Until June 2007, Education in England was the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills at national level and, in the case of publicly funded compulsory education, of Local Education Authorities. In the new UK Government, led by Gordon Brown, responsibility is divided between the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
The education structures for Wales and Northern Ireland are broadly similar to the English system, but there are significant differences of emphasis in the depth and breadth of teaching objectives in Scotland. Traditionally the English system emphasises depth of education, whereas the Scottish system emphasises breadth.

The structure of the English educational system
This part of the article does not apply to the minority of privately financed Independent Schools, which, by definition, have independent approaches to education, and different age ranges.
Formal education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16 (inclusive) across England. This can be provided by state schools, independent schools, or homeschooling. [1] Note that in England, compulsory schooling currently ends on the last Friday in June during the academic year in which a pupil attains the age of 16[2]. Current government proposals are to raise the age until which students must continue to receive some form of education or training to 18. [3] This is expected to take place by 2013.
This diagram represents the most common for schooling in the state sector in England, involving a break at age 11. Where ages are given, it is expected that all pupils will reach the lower age given in the bracket by the 1st September of that academic year.

Compulsory schooling
Primary education in England is normally conducted through Infant and Junior schools or a combined Primary school.

Foundation Stage 1 (in a pre-school/childcare environment)

• Nursery, age 3 to 4
  Foundation Stage 2 (in an Infant or Primary school)
  
  
  
  • Reception, age 4 to 5
    Key Stage 1 (in an Infant or Primary school)
    
    
    
    • Year 1, age 5 to 6
      Year 2, age 6 to 7
      Key Stage 2 (in Junior or Primary school)
      
      
      
      • Year 3, age 7 to 8
        Year 4, age 8 to 9
        Year 5, age 9 to 10
        Year 6, age 10 to 11 Primary education
        Secondary education in England is normally conducted through Secondary which cover the two secondary key stages:
        In addition, some secondary schools also make provision for post-compulsory study through sixth form departments.
        Historically, years 7 to 12/13 used to be known as 'first form' to lower/upper sixth form. There now exists a common parallel usage for 6th form only: year 12/lower 6th and year 13/upper 6th, probably due to its separate, voluntary nature and situation as the A-level years.
        In some regions of England, provision is made through three-tier schooling in First, Middle and Upper schools
        
        Key Stage 3
        
        
        
        • Year 7, age 11 to 12
          Year 8, age 12 to 13
          Year 9, age 13 to 14
          Key Stage 4
          
          
          
          • Year 10, age 14 to 15
            Year 11, age 15 to 16 (end of compulsory education)
            Year 12, age 16 to 17
            Year 13, age 17 to 18 Secondary education
            Under the National Curriculum system, all pupils undergo a series of tests at specific points in their education. These are known as Key Stage National Curriculum Tests and are numbered 1 to 4 as follows:
            These Key Stage exams are often referred to as SATs (Standard Assessment Tests).
            Pupils wishing to progress in to a grammar school must sit an additional exam, usually the Eleven plus. The availability of grammar schools is limited by geographical location. Many areas of the country no longer have grammar schools and even less operate a Local Authority 11+ system.
            
            Key Stage 1 (KS1) — during Year 2 (ages 6/7)
            Key Stage 2 (KS2) — towards the end of Year 6 (ages 10/11)
            Key Stage 3 (KS3) — towards the end of Year 9 (ages 13/14)
            Key Stage 4 (KS4) — during both Year 10 and 11, mostly at the end of Year 11 (ages 14-16) — incorporated into GCSE examinations Post 16 education
            Students will typically study in either the Sixth Form of a School, a Sixth form college, or a further education college. These courses can also be studied by adults over 18. This sector is referred to as Further Education. All 16-18 students are encouraged (this is only mandatory in some institutions) to study Key Skills in Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology.
            
            Further education
            There are a wide range of courses and qualifications offered, all of which are being harmonised into the National Qualifications Framework:
            
            Qualifications
            The main academic qualification available to 16-18 year olds is the Advanced Level GCE. An A-Level consists of 6 modules in each subject, three of which are typically taken in the first year. After taking 3 modules, students can choose either to continue studying the subject to obtain a A-Level, or to "cash in" the first three modules for an AS-Level. From 2008 the number of units within the system will be reduced to two at each level, comprising four in total for the award of an Advanced Level GCE. Students aiming for university entry typically study 3 or 4 subjects to A-Level and an additional (often contrasting) subject to AS-Level. Alternative vocational qualifications such as the AVCE can also be studied. Most students can expect to receive a university offer based almost entirely upon the results of their A-Levels, either with specific grades or using the UCAS Tariff.
            
