More than 90% of students in the UK attend publicly-funded state schools. Approximately 8.5 million children attend one of the 30,000 schools in England and Wales.

Primary schools usually include both girls and boys as pupils. Secondary schools may be either single-sex or co-educational. Education departments in England, fund schools through a Local Education Authority.

By law, all children in England and Wales between ages 5 and 16 must receive a full-time education. For children under age 5, publicly-funded nurseries and pre-schools are available for a limited number of hours each week.

After the age of 16, students can attend sixth form colleges or other further education institutions. Both options offer general education courses in addition to more specific vocational or applied subjects.

The UK introduced a National Curriculum in 1992 and state schools are required to adhere to it until students reach age 16. The Education and Skills Act of 2008 raised the compulsory age to 18, effective in 2013 for 17 year-olds and in 2015 for 18 year-olds. (Independent schools are not obliged to adhere to the National Curriculum.) National Curriculum core subjects are: English, Mathematics, Science, Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology, History, Geography, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Art and Design, Physical Education, and Citizenship. In addition to these core subjects are a number of other compulsory courses, such as Religious Education. After five years of secondary education, students take examinations in a range of subjects at the level of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The GCSE is a single-subject examination set and marked by independent examination boards. Students usually take up to ten (there is no upper or lower limit) GCSE examinations in different subjects, including Mathematics and English Language.

After taking GCSEs, students may leave secondary schooling; alternatively, they may choose to continue their education at vocational or technical colleges, or they may take a higher level of secondary school examinations known as AS-Levels after an additional year of study. Following two years of study, students may take A-Level (short for Advanced Level) examinations, which are required for university entrance in the UK*.

* British Council web site

Northamptonshire School Holidays

Academic Year 2010-2011

Term 1 . 1st Sept. 2010 - 22nd Oct. 2010
Term 2 ..1st Nov. .2010 - 17th Dec. 2010
Term 3 ..4th Jan. 2011 - 18th Feb. 2011
Term 4 ..28th Feb. 2011 - 8th Apr. 2011
Term 5 ..26th Apr. 2011 - 27th May 2011
Term 6 ..6th June .2011 - 22nd July 2011

Click on the flag to return to the top