The+School+Systems

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There are two different school systems in Great Britain; one for England, North Ireland and Wales, and another for Scotland.

=The English school system=

The schools in England, Ireland and Wales follow the National Curriculm, which was established in 1989. The National Curriculm is divided into four key stages, and two types of schools: primary school and secondary school.

Primary school comsists of the first and second key stages. The children start at the age of five and finish at the age of 11. Secondary school consists of the third and fourt key stages. They start at the age of 11 and finish at the age of 16. When they have finished secondary school, they have taken all the compulsory education in England.

After every key stage, the students get tests to check that they have learned what they should. When they are between 14 and 16 years old, they take the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education), which is the academic qualification.

=The Scottish school system= The Scottish Parlament has the control over the education in Scotland, and the country is divided into 32 Education Authories that are responsible for the education in primary school and secondary school.

The compulsory education is from the age of five to the age of 16, in primary and secondary school. The children remain at primary school for seven years, and when they are 12 years old, they start secondary school.

In the students last year of secondary school, when they are 16 years old, they take preliminary exams and standard grade.

Around 95 per cent of the Scottish schools are public, and the other 5 per cent are private. 