About the UK School System

In England children attend school from the age of 5 to 16 and and it is not uncommon for some children to be 18 before entering university or college. Similar to New Zealand, from the age of 5 to 11, children attend primary schools and generally at 11 they then transfer to secondary schools.


Primary
Pre-school education provided by the State is available for ages two to four/five through playgroups and nursery schools. The emphasis is on group work, creative activity and guided play. Compulsory education begins at five in England. There is great emphasis on Literacy (English) and Numeracy and no specialist subject teaching.

Secondary
Compulsory education ends at age sixteen, though many pupils stay on beyond this. The main type of secondary school in England is a comprehensive school. These schools provide a wide range of secondary education for children of all abilities from a certain area, similar to zoning in NZ.
At secondary school, teachers teach specialist subjects in addition to many cross curricular subjects such as Literacy, Numeracy, Citizenship, IT and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).

Working Hours in Schools in England
Similar to New Zealand, working hours in schools are from approximately 8.00- 8.30am to 3.30-4pm. Expect an average of at least one hour for after-school meetings per week. These hours do not include time for lesson preparation and marking.