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Education SystemCurrently the vast majority of Scottish schoolchildren go through the same system, which despite appearances is actually pretty straightforward. Nursery: From age 3½ until they are old enough to attend primary school, aged 5 at most. Primary school: Divided into seven years (Primary 1, primary 2, primary 3 and so on), children attend the school aged 4 or 5, depending on their birthdate, the cut off for each year being the end of the February 4 years and 5 months before the start of the school year. Thus, children born between March 1st 1997 and 28th February 1998 will begin their primary education in August 2002, those born between March 1st 1998 and 28th February 1999 will begin in August 2003 and so on. The curriculum is general, with emphasis on mathematics and English. Art, music, physical education, history, geography and increasingly foreign languages (usually French or German) are also taught to a lesser degree. Secondary School: Generally called high schools (or sometimes academies in the north of Scotland), the secondary layer of education in Scotland is 4 to 6 years in length, begun when the children are aged 11 or 12. The different years are simply called first year, second year, third year, etc. The first two years provide a general education, with the pupils studying as wide a range of subjects as possible. At the end of second year pupils then choose seven or eight subjects to study as Standard Grades, the basic Scottish school qualifications. These are then taught for the third and fourth years, examined at the very end of the fourth year. The exams are in two parts: all students sit a General paper, and then those deemed the most intelligent sit a harder Credit paper, whilst those who struggle sit a simpler Foundation paper. The idea is that those who are likely to pass the General paper get a chance to get an even higher grade, whilst those who might fail are hopefully able to achieve a basic (or foundation) grade. The exams are graded 1 to 7, with 1 being the highest and 7 indicating failure. Prior to the early 1990s most would have sat a different type of exam, known as O levels (the O standing for 'ordinary'). Here students sat just one paper, which was then graded from A to F. It was phased out between 1989 and 1994 (I think). At the end of the fourth year pupils are allowed to leave school if they wish (though the youngest in the year are required to stay until the following Christmas). Those who stay on study more advanced courses called Highers, generally no more than 5 subjects at one time. These are examined at the end of the year and graded from A to D (the D being a fail). There is then a further, sixth, year for those who wish to stay on where more Highers are studyed or even more advanced courses are taken, variously called Sixth Year studies or Higher Stills. There is no graduation at the end of high school, this only occurs at University. Colleges: Further, generally vocational, education is provided at colleges for those unwilling or unable to attend University. You can gain various diplomas and certificates in everything from counselling to beauty therapy here. Universities: Higher education is provided by 13 institutes in Scotland. Generally 4 Higher passes are required for entry, but the exact requirements depend on the course and university. The Scottish degree system therefore can accept students who are 16 (having gone to high school at 11 and sat 5 years of education there) assuming they have the requisite Higher marks. More usually students are 17 or 18 if they go straight from school. The length of the degree is usually 4 years (longer than in England), usually longer for medical and some engineering subjects. So not a complicated system at all then. |