Americans React to British vs American Education Systems 

Im glad we have the uniform system in the UK. There is no need to worry about what to wear every day, no competition between kids for expensive clothes ect everyone looks equal.

The fact he did this video with classic British sarcasm is awesome

You should definitely check out Evan Edinger's videos on education in the UK. He compares curriculums, exams, and differences between the US and UK and he chats with UK friends and researches the subject. He even tries doing a UK GCSE maths exam.

Many schools offer 'pre-worn' uniforms - where I live it's encouraged. So uniforms at the end of term are handed into school and these are then sold at a discounted price.

school uniforms are a good thing- it prevents fashion bullying. You have to supply your own clothes. A typical school will have a fairly generic school uniform which is easy to supply- such as black trousers, shoes, white shirt - then school specific items such as school tie (available at school but also local clothing shops), blazer, jumper/sweatshirt and P.E kit.

Love how Lindsey totally gets the British sense of humour in this video, she and I were giggling at the same little asides from the 'Across the pond' man.

The insane thing for me is that you said you were nearly 6 when you went to kindergarten (or reception in the UK) but at that age many of us in the UK had been in school for at least 2 years and sat our first exams at age 7 😄

High schools are bigger than primary schools. High school is 11-18, but at 16, after GCSEs you start "6th form" where you do A-Levels. 6th form is usually a separate building/area on the school ground, many high schools have kept uniforms for A-Level students now. You can leave high school at 16 and go to college for different qualifications. Obviously our college isn't university.

I went to school here in Scotland and we had to wear a uniform, blazer and all which I liked. I think it looks smart and everyone looks the same and don't feel left out. Yes my parents had to pay for our umiforms, they aren't free though if your parents were on benefits they would get a grant to help for paying for them. We also don't call first grade, to us it was primary 1-7 and secondary school was 1st year - 4th year though you can stay on longer.

One thing he didn't mention is that, I know in the US at the end of a subject you take a pop quiz or similar and that is your grade for that subject. In the UK, you may also take a pop quiz, but it doesn't mean anything. At the end of each year, you will have an exam for each subject that will cover everything you learned that year and maybe also a few questions on what you have learned previous years. This is the biggest differences between our systems, in the UK you have to retain all the knowledge to graduate school, in the US you only need to remember it for a short time to pass a test.

When it comes to college, you typically refer to colleges as buildings that are separate from secondary school and vice versa for sixth form. Sixth forms will usually have parts of the building dedicated for year 12 and 13 lessons although you can use the same classrooms as secondary schoolers as well.

My primary school was built in the late 1800s, and there were separate entrances for boys and girls. Even today, you can still see BOYS and GIRLS carved into the stone lintels at the entrances (the school is required to preserve them due to the historic significance). Up until about 1910, primary schools were co-ed up to the age of about 6. From there to the end of school, boys and girls were kept completely separate: each had their own floor in the school, each had their own dining room, and each had their own playground, and each had their own entrance into the school (with the boy's entrance having no access to the girl's floor, and the girl's entrance having no access to the boy's floor).

nope! uniforms are not free unfortunately, but i did love my uniform!

You have to buy the uniforms plus a p.e kit of said colour and a games kit of said colour

I wore my school uniform from age 4 to secondary school, age 16. At 17 I became a 6th form student and was excused uniform but we still had to wear a shirt and tie and some sort of jacket or blazer. The sixth form was in the same building along with the pupils just joining age 11. Some of the young kids mistook you for teaching staff and called you Sir. I left school at age 19 after retaking my A level exams to get a higher grade. That was back in the 1974 where virtually no one went to Uni. Now almost everyone goes to Uni.

Video idea… Evan Edinger has a video called School Exams, and it blew my mind how very different the way we are tested is 🤯 Def worth a look 😁

As someone from Scotland I did: Nursey 3-4 years old Primary School 4-11 (Primary 1-7) Secondary School 11-17 (Secondary 1-6) University 17-? You don't sit any exams until S4 where you traditionally do National 5s, Then S5 where you do Highers and Advanced Highers in S6

Imperial College London is a college of the University of London. There are a number of colleges that make up the University of London including King's College, Imperial College etc

Some schools have a sixth form college on site, like my old school did. The sixth form college was on the school grounds, but in a separate building. If the school doesn't have this facility, the students would leave that school and go to a dedicated sixth form college. The reason it is called the 'sixth form' was from a previous numbering system, when you would number the years in primary school, then start again at year one when you numbered the years in secondary, so the last two years really were the sixth form (upper and lower 6th). An alternative to six form college for students who wanted to take a more vocation option, is to attend a technical college. These places offer vocational courses, which teach the skills required and offer education courses that would lead you towards a certain career path. Examples include courses in Art and Design, Computing, Catering, Engineering or Hospitality Management. Many colleges in the UK offer vocational courses and education qualifications (GCSE, A Level, and even some degrees) You may have noticed that college and university in the UK is not the same thing. Colleges generally offer what we call 'Further Education', which would include the courses I mentioned. A university on the other hand would be geared towards offering degree courses. We refer to this as 'Higher Education' It is now a requirement by UK law that young people up to the age of 18 remain in education or training until their 18th birthday, or the end of the academic year in which they turn 18.

Back in the olden days, when I was at school, we had a different numbering system. In primary school, it was Class 1,2,3&4. Then at comprehensive school (age 11) we entered Form 1. Your education was complete at the end of form 5, when you did your GCSE’s. This is where 6th form comes from - you ‘stay on’ at school for another 2 years in order to study for ALevels, which was the gateway to university. My 6th form was in the same school, but I could have opted to change school at this point to study more suitable A Levels. Certainly in my area, 6th forms were always just a continuation of school, and every school had one. We had to wear uniform in 6th form, but it was a little more relaxed and we had white shirts, rather than blue. When I went to secondary school, not only do you have to buy the uniform, but (back in the day) it had to be bought from a certain store too!! College, for 16-18 yr olds was sort of more vocational education and focussed on getting BTEC’s NVQ’s rather than A-levels. But they were qualifications you gained in an area you specifically wanted to work e.g. Healthcare, childcare etc. I’m sure I’ve massively oversimplified this, even though it still sounds complicated 😂

My school uniform was a maroon blazer, like the one on the thumbnail of this video. The other common thing, or used to be when I was at school, was "houses". My School was a grammar school. Schools are often divided into houses, often named after former headmasters or prime ministers. I was in Milner house. You, your parents pay for the uniform, it is not provided and it can be expensive. There is probably some kind of benefit from the government for low income houses.

