UK Study | Legals Guardian

Study in the UK

UK Education System

The British secondary school system lasts for seven years and provides courses from Year 7 to Year 13. Year 7-9 belong to junior high school, Year 10-11 are the final stage of the compulsory education and students are required to take the national assessment tests, which is known as GCSE.

After GCSE, Year 12-13 students would choose to study either A-levels or the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) course. They are usually studied over the course of 2 years, and lead to qualifications recognised for entrance to higher education institutes in the UK and many others worldwide.

Primary school

Age 5 - 10

In the British secondary school curriculum, students will have two public examinations: Year 10-11 GCSE Examination and Year 12-13 A-levels or International Diploma (IB) Examination.

Year 10-11

GCSE course lasts for two years and is completed within the two-year period of Year 10-11. Students generally study 7-12 subjects. In terms of subjects, there is no restriction on the selection of the GCSE subjects. Students can choose their own subjects according to their own interests and abilities, so they can learn more freely. GCSE students generally take compulsory and elective subjects. Compulsory subjects include: English (English Language and English Literature), Mathematics and Science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology).

Public examination

Secondary school

Age 11 - 13

Age 14+

Age 15+

Age 16 - 17

University

Age 18+

Year 12-13

Year 12-13 in the United Kingdom is called Sixth Form.

Students can choose to take the A Levels examination or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma course .

A Levels lasts for two years and is completed in two years from Year 12-13. The first year of the A Level course is called AS/Lower Sixth Form, and the second year is called A2/Upper Sixth Form. Students generally study 3-4 subjects, and are required to pass 3 subjects in the A level examination to be qualified for admission to a British university. There are no restrictions on the selection of subjects for A Level, and no compulsory subjects. Students can choose subjects based on their past high school/GCSE grades and future prospects for further studies.

The A level course is best suited for students who have a very good idea of the subjects they want to study beyond GCSE and possibly at university.

Please note: When applying to universities, some universities have special requirements for students' A Level subjects. For example, the compulsory subjects of medicine are A Level Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, and the compulsory subjects of Engineering are A Level Mathematics and Physics. For details, please contact Legals Guardian Education Consultant.

Popular elective subjects

Art & Design
Biology
Business Studies
Chemistry
Chinese
Computing

Economics
English Language
History
Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Physics

IB Diploma Programme is an internationally recognised qualification for students aged 16 to 18. It also lasts for two years and is completed in Year 12-13. The IB Diploma prepares you for university study around the world.

Students are required to take 1 subject from each of the 6 major subject groups (6 subjects in total)

major

Literature: English literature
Language Acquisition: Foreign language.
Humanities: History and Economics, Geography, Philosophy and Psychology, Global Politics.
Science: Biology, Physics, Chemistry.
Mathematics
Arts: Visual arts, Dance, Music.

The IB also requires the completion of core components:

Extended Essay (EE ): 4,000-word research report
Theory of Knowledge (TOK): Mainly assess the ability of analysis and comprehension, 1200-1600 words essay (specified topic) and oral report
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS ): Students must pass the CAS activity

The IB Diploma is marked on a numeric scale. The maximum mark for each subject is 7, leading to a total of 42 points for the six subjects. 3 additional points are available for the core (Extended Essay & TOK) The maximum possible Diploma score is 45 points. A final score of 35 points would be equivalent to at least 4 A’s at A Level.