 14 years old) and that could effect their options once they eventually leave school.

You no longer need to pay for State Education, although obviously you would if you sent your child to a Private school. 'Public Schools' such as Eton, Harrow and the like are Private ie fee-paying! If the family wanted their child to go to one of those but couldn't afford it, then the child might be given a Scholarship by the school or some other charitable organisation.

Because he had had such a horrible experience of education, Winston Churchill made sure there was a clause in one Education Act, 1944 I think but that seems like a funny time for him to be involved in educational legislation, that the responsibility of parents was to send their children to school or provide them with education otherwise.

This is why the home schooling group is called, "Education Otherwise".