Uniforms have to be paid for at all schools, and they can get incredibly expensive, but many will have second-hand uniform sales where they can be bought for much less money, and in my area at least, there's a bursary system for students from low-income families. Basically, families can reach out to the school and explain that they are struggling, and be given money/vouchers to offset the cost of the uniform. As a disabled parent, I was offered a lot of financial support when my kids started secondary school, which is generally where the cost starts to mount (kids need blazers, shirts, trousers/skirts, as well as a full sports kit and trainers/sneakers etc). As it happens I didn't need that support and didn't take advantage of it, but I'm glad the system exists. Many schools have an annual voluntary donation which is where this money comes from. Families who can afford it pay in, and the money goes on projects around the school and supporting kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. The government also allocates an amount of money per year to kids from families who are in recognised categories (eg: unemployed, disabled, fostering kids), and schools will receive it to cover the cost of free school meals, supplemented/discounted school trips, and again, to top up uniform funds.

You should check out the ‘Educating …’ series. It’s a documentary that goes into real British schools and follows the teachers and pupils. Theres lots of them like Educating Yorkshire, Educating Cardiff, Educating the East End etc. It’s a good insight into the education system here.

I think in 6th form (16-18) we could wear our own clothes, I don’t really remember. You could also leave early if you didn’t have any lessons - at that point you’re only studying 3-4 subjects for A-level - which is like AP in the US but they’re required to get into university. And at university here you only study one subject completely, not a major, and you have to apply specifically to do that subject

We have to pay for uniform no matter what school we go to. My daughters uniform costs about £300 and she goes to a free school. My daughters did the 15 hours free nursery from age 2 years 9 months and started full time school age 4. Education is compulsory at age 5. By the time they’re 6 they’re expected to be able to read. I remember when my eldest started at 4 years we had meeting with the teacher about how she was struggling to pick up reading. Too much pressure too young it’s ridiculous.

I work in a boarding school in England and they must wear their uniform from when they come down for breakfast at 07.30 until 17.45 when their school commitments end including blazer which they’re aren’t allowed to take off….even in the summer 😵‍💫

In Northern Ireland we name our school years differently, in Primary school we name our years P1-P7 (Primary 1-Primary 7). In Secondary schools we can either refer to the Secondary School years as Year 8 - Year 14 or First Year - Upper Sixth. Our Year 14 is the same as England's Year 13. We still have to wear a uniform in Sixth Form as it's still part of Secondary School. The first year of Sixth Form is called Lower Sixth and second year is called Upper Sixth.

Yes, all students and parents have to pay for their uniform……. And it gets very expensive……. And what takes to piss most schools force you to buy it from their own shop

I’m 21 so have a reasonably up to date experience and At my school we were given our tie and blazer for free- you could buy another blazer for around £40. The shirts/trousers/skirts are usually bought from retail stores. Asda and Tesco have a huge range of “back to school” uniform each summer time selling shirts and trousers etc for very reasonable prices (of course some people opt for a more expensive store for better quality)but with how easy the shirts get ruined with pens etc an Asda or Tesco shirt was always a popular choice. I’m sure there are some schools which are more strict on this though. I really had no issue whatsoever with wearing a uniform as it meant everyone was equal. We did however have “non uniform days” every couple of months which were usually used for fundraising where we could wear our own clothes and bring £1 to be donated to a chosen charity.

Uniforms in schools can save kids a world of grief if they are from backgrounds wherr they cant afford the latest fashions etc. It might be a pain but it ut is also a good leveller. Uniforms are at the parents/guardians expense but some shops do decent deals on shirts/trousers etc 'Sixth Form' comes from the old days when Year 7 (age 11/12) was called 'First Form' and counted up from there. Many schools have Sixth Forms but some don't. Mine didn't and so I did my A Levels at a local community college and some of my friends went to the Sixth Forms of other, larger schools. We still have private schools (and call them such). The Public Schools are mainly the big, old institutions like Eton and Harrow, other fee paying schools are generally referred to as 'Private', same as in the States. 😊 Edit: And its Shrove Tuesday /Pancake Day today here in the UK. I cant remember if youve looked at it before but it might be a topic for the future!

Public schools in the UK are not just Private schools, they are usually older prestigious schools that not only are hugely expensive, pupils are often picked due to their background (who their parents are) - or at least that's the the common understanding to anyone going to a free state school. A Private school (which technically a Public school also is) are usually newer less prestigious private schools that probably dont care who your parents are as long as they can afford the school fees. So a normal average private school fees could be around 10,000 - 15,000 pounds per year. A good public school would be closer to 50-60,000 pounds per year (Prince Harry went to Eaton public school). Some people who went to Eaton apart from Prince Harry are Boris Jonson and David Cameron (UK Prime Ministers), Huge Laurie (actor in House), George Orwell and Ian Flemming (wrote the original James Bond books).

This was my experience, step by step: - between 5yr old and 11yr old = Primary school - between 11yr old and 16yr old = Secondary school ** At this point, students have the choice to end their education and go straight to work, or you can continue to: - between 16yr old and 18yr old = Sixth form (tends to be more academic) or a collage (tends to offer more technical qualifications, but there are still cross over qualifications) - between 18yr old and onwards = Is when you go for your University Degree -> Masters -> Doctorate ** Sixth form is generally for 16yr - 18yr olds only... so if you left education at 16 and then later want to come back to education as a mature student, you will either take your work experience straight to a University degree (or some preliminary foundation diploma), or go back to and start at your local collage!

Primary school is Reception Year to Year 6. Compulsory Secondary school is year 7 to year 11. The remaining 2 years of compulsory education until you're 18 can be either 2 extra years of secondary school (year 12/13 also known as sixth form, often in the exact same school, and usually this is where uniforms stop) 2 years of college (what i did, not American college, not university, completely different place from secondary school, I wore a uniform but it was specific to what I was studying) or start a job apprenticeship (not common). Then at 18... university/american college.

