School`s types in UK
The education system in England is complex and extensive. You can get confused in the names and dig for a long time: what is the difference, for example, between a general education school and a free one, if both are free? Or what is the difference between a public school, a private school and an independent school, if they are all paid for by the parents? If you want, you can figure it out, but most likely, you will need such subtleties already when making a specific decision. In the meantime, if you are just thinking about what you want from education for your child in general, it is enough to identify the main types of secondary schools. First of all, schools are divided into private and public, that is, paid for parents and free. At a public school, all your expenses go only for uniforms, meals and travel. In a private school, you pay for everything. There are three main types of free schools: state non-religious, religious and gymnasiums.
State non-religious schools
You can get into a public school, mainly at your place of residence. The closer you live, the more chances you have. Children with older siblings in the same educational institution have advantages.
Some public schools have additional quotas for gifted children. In this case, the territorial attribute ceases to be critical. If your child is seriously engaged in something besides school - music, drawing or sports - then it makes sense to look for such a school.
For example, Holland Park School annually holds competitions for children who are good at drawing. The selection is serious: this year more than 600 students from all over London applied for 24 places. And you can get into the West London Free School, also a very popular school with a high rating, from afar, if your child has musical talents. Moreover, the presence of certificates of passed exams does not play any role - at least officially. They measure "natural inclinations" (abilities): hearing, a sense of rhythm, a certain musical flair.
Each school has the right to conduct such an exam according to its own methodology and evaluate it according to its own criteria. You will be informed about the results, but they will not analyze the errors, and you will not get an explanation why the child did not pass the exam.
The remaining places in such schools are distributed according to the place of residence, there is no competition.
Religious schools
Religious state schools are required to follow the general education program, but at the same time they introduce their own component - in-depth study of one of the religions. Most likely, you will get into such a school if you are an exemplary parishioner: you have been going to services every Sunday with your child for at least the last two years and can confirm this with a certificate from the priest.
There are churches of different denominations in London, so schools are also of different orientation. They are partially funded by the church. The largest number of educational institutions in the UK belongs to the Roman Catholic Church (64.7% among secondary schools). The Anglican Church schools are in second place (39.6%).
However, it is not uncommon for Muslims or atheists to attend Christian schools. What for? Because it is believed that children from religious families are more educated, disciplined and more focused on learning. For many parents, this is such an important factor that they are ready to turn a blind eye to regular services, going to church with the class, singing the choir and even mandatory daily prayers. If you cannot confirm the strength of your faith with an official certificate, then your chances of getting a place are significantly reduced, even if you live near the school.
Recruitment takes place first among all the most suitable candidates (and families with older children in one school have an advantage, and there are often many children in religious families), and then at the place of residence among all the others. Quotas are usually registered on the school's website or announced at an open day. And also note that religious schools are mixed, and there are only for boys or girls.
Gymnasiums
The first such schools were closely connected with monasteries, so they studied Latin grammar there, hence the name - scolae grammaticales. The schools themselves have changed a lot since then, but the name has remained.
The gymnasium is the dream of many parents, because it allows you to get a quality education for free at the same level as in private schools. Now there are 164 such schools in England and 19 in London.
The gymnasium is the dream of many parents, because it allows you to get a quality education for free at the same level as in private schools.
The competition for such schools is serious. For example, this year 1,340 students applied for 124 places at St. Olav's Grammar School for Boys in Kent.
In recent years, the lion's share of places in high schools is occupied by foreigners, whose culture is hard work from diapers to exhaustion. These are, of course, Chinese, Koreans and Indians. Maybe because mathematics and exact sciences are better taught in post-Soviet countries, and this is a trump card for children who have recently moved to England. Or maybe because there is a different mentality: parents from Asia and Russia do not believe that they are harming their child by forcing him to study for hours.
Private schools
On average, studying at a private school in England costs 17,000 pounds a year (according to the Council of Independent Schools for 2018).
When searching for information about private schools in England, you will find different formulations. A private school and an independent school are private schools, as well as a public school (in America, the latter means, on the contrary, a free school). All these names indicate only different forms of ownership and management. For you as parents, this does not matter much, although it is believed that independent schools have a slightly higher rating than private ones and provide a better education.
Another criterion is much more important: private schools are selective (with the selection of students according to academic criteria) and non-selective (without selection). Accordingly, to get into the first type of school, it is not enough just to pay for tuition - you still need to pass a competition.
It is easier to enter schools without selection, they accept all wealthy students. Such educational institutions are not required to comply with the national standard of education, although they undergo an accreditation procedure and regular inspections. Choosing a non-selective school, you need to clearly answer the question: why do you go there and why is this school better than the state one, where your child will study for free? For example, there are private schools with an artistic or theatrical bias, but very poor results on final exams in mathematics and English. Take a close look at the ratings and reports, they are published in the public domain, most often directly on the school's website.
There are also private schools with boarding schools. Oddly enough, they are often more expensive than a day private school by only a few thousand pounds a year, especially if it is a provincial boarding school. But not all parents are ready to leave their child for so long at the age of 12.
Mixed and separate education
Public schools are usually mixed - for boys and for girls. And private, grammatical and religious ones can be mixed or separated - only for boys or only for girls. Separate education, traditional for England, may now seem anachronistic. But statistics show the advantages of this approach, especially for girls: their academic results are higher when they study without boys. Psychologists explain this by the fact that boys at this age are more active and assertive, they are often given all the attention of the teacher, and even capable girls against the background of the stronger sex are difficult to prove themselves. There are also bonuses for boys: there are usually more sports in their schools, and the choice of men's sports is wider.
As for communication with the opposite sex, private institutions often organize joint projects with partner schools and social events - discos, parties, exhibitions, etc.In addition, in high school children are usually interested not only in school studies. and communicate there with peers of both sexes.