            Year 12 or Lower Sixth, age 16 to 17 (AS-level examinations)
            Year 13 or Upper Sixth, age 17 to 18 (A2-level examinations. Both AS-levels and A2-levels count towards A-levels.)
            The International Baccalaureate is an alternative to A-levels offered by a few institutions. Academic qualifications
            Vocational qualifications offered including BTEC Awards, National Vocational Qualification (NVQs), City and Guilds qualifications and Apprenticeships.
            
            Level 1 equivalent to 4 GCSEs at D-E grades.
            
            
            
            • BTEC Introductory Diploma - Level 1 qualification, roughly equivalent to 4 GCSEs at D-E grades
              Foundation GNVQ.
              Level 2 - equivalent to GCSEs at C-A*.
              
              
              
              • BTEC First Diploma - Level 2 qualification, roughly equivalent to 4 GCSEs at C-A* grades.
                Intermediate General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ)
                Level 3 - equivalent to A levels
                
                
                
                • Ordinary National Certificate (ONC)
                  Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or BTEC National Diploma
                  Vocational A-Levels formally Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education (AVCE)
                  Level 4 - Equivalent to 1st year university
                  
                  
                  
                  • Higher National Certificate (HNC)
                    Level 5 - Equivalent to 2nd year university
                    
                    
                    
                    • Higher National Diploma (HND)
                      Level 6 - Equivalent to degree
                      
                      
                      
                      • the Licentiateship of the City and Guilds (LCGI)
                        Level 7 - Equivalent to higher degree
                        
                        
                        
                        • the Graduateship of the City and Guilds (GCGI) Vocational qualifications
                          Students normally enter University from 18 onwards and study for an Academic Degree. Apart from a single private university, all undergraduate education is largely state financed (with tuition fees set at a maximum index-linked £3,000 per year, repayable after graduation contingent on attaining a certain level of income, and with the state paying all fees for students from the poorest backgrounds), and UK students are generally entitled to student loans for maintenance. The state does not control syllabi, but it does influence admission procedures.
                          The typical first degree offered at British universities is the Bachelor's degree (typically three years). Many institutions now offer an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree, typically lasting four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between undergraduate and traditional postgraduate Master's degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former) makes taking an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree a more attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate Master's degrees means that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear.
                          Some universities offer a Foundation degree, typically between one and two years in length for those students who hope to continue to take a first degree but are not academically strong enough.
                          
                          Higher education
                          Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which includes:
                          Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the State, and so admission is in practice highly competitive.
                          
                          Master's degree (typically taken in one year)
                          Doctorate degree (typically taken in three years) Postgraduate education
                          
                          Education: Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Certificate in Education (Cert Ed), C&G 7407, most of which also incorporate Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
                          Law: Bachelor of Laws LL.B.
                          Medicine: Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery studied at Medical school (United Kingdom)
                          Business: Master of Business Administration MBA. Specialist qualifications
                          Adult education, Continuing education or Lifelong learning is offered to students of all ages. These can include the vocational qualifications mentioned above and also:
                          A large number of semi-recreational courses, with or without qualifications, are made available by Local Education Authorities under the guise of Adult Education, such as holiday languages, crafts and yacht navigation.
                          
                          Access programme one or two year courses to allow adults access to university.
                          Open University a distance learning program which can result in a Degree.
                          Workers' Educational Association Adult education
                          The costs for a normal education in England and Wales are as follows:
                          
                          Primary: no charge
                          Secondary: no charge
                          Further (Secondary) Education in either a sixth form or college: no charge if under 19 years of age in that particular academic year or on a low income.
                          Undergraduate Higher Education for those who started in or prior to October 2005: up to £1175 per annum (Oct 2005) depending on income, rising £25 every year.
                          Undergraduate Higher Education starting October 2006 or later: up to £3000 per annum (capped) - this is due to the introduction of controversial top-up fees
                          Postgraduate Higher Education: Typically £3000 per annum; however some institutions charge a larger amount. Costs
                          