You get a list of uniform from the school. You have to buy it all. Black school shoes have to have no other colour on them plus they cannot be trainers/sneakers. Its very expensive on the whole. Our uniforms are more rigidly adhered to than it was when i was at school..we had a colour pallette to wear. Black, red, white and grey. That was easier imo

For me as someone from South West England. Collage would take place in a completely separate place. Directed at further and higher education. It also had a university center on the campus where they partnered up with university to run courses. The campus was large and there was quite a few blocks. My collage does lots of courses. But primarily educing students 16-18/19. But you could be an adult learner (retraining or retaking courses). My collage had a range of courses (but they keep cutting courses). Including A levels, T levels, BTEC (vocational), and prep courses for people with alternative needs. The collage did not have a dress code but it relied on using your initiative. There was also 'clubs' that would be put on such as board games. My collage was a 'open' campus such as you could just walk in and out but to be identified as a student or staff member you would have to have a lanyard. I did a vocational course which was course work based. Lots of collages are different and each setting has uniqueness. 6th forms are normally integrated at some secondary schools. 6th forms tend to be more into A-levels and people with good grades. For my area smaller secondary schools did not have a 6th forms but secondary schools in a larger town may have 6th forms. 6th forms tend to be more strict on things such as dress and attendance.

When my son started high school, his uniform, sports pe kit which all has the school badge on it, etc etc, cost me £300. (Alot of schools damd you get the badged uniform so that you have to buy it from them at huge inflated prices, and not just biy generic mass produced stuff) Kids grow fast so i have that to pay every year on top of 2 or 3 pairs of school shoes. Probably looking at $500 a year per child.

I'll always defend school uniforms. Routine. Fast getting ready, no thought. Not being bullied for clothes. Not worrying about looking trendy. Non-school uniform days. Ties with house colours Harry potter style.... cost being the main issue. But state/public school itself is free. Primary uniform is usually just a jumper/sweater with a specific colour and the school logo. With some matching colour book bags etc. (nostalgia). Secondary unifirm... is the Harry potter stuff. Black or blue blazer with logo. Tie, often with house colours (my school houses were famous alumni of the school, primary school houses were local castles) Buttoned shirt. With varying degrees of strictness. Some schools never let you take the blazer off even when its hot. Some schools require a proper looking tie at the right length. As an example. Primary school for me was a green jumper/sweater, yellow logo, green bags etc. Black trousers, always black shoes. Secondary (i went to a grammar school, i wont get into that but brits will know) was nice black trousers. Black blazer, fancy logo. White buttoned shirt. Black shoes. And ties with a standard burgandy stripe, alongside the house colour stripe, mine was green. My secondary/grammar school was also all-boys. Yeah...a concept that sucked. Not even for the reason you assume. It shouldn't exist.

When I went to Primary school ( a million years ago,) there was no uniform ,it kicked in at secondary level .My sons went to an infants school (4 to 7 ) where there was a uniform .Part of the thinking is security ,in the VERY VERY unlikely situation where the child goes missing then it is always known what they were wearing and as everyone always has school photos they can supply to the police etc to aid finding them.My kids then went to Canada where there is NO school uniform policy ,then back when about 16 and 13 ,where they went to secondary and wore uniforms .When they left to go to 6th form college(the school had no 6 th form) ,then they had no uniforms. The other issue with uniforms is you have no arguments in the morning about what they should wear .Thankfully there secondary school uniform in the UK was black trousers and a polo shirt and jumper,rather than shirt tie and jacket!!

Sixth form can be in the same school or somewhere different. The reason that it’s called that, is that in bygone times (when I went to school), you went to a new (secondary) school at 11 years old, starting in the “second form”, then the next year 3rd form…etc etc

As others have said uniforms are bought by parents but some schools do have backup secondhand items. Some families are eligible for support with the funding, it’s a lot stricter criteria than when I was at school. Generally speaking to qualify for support you have to be on free school meals. I got my school blazer paid for but they only allowed one on the voucher and so my mum made me wear one designed for a full grown adult man, because she was convinced I was about to develop bosoms the size of a small country and knew we couldn’t have another voucher.

Sixth Form is the name given to the two *optional* years of school study to complete secondary school in the UK (and some other Commonwealth countries) between ages 16 and 18. The two years are designated Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. They end with the examinations that qualify students to attend the tertiary level of education at university etc. Those exams are called A Levels. My old school included its own Sixth Form and we still wore uniform, but it was a different colour from the one we wore during the preceding five years. Students whose school doesn't include its own Sixth Form could attend another institution, typically called a Sixth Form College (although some other colleges offer A Level courses alongside tertiary courses, especially vocational ones).

When I was at school 6th form year 12 and 13 were optional. You could stay at your high school for it or go to a college building. These days I think it's compulsory to stay at least in some form of education for those two years

You buy ALL.of the uniforms but overall it is easier than buying loads of fashion clothes and brand names. Most schools have days where you can buy out grown, second hand uniforms which help less well off families. School uniform is great.

The extra 10% for the uniform in uk is more than likely colleges/6th forms were it tends to be non uniform

I had a blazer, shirt and tie in high school. You had to ask permission to take off your blazer in the classroom during the summer. They always said no 😂 Even in primary school we had a uniform, although it was only trousers and a jumper with the school badge on.

A friend of mine went to both Uk and USA schools and she said that one of the biggest problem with USA should not having a uniform was it was more like a fashion parade , it all depend on how much money you had to spend on clothing

Secondary schools used to start their numbering system with year 1. So GCSE would be taken in the fifth form (which is now year 11). Above that, years 12 and 13 are still called the sixth form. Some sixth forms are separate institutions- sixth form colleges. However, many secondary schools have an integral sixth form. These sixth formers provide role models for the younger children, and even may assist in the running of the school.

UK Education System Explained: England by Learnin Gym is excellent at explaining the curriculum from age 5 to 18. Primary schools are never joined on to Secondary Schools. Secondary Schools are much bigger as they have a much wider catchment area.

