The National Curriculum

The National Curriculum is made up of the following subjects:

English
Design & Technology
Geography
Maths
Information Technology
Music

Science
Art
Physical Education
History
Modern foreign language

The National Curriculum is divided into 4 stages, called Key Stages, which depend on pupils' ages and subjects are studied as follows:

Key Stage	Age (years)	Description
	5 - 8	All subjects in the National Curriculum are studied except a modern foreign language
	8 - 11
	11 - 14	Core subjects: Maths / English / Science (single or double time allocated) / one foreign language / technology. In addition children must study at least one humanity subject - geography or history, and at least one arts subject - art, physical education or music. Depending on the school's timetable, children may study both humanities and all arts subjects, if they wish.
	14 - 18	Public examinations: GCSE and GCE "A" Level

Examinations

In state schools students have to do examinations called SATs (standard assessment tasks) at the ages of 7, 11 and 14. These test English, Mathematics and Science. SATs are marked both by the teachers at the school and by external examiners. GCSEs, AS-levels and A-levels are all examined by national examination boards.

Age	Examination	Number of subjects	Compulsory subjects
	GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education)	7-11	Science, English, Mathematics, Foreign Language (usually French), Humanity (Geography, History or Religious Education)
	AS-level (Advanced subsidiary level)	4-5
	A2/A-level (Advanced level)	3-4

If pupils prefer to stay at school, they go to the 6-th Form (High School) and start working for the main exam: “A” (advanced) level. It’s a difficult exam, so pupils don’t usually take it in more than 3 subjects. The AS-level was introduced in 2001. Pupils have to take 5 AS-levels then carry on with 3 or 4 of them to A-level.

Five exams of which 3 or 4 must be “A” levels are necessary to go to the university. If you don’t want to go to a university, you can get a good job with 2 or 3 “A” levels.

Private Schools

Among the private or independent schools (about 7.5 % outside the state sector) there some very old and famous ones, such as Eton, Harrow, Rugby, etc. They are called public schools. The fees at these schools are rather high, so many schools offer scholarships or financial help if parents can’t afford it.

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