                          Education at privately run independent schools is usually chargeable. Such schools, some of which are boarding schools, cover primary and secondary education and charge between £2000 to £8000 per term. Some schools offer scholarships for those with particular skills or aptitudes or bursaries to allow less well-off students to attend.
                          Foreign students at UK universities are charged differing amounts, often in the region of £5000 - £20000 per annum for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The actual amount differs by institution and subject with the lab based subjects charging a greater amount.
                          Differing arrangements apply to English students studying in Scotland and Scottish / Welsh students studying in England.
                          Although in theory school-based education is free in the UK there are many activities that 'cost' more than is budgeted from school funds. Such activities can include items like swimming, theatre visits, field trips and the like. Schools are allowed to levy charges for such activities so long as the charges are voluntary. This means that the children of parents who cannot afford to pay must be allowed to participate in such events even if no contribution is made.
                          At university level, there are numerous bursaries (awarded to low income applicants) to offset the undergraduate fees, and for postgraduates, full scholarships are available for most subjects, awarded competitively. Notes
                          
                          The history of state-sponsored education in England
                          
                          From medieval times, the Church (or chapel) provided education to all classes of society, in monasteries, at public schools, orphanages, charity schools, grammar schools, church foundations, or by the chaplains to private households. Until as late as the nineteenth century, all university fellows and many schoolmasters were expected or required to be in holy orders. Schoolmistresses typically taught "the three Rs" (reading, writing and 'rithmatic) in dame schools, charity schools, or informal village schools. The Church of England resisted early attempts for the state to provide secular education, and church schools still remained embedded in the state school system.
                          In August 1833, the UK voted sums of money each year for the construction of schools for poor children, the first time the state had become involved with education in England and Wales, whereas the programme of universal education in Scotland began in 1561.
                          A meeting in Manchester in 1837, chaired by Mark Philips, led to the creation of the Lancashire Public Schools' Association. The association proposed that non-sectarian schools should be funded from local taxes.
                          In 1839 government grants for the construction and maintenance of schools were switched to voluntary bodies, and became conditional on a satisfactory inspection.
                          In 1840 the Grammar Schools Act expanded the Grammar School curriculum from classical studies to include science and literature.
                          Before 1870, education was largely a private affair, with wealthy parents sending their children to fee-paying schools, and others using whatever local teaching was made available.
                          The Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 required partially state funded board schools to be set up to provide primary (elementary) education in areas where existing provision was inadequate. Board schools were managed by elected school boards. The schools remained fee-paying. The previous government grant scheme established in 1833 ended on December 31, 1870.
                          Under the Elementary Education Act 1880, education became compulsory from the ages of 5 to 10.
                          The Free Education Act 1891 provided for the state payment of school fees up to ten shillings per week.
                          The Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act 1893 raised the school leaving age to 11 and later to 13. The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act of the same year extended compulsory education to blind and deaf children, and made provision for the creation of special schools.
                          The Voluntary Schools Act 1897 provided grants to public elementary schools not funded by school boards (typically Church schools).
                          From April 1900 higher elementary schools were recognised, providing education from the age of 10 to 15.
                          The 'Balfour' Education Act 1902 created local education authorities (LEAs), who took over responsibility for board schools from the school boards. Grammar schools also became funded by the LEA. The act was of particular significance as it allowed for all schools, including denominational schools, to be funded through rates (local taxation).
                          The Fisher Education Act 1918 made secondary education compulsory up to age 14 and gave responsibility for secondary schools to the state. Under the Act, many higher elementary schools and endowed grammar school sought to become state funded central schools or secondary schools. However, most children attended primary (elementary) school up until age 14, rather than going to a separate school for secondary education.
                          After the passing of the 1929 Local Government Act, Poor Law schools became state funded elementary schools.
                          The Butler Education Act of 1944 established the Tripartite System, and defined the modern split between Primary and Secondary education at age 11.
                          Education was made compulsory up to age 15 in 1947. The period before 1950
                          Due to the perceived failures of the Tripartite system, the Labour government in 1965 requested proposals from all the UK's regions for them to move from the Tripartite system to the Comprehensive System. Note that this was an optional reform for the regions, and some regions still have the Tripartite System.
                          In 1972, education was made compulsory up to age 16. A generation of "ROSLA" (Raising Of the School Leaving Age) children caused significant problems for teachers.
                          Following the 1979 General Election, the Conservative party regained power in central government, and made two main changes in this period:
                          
                          New Vocationalism was expanded (Labour had made some small efforts beforehand, but the Conservatives expanded it considerably). This was seen as an effort to reduce the high youth unemployment, which was regarded as one of the causes of the sporadic rioting at the end of the seventies.
                          The Assisted Places Scheme was introduced in 1980, whereby gifted children who could not afford to go to fee-paying schools would be given free places in those schools if they could pass the school's entrance exam. The post-war period
                          The 1988 Education Reform Act made considerable changes to the education system. These changes were aimed at creating a 'market' in education with schools competing with each other for 'customers' (pupils). The theory was that bad schools would lose pupils to the good schools and either have to improve, reduce in capacity or close.
                          The reforms included the following:
                          