I'm 61 and when i was at school the class size was 32. Yes we wore a uniform. Black blazer, white blouse, school tie, grey skirt, white socks, grey jersey at both primary school and high school, different tie at the high school. Our parents had to buy the school uniform. There was always a few who didn't want to wear a uniform but i always did. I'd rather wear "normal" clothes after school/ weekends. Kids back then had a lot more respect for their parents and their teachers. Its actually shocking now how kids talk to their parents/ teachers.

I really wouldn't rely on this bloke for anything re the UK. He has been away for so long he is hopelessly out of touch.

Lindsay / Lynsey / I’m never sure how you spell it is absolutely right - I’ve spent a lot of time in the US and have had American partners and a key difference is in the UK you are graded on your ability to argue your point and support it. And there are very few multiple choice exams, everything is essay / text based

Good morning! 😁 School years in Britain are a bit confusing because they combine a mixture of school systems from the 20th century. Way back school years were called "forms" not years or grades as you call them. Back then kids would leave school at 16, in the 5th form of secondary school. Those who wished to stay on at school past 16, for higher education would therefore go onto the 6th form. It is still called sixth form to this day for some reason, even though it would technically be years 12-13. So sixth form or years 12 & 13, are usually within the same school building, but may take place in a separate section or may be a separate building altogether. Sixth form generally used to cover academic lessons to a higher level of knowledge, but if kids wanted to study past 16, but NOT restricted to academics, then they could go to college instead and learn something like mechanics, building, technology, childcare or hairdressing etc. When I went to school you left at age 16, (or 15, if you turned 16 before September 1st) That was the age school ended, unless you CHOSE to continue your education in sixth form or college. But a few years back they made the decision to make education COMPULSORY to the age of 18 like America. HOWEVER, unlike America, children do still leave "school" as such at 16, but they MUST then pick sixth form, college, or find an apprenticeship until they are 18. It kind of combines the same choices available to 16 year olds today as I also had, except now there's no CHOICE about it! You can leave school at 16...but you can't leave "education" until you're 18. School uniforms are not free. Schools tend to opt for one of two "styles" of uniform, formal or less formal. The formal uniform generally means a proper button up shirt, a proper tie in the school colours, black or grey trousers or skirts, a knitted jumper or cardigan in a specific colour, white socks or black or grey tights, black formal shoes, a school blazer with the colours and logo of the school, and a black winter overcoat. This style of uniform which is more dressy and grown up, is generally for children in secondary schools or private schools, although some schools do opt for this style right from primary. I wore this type of uniform for my middle school, but it was also a private school that my parents paid for. The less formal uniform style tends to be white polo style t-shirts, a school colour cardigan or sweatshirt, black or grey trousers, skirts or smart jogging bottoms, black school shoes or smart trainers. It depends on each school which they choose as their style, some are more relaxed about kids wearing jumpers or cardigans in the correct colour, whereas others insist you buy the items from them, which have the school logo embroidered onto. Some may insist on the logo sweatshirt but the rest of the uniform can be plain generic, some schools insist you buy every item from them with official logos on. It sounds expensive, and of course it can be as an initial cost, particularly the formal school blazers, but it actually works out cheaper than buying them ordinary clothes. Most families buy 3 sets of shirts and bottoms and jumpers, but only one blazer. Considering the same size lasts them a year, it's actually pretty cheap, especially as kids get older and want designer trainers or jeans etc! All UK supermarkets sell school uniform basics (plain colours) every summer ready for the September start of the new year. You can buy packs of 3 polo shirts for around £10 and 2 pairs of trousers or skirts for £7. The school embroidered sweatshirts are around £10+ each, school blazers can be £30 or way more! It depends obviously on age and size of each child. School shoes can be £10 a pair. Obviously you can spend much more from different shops, but the idea is, all parents can kit their kids out in the correct uniform even those who are poorer. Uniform has tons of benefits... If kids go out on a day trip, it is easier to keep an eye on the whole group. Children know the uniform represents their school overall, so tends to make each child act more responsibly knowing bad behaviour reflects on all of them. It works out cheaper than ordinary clothes, particularly as they get older and fussier. Children are less likely to bully as they are all dressed the same so their family financial situation is less obvious. Children won't ridicule another for what they're wearing as they're wearing it too. It helps to focus children on school time, when dressed in school clothes, the same as you would wear a work uniform at work, and casual clothes at home. I'm glad I left school at 16, I had a full time job lined up for the week after I finished my exams. It was making jewellery in a factory, boring as hell, but paid really well. I was employed and earning, but also applying for better jobs, so I was only there for two months before I went to work as a hairdresser. I could not have bore the thought of going to college! I wanted to earn money too much. I'd worked 12 hours a week since the age of 14, and liked having my own money for clothes, shoes, make up......and cigarettes and alcohol! 😂 I paid my parents rent, it wasn't loads, around £20 a week, but when I had my daughter at 18½ and got a house, my parents used the rent I'd given them for 2-3 years to buy pots and pans, bath towels, cutlery, curtains, bedding etc to get my home started which I wasn't expecting, but they'd put my rent money away for me. Just like you Steve I hated homework! I hated doing my own, and then later hated trying to get my daughter to concentrate on doing hers! After a day at school you hardly want to do more school work! Ugh! Half of what we learned hasn't been useful in life anyway, haven't done simultaneous equations or trigonometry since I was 16 so that was a waste of time! 😂 So, are you ready to look for school placement for Sophia over here??? 😜😜😜 Haha! Lots of love to you guys! 😘😘😘 xxxxx

