What do you think of the UK's education system?

Question

hana_ · Answer

I am a student and i think it is good

jodau · Answer

It's terrible. People leave school not even knowing how to speak English properly because we are not taught grammar properly.
We are not taught another language until year 7 (age 10-11) and even then we only have 1 lesson a week so we don't learn enough.
School is not about learning, it's about memorising!
Conclusion: everything is done wrong.

jodau · Answer

@Blackacre your point?

AJEats · Answer

I think when we compare the UK education system to other countries, it seems that our education system is quite good. I think the best thing about it is perhaps the fact that students can choose which subjects they would like to do once they are 15 or 16 years old for an exam qualification called GCSEs. 
This also carries on in A-levels and students can choose up to 5 subjects to take before entering university (most A-level students do go to university, some don't).
Whilst I think it's excellent that some countries have usually many subjects that all students must take, I don't think it's entirely useful to have students taking subjects that they are not interested in. Some countries even have university entrance exams that students take in order to enter university, which doesn't really happen here except for students taking admission tests for specific subjects like Medicine (but these tests are different).
But I suppose different countries have different education systems and I appreciate that the same system may not work in another country.

AJEats · Answer

@hotdogstan Well it depends on your school but all students must take Maths, English Literature, English Language, Religious Studies and a language, so in total that's 5 compulsory GCSEs. 
Some schools then offer around 4 or 5 other options for subjects like History, Geography and Psychology for example and each one is a single GCSE, so the total number of GCSEs you would expect most students to have are around 9 or 10. 
Some students also choose to take extra GCSEs and this is usually in certain schools and it depends on the level of the student too.

AJEats · Answer

@hotdogstan I think it depends on your school. I think all schools are now required to teach a foreign language and this is usually French, Spanish or German with French being the most common taught language. 
As for the sciences, most students take Double Science which counts as a double qualification so it's a little different to receiving a single qualification from a subject like History for example. I also took Triple Science (as it's called here) and it was split into three subjects (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) meaning that I had an extra GCSE compared to students who didn't take Triple Science. 
I'm not sure if it's very common for students to choose to take the sciences because most students I knew chose to take Double Science instead and I'm assuming that not a lot of student would take science instead of other subjects.

AJEats · Answer

@hotdogstan You're welcome.

tamsinmiranda · Answer

@maddyj3112 I was originally against the abolition of coursework as well, but honestly a lot of the current coursework like science ISAs or language speaking and writing are basically done for you by your teacher so are hardly a reflection of actual ability

Isla121 · Answer

@hotdogstan both are very common, and in some cases compulsory. Whether science is one qualification depends, as at my school you can choose triple (3 separate qualifications in each science) or double (two general science qualifications) . However the lessons on physics, chemistry and biology are separate with specialised teachers.

Isla121 · Answer

For my gcse options we had the compulsory subjects, and a compulsory choice of either geography, history or a language as at least one of our 3 extra options.

Blackacre · Answer

@hotdogstan I am a Governor of a UK school. it is doing the best it can with the resources available.

Blackacre · Answer

@hotdogstan I think that it is usually around 6 subjects but some more gifted pupils take more and can sit some examinations a year early.

Blackacre · Answer

@hotdogstan there are mandatory subjects like, English and mathematics and some schools require a foreign language but you are free to choose from the other subjects, you can drop those in which you display no aptitude or are irrelevant to your career choice....provided the timetable is kind to you.

Blackacre · Answer

@hotdogstan to take "triple science" which is physics, biology, and chemistry, one must display an aptitude for the sciences before taking the subjects as options, those with less aptitude may have to settle for a more 'general' or combined science course. in Wales for example, the Welsh language is mandatory, but in the rest of the country another European language is usually insisted upon, Spanish,  French or German usually.

Blackacre · Answer

@jodau it's because of the Government's obsession with standardised testing. the bean counters need beans to count.

Blackacre · Answer

@jodau my point is I agree with you on the memorisation point, the national curriculum is to create uniformity to prepare for testing....national tests are not conducive to an excellent learning environment.

maddyj3112 · Answer

As a student in the UK i would say that the system is OK. Some areas still have a 'middle school' system that doesn't work as well, but in general education from ages 5-16 is good. The system has recently changed, and we now have grades 1-9 (9 is the highest) and the content of the GSCE courses have got harder, which I personly think was needed as many students said the jump to A-Level was too big (in terms of content of the courses ect). There was also too many students getting A* and Cs, so they have introduced more grades to spilt these students apart into smaller groups. The big problem I have with the new system is that they have got rid of course work in most subjects, meaning you just have exams at the end of year 11. You also now have to stay in full time education until you are 18, which means you must do A-Levels of get an apprenticeship. I don't know too much about further education beyond A-Level, hope this helps though!

godhatesamberrr · Answer

i think its okay but a little unfair in some areas

What do you think of the UK's education system? See a translation

@hotdogstan I am a Governor of a UK school. it is doing the best it can with the resources available.

I am a student and i think it is good

@hotdogstan I think that it is usually around 6 subjects but some more gifted pupils take more and can sit some examinations a year early.

@hotdogstan You're welcome.

@jodau it's because of the Government's obsession with standardised testing. the bean counters need beans to count.

@Blackacre your point?

@jodau my point is I agree with you on the memorisation point, the national curriculum is to create uniformity to prepare for testing....national tests are not conducive to an excellent learning environment.

i think its okay but a little unfair in some areas

@maddyj3112 I was originally against the abolition of coursework as well, but honestly a lot of the current coursework like science ISAs or language speaking and writing are basically done for you by your teacher so are hardly a reflection of actual ability

What do you think of the UK's education system?