                          The National Curriculum was introduced, which made it compulsory for schools to teach certain subjects and syllabuses. Previously the choice of subjects had been up to the school.
                          National curriculum assessments were introduced at the Key Stages 1 to 4 (ages 7, 11, 14 and 16 respectively) through what were formerly called SATS (Standard Assessment Tests). At Key Stage 4 (age 16), the assessments were made from the GCSE exam.
                          League tables began showing performance statistics for each school. These are regularly published in newspapers and are available over the web, so parents can see how schools are doing in each area of the country.
                          Formula funding was introduced, which meant that the more children a school could attract to it, the more money it got.
                          Open Enrolment and choice for parents were brought back, so that parents could choose or influence which school their children went to.
                          Schools could, if enough of their pupils' parents agreed, opt out of local government control, becoming grant maintained schools and receiving funding direct from central government. The government offered more money than the school would get usually from the local authority as an enticement. This was seen as a political move given that often local authorities were not run by the governing Conservative Party whereas central government was. The Education Reform Act of 1988
                          During the 1997 General Election, the Labour party mantra was "Education, Education, Education", a reference to their conference slogan. Winning the election returned them to power, but New Labour's political ideology meant that many of the changes introduced by the Conservatives during their time in power remained intact.
                          They began changing the structure of the school and higher education systems. The following changes took place:
                          The green paper prompted a wide debate about services for children, young people and families. There followed a wide consultation with those working in children's services, and with parents, children and young people. Following this, the Government published Every Child Matters: the Next Steps, and passed the Children Act 2004, providing the legislative spine for developing more effective and accessible services focused around the needs of children, young people and families. Every Child Matters: Change for Children was published in November 2004.
                          
                          The previous Labour focus on the Comprehensive system was shifted to a focus on tailoring education to each child's ability. Critics see this as reminiscent of the original intentions of the Tripartite system.
                          Grant-maintained status was abolished, with GM schools being given the choice of rejoining the local authority as a maintained community school, or becoming a Foundation school.
                          Labour expanded a policy started by the Conservatives of creating specialist schools. This new type of secondary school teaches the National Curriculum subjects plus a few specialist branches of knowledge (e.g. business studies) not found in most other schools. These schools are allowed to select 10% of their pupils.
                          
                          
                          
                          • Numbers: In 1997 there were 196 of these schools. In August 2002 there were 1000. By 2006 the plan is to have 2000, and the goal is to make all secondary schools specialist eventually.
                            The Beacon Schools programme was established in England in 1998. Its aim was to identify high performing schools, in order to help them form partnerships with each other and to provide examples of effective practice for other schools. The programme was replaced in August 2005 with more broadly based programmes; the Leading Edge Partnership programme (for secondary schools) and Primary Strategy Learning Networks (PSLNs) (at the primary level). New Labour's educational policies from 1997
                            There are 4 main types of maintained school in England:
                            In 1998 these replaced the previous categories of state school: county, voluntary controlled, special agreement, voluntary aided and grant-maintained (GM).
                            Schools in all the categories have a lot in common. They work in partnership with other schools and the LEAs, and they receive funding from LEA and they have to deliver the national curriculum. Each category has its own characteristics.
                            
                            Community
                            Foundation
                            Voluntary Aided
                            Voluntary Controlled Categories of schools
                            In community schools (formerly county schools), the LEA employs the schools' staff, own the schools' lands and buildings and have primary responsibility for deciding the arrangements for admitting pupils. In such schools, all teachers are employed under the nationally-agreed School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document.
                            
                            Community schools
                            In foundation schools the governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions. The school land and buildings are owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation. Many of these schools were formerly grant maintained schools. The Foundation appoints the majority of governors. In 2005 the Labour government proposed allowing all schools to become Foundation schools if they so wished.
                            
                            Foundation schools
                            VA schools can be linked to a variety of organisations. They can be faith schools (often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church), or be non-denominational schools, often linked to London Livery Companies such as the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, Skinners and Drapers. The governing body contributes towards the capital costs of running the school and employs the staff and decides admission arrangements. The schools' lands and buildings are normally owned by the charitable foundation.
                            
                            Voluntary controlled (VC) schools
                            Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. This article has been tagged since June 2007.