Apologies for a long one here, but as a recenty retired teacher you've hit on my 'specialsit subject'. State education is free for all - paid for out of a mixture of national and local taxes. You do have to provide the school uniform yourselves- but there is always a roaring trade in second hand uniform items which helps a lot. It can be very expensive, but other schools are mindful of this, and you can pick up generic items (like shirts/ trousers/ skirts/ jumpers) at large supermarkets much more cheaply than the school specific versions. To offset this cost somewhat, you do have to take into account that you don't have to buy as many 'everyday' clothes for your kids, as they will be in uniform 5 days a week. The specifics of school unforms vary from school to school, and also often depend on the age of the pupils. Primary schools (3-11 y/o) typically have a uniform coloured polo shirt, oftten with the school badg embroidered on the front, with a uniform sweatshirt or jumper/ cardigan, paired with dark (black/ grey is typical) joggers or trousers, or skirts or 'pinafore dresses' (do you call them that? Sleeveless overdresses). Secondary schools (11-16y/o) typically have a more formal 'Hogwarts' type uniform. (Some Primary schools do also insist on button up shirts and ties in school colours, like the secondary schools). Older pupils (16-18 y/o) who continue their education at school rather than college often have a separate uniform from the lower part of the school.- basically busines wear. Laurences description of the Year/ Grade system was a little out. The 'Reception Year' is the first year in which children are of compulsory school age in England. This is the school year (which runs from September- July) during which they become 5 y/o. Technically, compulsory school age starts from the term (semester) after they are 5, but effectively, in most cases these days children start full time school from September, even if theye are not 5 until the following summer. Year 1 is then their second year at school, and they will typically be 6 during that year. Children aged 3-5 y/o are entitled to 15 hours a week free education which they will spend in pre-schools or Nursery classes attached to schools. There are technical variations to this depending on family circumstances - some children get 30 hours a week of pre-school. Standard English class sizes in Primary school is 30 pupils. Anything less and teachers are laughing at their good fortune! The size of classes in secondary schools drops because they are much bigger than the primary school. Typically Primary schools have Year Groups of between 1-4 classes (for very big schools) of 30 pupils of the same age. A secondary school takes pupils from many different primary schools and will split the pupils into10+ classes of 22-25 pupils in each. 'Sixth Form' is confusing to outsiders. The naming of it harks back to a previous numbering system, but has stuck. Traditionally, secondary school started at age 11, and was called 'First Form' and went on to Fifth Form (when one took GCSE's) and then went on the 'Sixth Form' if you wanted to study 'A' Levels. These days, our numbering sytem runs right through from Primary school, so the new secondary school pupils, aged 11, are in Year 7, and they take GCSEs in Year 11, before deciding on their next stage of learning. We've stuck with the name 'Sixth Form' for those staying on at school because we all know what that means. What happens at age 16, after GCSEs, varies considerably from place to place, and from student to student. These days, all 16-18 year olds are required to be in some form of education or training. For some, they stay at school to do 'A' Levels (competely academic and prep for University). In some areas the Sixth Form are part of the same school they have been at since 11, and in some areas the sixth form is in a totally separate establishment. Others choose to go to a local College- either to do 'A' Levels in a slightly less formal environment, or to follow other courses and qualifications, which may be much more vocational. Yet a third group will do some sort of apprenticeship where they work in a 'real job' for some of the week, and then do one or two days a week at the college to gain formal qualifications related to that work.

Sixth form is often in the same building but not necessarily. Mine was. We got a common room that no other students were allowed in

Also in Scotland many students receive a Grant for clothing yearly, traditionally around 190 dollars per year, per child for clothing

To give you a basic idea, education in the late 80s to 2000 for me was - Age 3-4 Nursery Age 4-11 Primary school Age 11-16 Secondary school Optional - Age 16-18 - a choice between leaving to work, leaving to go to college (different place from school) or staying on at school to complete 6th form.

Hi Steve and Lindsay, Strap yourselves in. I went to school - for my sins - in Wales in the 80s and 90s. What we called 'playschool' became to be called 'nursery'. The first year was when you turn three and is a half day. I went in the morning. The second year was a full school day, 9:30-3:30, with a nap in the afternoon (whether you wanted one or not). Then in the year you turn five you start going to primary school. The school hours for Key Stage One (or 'year one') are the same as the second year of playschool/nursery, although now that you are "big" you don't get an afternoon nap. Primary school is from year one to year six. Secondary school (sometimes referred to as 'big school' to younger children) is from year 7 to year 11, then depending on your results in your GCSEs (formerly O-levels) is whether you stay on to sixth form and A-levels. For one secondary school in my hometown you had to get fluent in Welsh (or Cymraeg) to be eligible to go there. This was not an option for me. So, I went to one of the other two secondary schools (9:30-'tewnty to four' or 15:40). Each and every secondary school year was made up of pupils from various primary schools in the town and primary schools in satellite towns and villages. Whether two classes from one primary school or four pupils from another, this, hopefully, helps you understand the difference in numbers between primary and secondary schools. Although, regardless of national statistics, my experience was that the average class size in secondary school was in the latter twenties Sixth form is a part of all secondary schools. Year 12 commoly referred to as 'lower six' and year 13 commoly referred to as 'upper six'. Some larger towns and cities can have sixth form colleges, but this was not available in my hometown - then, as now. A distinct minority of degree courses require three A-levels. Most require two A-levels, with one being the subject that you will need to have a higher grade in. The third A-level is to prove to the powers that be, the selection commity at College or University, that you are willing to work hard. Although, if you are smart and, say, you're working towards a degree in science, then making your third A-level maths will tie in nicely. Simply, universities are much larger colleges. We call this 'third level education' (or commonly 'third level'). A common myth in the United States of America is that third level education in the UK is free. No so. Scotland treads their own path, with Scottish students availing of free third level education for a 'degree' (or 'undergraduate' as it is commoly called nowadays) course, although not for a 'master deegree' ('postgraduate') and Doctorate couses. Most in the United Kingdom pupils pay a small fortune to get such qualifications. Le sigh. School uniforms helped to keep everyone on the same level. No designer this and that required, the poorest children are not going to be bullied for not having certain branded trainers (you call them 'sneakers') or jeans (they get bullied for something else entirely). And yes, you have to pay for the school uniforms. In my hometown all sixth form students had to wear (the dreaed, poxy, and formal - I loath formal!☹️) school uniform. There was one shop, then two shops that sold the various school uniforms. Most are generic items in boring dark and dull colours. The only specifics you had to order were the fabric school badges to be sewn onto your school jumper (which the schools made some money from) and name tags (to be ironed into the back of your clothing). Other clothing stores have now provide school uniforms, including those supermarkets that have a clothing range - all at comptitive sweatshop prices. For 'dinner' (I'm working class Welsh of my generation), or 'lunch' as people tend to call it nowadays, you either take a packed lunch or pay for school dinners. At the secondary school I went to, the poorest students could collect a token from the secretary's office. This token afforded them a free school dinner. The cost was paid for by the government (or, in reality, tax payers). Most schools are mixed sex schools, although most of the [confusingly named] public schools - the privately educated, or boarding schools - are gender segregated (or, more accurately, sex segregated; so they, cough, do not have sex. Because all pupils, as all people are straight🙄). Public schools, as creches (new born to two years old) cost an arm and three legs (obviously I failed maths). Otherwise primary and secondary schools offer free education. Everyday really is a school day.🦋🌟🧡

