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The education system in the United Kingdom today can be largely divided into four phases：primary，secondary，further education and higher education.Children typically study in primary schools from the age of 5 until 11，and then go on to attend secondary schools until they are 16.At that time，they are required to take a national examination to obtain a General Certificate of Secondary Education（GCSE），which certifies their graduation from secondary education.After graduation，students in Wales，England and Northern Ireland may choose to leave school and begin working or to continue education in what is called the“sixth form”（sometimes referred to as Key Stage 5）.The“sixth form”represents the last two years of secondary education，where students typically aged between sixteen and eighteen prepare for their A⁃level or equivalent examinations.

In the first year of the“sixth form”，students usually take four or five academic courses leading to an Advanced Subsidiary（AS）level qualification.At the end of the two years，they take an examination for a General Certificate of Education，Advanced Level（GCE A Level）.Another certification available for students is the General National Vocational Qualification（GNVQ），which is granted when students pass examinations for certain vocational specialties such as art，technology or business.A levels and AS levels are required entrance qualifications for students who wish to attend universities，and the grades they received for the subjects they studied in are the main basis on which they are selected for university admission.Many universities also accept GNVQ as the equivalent of A Levels.

The same system applies to all parts of Britain except Scotland，where students stay in primary schools until the age of 12 and then go on to secondary schools.They graduate with a Scottish Certificate of Education（SCE）rather than GCSEs and A levels.Students in Scotland go to universities one year earlier than those in other parts of the United Kingdom but stay a year longer.

Primary and secondary education in Britain is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16 since 1870;but at the time，the minimum age at which a student could choose to end their education，known as the“minimum leaving age，”was only 10.Subsequent legislation has raised the minimum leaving age to 16 in Wales，Scotland and Northern Ireland，and 18 in England.

Prior to 1988，the United Kingdom did not have nationwide standards or curricula for primary and secondary schools.The Education Reform Act in 1988 established the National Curriculum，which now provides government⁃funded schools with a common standard and curriculum.Primary and secondary education was subsequently divided into four main stages，with each having a set of minimum requirements for completion.Students are required to study a set of core subjects in all four stages，including English，mathematics，science，technology and physical education.Certain other subjects，such as history，geography，music and art，are required up through Stage 3（known as Year 7，Year 8 and Year 9 when pupils are aged between 11 and 14）and become optional in Stage 4（known as Year 10 and Year 11 when pupils are aged between 15 and 16）.

In November 2000，a new National Curriculum was launched to help students become more competent in coping with modern challenges.The new curriculum added information and communication technology to the set of required subjects，and also advocated a shift of focus from knowledge⁃based approaches to skill⁃based ones.Some of the key skills enumerated in the curriculum include communicative skills，such as reading and writing;skills in solving problems through the use of mathematics in different situations;cooperative skills，including the abilities to participate in group discussions and to cope with conflict;and self⁃enhancement skills，which include the abilities to critically review what one has learned and to identify the best way of learning in a given situation.Parallel to these practical skills，the new curriculum also lays emphasis on enhancing students’“thinking skills”，such as the abilities to collect，sort through and analyze information，and to reason logically on the basis of evidence.

There are two parallel school systems in Britain for primary and secondary education.One is the state system，where education is provided for free.Schools in this system are also known as“maintained schools”.The other is the independent system where fees are required.Independent schools，which are also called“public schools”（although they are actually privately run），operate mostly outside of government control.As of 2015，there are about 2，600 independent schools in the country，including most of Britain’s famous and ancient schools such as Eton and Winchester.Around 625，000 students，or roughly 7％ of all British children，receive primary and secondary education through the independent system.In principle，the National Curriculum is compulsory in the state system but optional in the independent system.However，in practice most independent schools teach what the Curriculum specifies.

Most British independent schools are privately funded，but all of them are subsidized by the government to some degree.Many of these schools are members of the Independent Schools Council，an organization which inspects member schools every six years to ensure that standards required by national law are met and thereby to enable schools to remain registered with the Department for Education.

About 550 public schools are boarding schools.Most children who go to public schools receive their primary education.Independent schools are generally much better funded than most state schools and are thus in a position to recruit better teachers and guidance counselors and to afford better facilities.These and some other factors help graduates from independent schools to stand a much better chance than those from state schools to enter selective universities.But the independent schools’high fees force many parents to turn to the state system for their children’s education.For the school year starting in September 2014，the top public boarding schools charged around￡35，000 per year，which is a financial burden too heavy for all but a few wealthy families to support.

Generally speaking，state schools do not take in international students below the age of 16 unless their parents live in Britain.Independent schools，in contrast，welcome international students.Most independent schools also have special arrangements catering to the needs of international students.