I am a sixth form student from the uk. Schools in England usually work like this: Reception Year 1 - 6 = primary school Year 7 - 11 = senior school Over the course of y9-11 your prepare and do your GCSE’s - which allows you to get into a sixth from or collage. You can either go somewhere different or like me you can stay at your school as it provides a sixth form. For example when i was in y11 some people stayed and some left to go to other collages or 6th forms. Year 12/13 - collage and 6th form- ages 16-18 In collage/ sixth form you take up to 3 subjects for your A-levels, some go beyond that and take 4, or they do an EPQ or AS - these both count as half an A-level. This may not be completely right for collages, i dont go to one but im sure they do something similar. When preparing to finish A-levels there’s an application process we go through to get into university’s, most use a website called UCAS. Hope this helps and is less confusing now 😅

Back in my primary school days in England, I could grab my uniforms from a local store, which was way cheaper than buying them from the school itself. But fast forward to secondary school, and the only option was getting them from the school, which ended up being pretty pricey. And to add to the struggle, I was hitting early puberty, being a girl, and, well, let's just say my cup size was growing! So, not only was finding the right fit a challenge, but it also made the whole uniform situation even more expensive. the Uniform needing to buy is listed ⬇ 1x polo 1x sweatshirt 1x trousers or skirt (not provided) 1x pair of plain black shoes (not provided) 1x PE polo 1x pair of PE shorts 1x pair of PE tracksuit bottoms 1x PE rugby shirt 1x pair of football boots (not provided) 1x swim suit (not provided) 1x gumshield (not provided) 1x pair of swimming goggles (not provided) 1x pair of trainers for PE (not provided) 1x pair of black socks or tights (not provided)

Love Lost in the Pond, he's both funny and sweet

😮 America has an EDUCATION system wow,you learn something new everyday, especially after watching some videos of American students being asked questions, especially about history

Scottish schools are different from English schools also We have Primary school which is P1- (4/5) - P7 (11/12) depending on birthday then you move onto High School (secondary) which is S1 (11/12) - S6 (17/18) in high school you can leave after S4 age 16 we take exams from S4 - S6

21:16 With 6th Forms, they are still in the secondary school building. With collage, they are in a different location. Sixth Forms usually do A levels and collages usually do courses that are more focused on a job role and practical work, rather than academics

You guys should react to “Educating the east end”. It’s an all old series that takes place in a certain secondary school in different areas of England and goes through the process and phases that kids experience whilst at secondary school. The series is very popular and super accurate as to what the kids live through during their time as young teenagers. For people who aren’t familiar with the culture of schooling in England, this series will give you a lot of information and understanding.

The man in the video said that the Boston School was set up in 1600s but that an alumnis from the school (who went to it much later on) was Benjamin Franklin.

in the UK kids used to leave school at 16 , 6th form was optional , but now you leave school at 16 and have to either do 6th form or get a trainee course or apprenticeship role in a job till your 18

I am 66 yrs old and back in the day we wore uniforms ( parents bought them) blazer , shirts, tie , v neck jumper , pleated skirts, white socks and black polished shoes 🤣👍👍🇬🇧

As others have mentioned, i also had a school PE kit, plus games kit. Rugby/cricket.

So to answer some questions that popped up (from my experience in the UK). - we have to pay for our uniforms Preschool is 2, 3 & 4year olds (although mainly caters to 3yrs and early 4’s). Then we move into Primary school. This is one building (or multiple buildings in one space) split into three. First is reception. Kids are typically late 4year olds or early 5’s. Then you have the ‘infant school’ which includes reception but also has years 1 and year 2. Then you have the double doors that separate the building to move up to Junior School which is years 3-6. In year 6 that’s when we do what we call SAT’s which gives our next school an indication on what class levels we should be in etc. You then move to a completely separate school for Secondary school. This is for years 7 all the way up to year 11. Years 7-9 you have to learn all subjects. Years 10-11 is when you choose 5 subjects to learn and you have to do your GCSE’s in them (this is I believe the equivalent to your SAT tests which enables us to get into college/sixth form). (All throughout this time we wear uniforms btw - even during P.E. We have a set uniform kit haha). Now after GCSE’s you have two options. 1) college - this is for more hands on courses where you will generally do one week in a placement and one week studying and it keeps alternating. So for example if you choose childcare as your course, you will have alternating weeks of 1) work placement 2) lessons/coursework in the actual college. No uniform is needed, and there are no ‘exams’ as such, it’s generally all coursework based. 2) sixth form. There’s two different types. You have the sixth forms that are ATTACHED to secondary schools. With these, you will still wear the school uniform. Or you have one that’s totally independent- and you can wear what you want. The common denominator is that sixth forms tend to be pretty much solely lesson based (like school). Most you have to pick 3 courses to study but can choose to have 5 courses. Either way they generally all finish once you’re aged 18. After you leave sixth form/college, you can then choose to go to university to get degrees etc, which I believe is the equivalent to your colleges. In primary and secondary schools we generally had class sizes of 30 students. College/sixth form we had average class size of 15-20

Itdepends on your said area with the tier system. 3 tier system is inclusive of the lower (nursery - year 4) middle school (years 5 - 8) then on to upper school (years 9 - sixth form/12+13) where as the 2 tier is as mentioned in the video. Uniforms and P.E kits we pay for, some schools have summer and winter uniforms, indoor and outdoor kits, even some with different coloured ties depending on the year.

The term sixth form comes from the time when high school used to be numbered years 1 to 5. It was then optional to stay on to take the higher A’Level exams, so this was then the 6th year of high school split in two years being lower 6th and upper 6th. Some high schools have a “6th form department “ on site while some student take A’levels at a separate 6th form or college.

It varies from school to school, some have the 6th Form as part of the same institution but they normally have a separate building where, their have their home rooms, common rooms and some classes. The 6th Form will often have a different dress code too, rarely a uniform per se but some schools do request 6th Formers to wear "Business Attire", mainly so they get used to office wear but also it means they have something appropriate for an interview either for work or university. Some 6th Form colleges will be completely separate schools and will offer a mix of A-Level academic courses and BTEC vocational courses.

I enjoyed the video, the commentator was witty but love hearing your comments both of you on the differences between US & England education..

We get no free uniforms, but usually, it's possible to get them quite cheaply. When I was at school, years started again at secondary school, so you were a first year at 11 and the final year was the sixth form.

We pay for uniforms in UK. You can often get them second hand. Regarding secondary school class sizes; secondary schools are much larger than primary schools, so there's often between 4-10 classes in each year. Primary schools are almost always local schools, and usually only have 1-2 classes in each year, so the classes are larger. In mine there were 34.

In my areas schools “sixth form” students still wear uniforms but of a different colour than their younger students , my school for instance went from a Navy skirt/jumper/jacket and blue shirt to Black with white white shirts

Hey Steve. Some answers. My secondary school uniform could be purchased anywhere as long as it confirmed to the school colours. School ties and blazers both with unique school colours on were purchased via the school. Colleges can be on the site of a secondary school or desperate. Some are stand alone and specialise in creative, trade or educational learning. I was invited to speak with a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds at my local college that were all studying business. The principal asked me to explain there was another route of starting your own business (I'm a 30 year business owner). I got a lot of engagement and questions.

We do have middle schools (depending on your area). Collage is usually a separate school, where as 6th form is attached to a school but usually has its own building within the grounds. Collage can be for academic purposes or to teach trades.

Fabulous video both 🫶🏻🇬🇧🫶🏻

12:57 we don’t have to do preschool/nursery either - we also don’t have to start school in reception year (age 4) they have to start school in year 1 no matter what (age 5)

When I grew up in the 60s/70s in Santa Barbara, CA, we had Kindergarten-through-Sixth Grade at the elementary school; junior high was grades 7, 8, & 9; then high school was grades 10, 11, & 12. I think it is different there now.

21:08 For my senior high school years in particular, the year 10 and 11 students and 6th form students were all within the same school, but 6th form had its own building. Now that they also take years 7, 8 and 9 students, it hasn't changed. Years 7 to 11 use the main school buildings, and 6th form (years 12 and 13) still have their own.

When I was at school, you could only get the blazers and ties for all the schools in the area from one shop. So at least the the outerwear was the same but kids being kids (especially teenagers) managed to incorporate various bits of rebellion into their uniforms.How you tied your tie could be different, the girls would wear shorter or longer (depending on the fashion of the time) skirts. You could still tell who had more money because the accessories or quality of the their shoes, trousers etc but mostly because they were not wearing hand me downs.

Reception is the first year of school for primary school. Primary school is usually broken up in two sections, infants & junior. A lot of primary schools also have Nurseries attached to them, pre reception age. At 11yrs kids start year 7 at secondary school, about year 9 they can pick main options to study like History OR geography etc. Age 16 secondary school ends with options for 6th form (usually at the school) college (a completely different building/place with more options to study) or be able to take on an apprenticeship. My niece did this for hairdressing, a mixture of study & practical all within a working salon while getting a decent(ish) wage. After 6th form/collage the options of university is there from around age 18

My parents had to pay for my uniform, in my area we had a shop called Hewitts which stocked blazers, trousers and skirts for all schools in the surrounding area.

As I only went to secondary school in England. Our school didn’t provide uniform. Students had to buy it. Our uniform was white shirt, black blazer, black trousers or skirts and black shoes. You could wear a black jumper or cardigan (optional) as well. Our school uniform had no tie. (The black blazer a jumper and cardigan had the schools logo) as for our PE kit we also had to buy this which were red polo shirt and black shorts, red long socks with schools logo. For contact sports like football. Hockey etc we had to wear a red contact jumper. Which was a red jumper with thicker black shoulder. In the winter we were allowed to wear PE tracksuits and hoodies (with the schools logo) and white trainers. As for sixth form. I didn’t do sixth form but it varies on your school basically secondary school is year 7-13. However in the year 11 after doing GCSEs. year 12 and 13 are technically optional as you can choose to do college which is more vocational based like animal management, horticulture, public services, hairdressing, health and social etc.. however if you decide to stay on the do year 12 and 13. It’s called sixth form and most people that stay onto year 12 & 13 are students that want to do university instead of college after year 11. I left personally after year 11 to do animal management at college. However my older brother who went to the same school. Stayed into year 12 and 13 and studies A levels and then went to university to do cybernetics (university Is also like if people want to become a doctor, vet, engineer, physcologist etc) my secondary school was a secondary school but had a sixth form centre as a separate building and even though sixth form students don’t wear uniform they were required you wear ID lanyards

20:57 To put it simply, our 'sixth form' and 'college' both serve the same purposes. But sixth form is basically connected to a secondary school with the same system and rules e.g. uniform may still be required, and the level of disciplinary actions remains the same for all grades including the secondary students. So typically, the students from secondary and sixth form will both reside in the same building or a different building nearby. They will have the same name too e.g. Apple Secondary School or Apple Sixth Form. However, our 'college' is a separate independent school with only two age groups (17/18). So they are not connected to any other school. They have the same curriculum and exams as a sixth form but have their own rules. They usually have no uniform and are much more lenient than sixth forms. Their school schedules are also more flexible and vary a lot between students.

We have to pay for school uniforms, also we have to pay for sports kits eg: rugby, football , athletics, gym etc . Which .eans you could buy 3 to 4 or more sports kits depending on how many sports are on the individual school requirements

My school uniform was really expensive...the skirt was 25 pounds and the blazer 65 in 1980!!

At the school I went to when I was 14 (I was moved from a larger one with uniform to this a new one because my parents realized I wasn't happy there), it was a school with no uniform. We were even taught how to cook there, and it was part of the school instructions to even help clean the classroom - We'd vacuum the floor, tidy the chairs, that sort of thing. It was also a vegetarian school so all the meals were healthy. The cakes were amazing, I always looked forward to the marble cake most. This school was called The Small School and it was in Hartland, in England. It had 25 students in the whole place and had FIVE to one class, so, really one-on-one attention. We also only got half an hour's worth of homework every other day vs three hours every evening in the last place.

I’m a brit in my 30’s. I had a phone in the later years of my secondary school (year 10 age 15 & year 11 age 16). There were computers in the library you could go on and sometimes a cart full of laptops might be pushed into the classroom for everyone to use for a lesson. But most of our work was done in books or on worksheets.

Uniform - felt like a small fortune every year (luckily my 2 have left now). Trousers or skirt and shirts can be bought reasonably anywhere. The blazer with badge and tie was expensive enough, but when you have to have specific (with logo) jumpers, and p.e. kit Including long and short sleeved tops plus shorts with the school colour, it really adds up! My school life 30 plus years ago - 'school logo wise' it was just a blazer and tie in secondary school (after age 11)

School uniforms vary significantly from one school to another. Some might have a blazer and tie, others might just have a polo-neck jumper or a shirt for the summer. But they are not free! This has become something of a bone of contention, especially with the current financial problems that increasing numbers of families are facing, especially when schools are specifying more expensive uniforms that can only be bought from a particular shop, rather than allowing generic jumpers or shirts from any supermarket with a badge that can be sewn on - there's a suggestion that they are (a) getting kickbacks from the shops, and/or (2) are trying to deter poor families from sending their kids there. Many schools, on the other hand, are trying to ensure that uniforms _are_ affordable, and will often have a second-hand uniform shop or assistance programme for families who can't afford to buy them. Secondary schools are usually much larger than primary schools, taking in kids from a wider area. A primary school might typically have 1 or 2 classes per year group, with 200-400 pupils in total, whereas a secondary school might typically have 5 to 8 classes per year group, with 600-1200 pupils in total, although there are plenty that are outside this range. TBH I'm surprised that the average class size in secondary is as low as that, but that might be influenced by some schools offering specialised courses at GCSE (general certificate of secondary education, in case you're wondering) that might only have small numbers of students, and a lot of schools will put less able students in small classes so they get more individual attention. I would have said that class sizes of 30 were the norm although there are plenty of cases where you would see smaller classes for one reason or another. Sixth form is so called because if you go back two or three generations, year group numbering started again in secondary school. Your first year of secondary school was the 1st form and you took your O levels ("ordinary level", predecessors to GCSEs) at the end of the fifth form, and so the next step was the sixth form where you would study for your A levels ("advanced level"). Although curriculum reforms in the 1980s meant that year groups through _compulsory_ education were now numbered continuously from 1 to 11, the sixth form retained its distinction as something slightly different, probably in large part because it was not compulsory. At sixth form, students can either go down an academic pathway and take 3 or 4 A levels in a range of subjects, or they can go down a vocational/technical pathway and there are various different types of qualifications available. It's very hard to set out _exactly_ how it works because there is no common standard! Some schools - especially schools in rural areas, larger schools in more affluent areas and independent schools - will have their own sixth form, which will invariably specialise in A levels, while other schools stop at year 11. You then have sixth form (and further education) colleges, which are just for 16+ ... some specialise in academic A levels, some specialise in vocational/technical qualifications, and some offer both pathways, depending on how many schools nearby have sixth forms. Just as the catchment area for a secondary school might cover 4 or 5 primary schools, the catchment area for a sixth form college might cover 4 or 5 secondary schools - students may have further to travel, but the much larger cohorts mean that a far broader range of courses can be viably offered if you have 1000 students in a year group rather than just 200 or so. The public vs private school debate is a strange one. We have both! They are collectively known as independent schools (or sometimes fee-paying schools). Public schools are the more exclusive tier, the schools that have lineage going back hundreds of years that are used by the richest and most elite echelons of society, and you may well recognise names like Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Marlborough - many if not most of them are boarding schools. Private schools are the next tier down, you still need to be reasonably wealthy to send your kids to a private school unless they get a scholarship, but these schools don't generally have quite the same level of history or snobbery about them, and you're less likely to bump into members of the royal family or a future government minister.

UK SATS, which are conducted at the end of primary school (Year 6), assess the students’ basic numeracy and literacy skills. These tests assess how students are progressing before entering secondary school and can identify gifted and talented students, as well as students making slow progress. Usually, these SATS will determine the setting (ability grouping) that a student will be in once they reach secondary school - primary school students are usually taught in a mixed ability classroom, whereas secondary school classes are usually streamed according to the individual students’ abilities in a given subject. SATs are also used to monitor the performance of a primary school, whilst the individual SATs results for each student can provide a relatively accurate prediction for their final GCSE grades using various algorithms such as the Fischer Family Trust.

We do have to buy uniforms, and in high school/ secondary school these can be quite expensive cause u need specific ones with badges and would be sent home/ put in isolation rooms if u come in with slightly wrong uniform items, effectively costing u education as ur not allowed in the classroom

At high school we could wear a "house" tie instead of the standard school tie if we wished. Still have my Spartans one today 😂 Also had to sew house "Brading" onto the top of the blazer pockets.

20:50 6th form is years 12/13 - you can stay at your high school if they have a 6th form, or you can move to a school that has a 6th form that has the subjects you want to study. Alternatively, after year 11 (age 16) you can go to college for 2 years and study subjects you want to get a grade in for university or a job you have in mind

We have collages that are completely separate and often have a focus on vocational courses such as catering, mechanic's, public service ect but will still offer more academic coarses and we also have sixth forms that are usually attached to secondary schools but separate from other students and these usually only offer academic coarses.

Most uniform can be brought in everyday clothing stores but Blazers and school jumpers are usually found in uniform shops, each area/bourough with have their local schools. Also in terms of class sizes, in primary school you stay with the same class the whole way through. Classes are split by capability secondary/high school. Also in terms of Nursery the government gives you 15 hours free (3-4yr olds), as it isnt essential or mandated attendance if both parents work and they need more time they will have to pay. If you are a low income family or a parent of a special needs child it starts at the age of 2, but the parent has to apply it doesnt automatically kick in.

My sixth form was part of my comprehensive, although we had our own section of the school including a common room. We stopped wearing uniform and had much more freedom.