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Secondary schools

Secondary education used to be selective, i.e. secondary schools accepted children based on their performance in an exam called the eleven-plus. Grammar schools and high schools, which con­centrated on academic subjects, creamed off the best pupils. Those who failed the exam went to secondary modern schools which taught more practical subjects. In the 1960s it was thought that 11 was too young an age for a child's future to be decided in this way. It was also clear that the eleven-plus reinforced social divisions, as most children who passed the exam were 'middle-class. As a result selective education, and with it the eleven-plus, was ended in many areas. Secondary moderns and many grammar schools became comprehensive schools offering a broad education to students with a wide range of abilities. Some grammar schools and high schools became inde­pendent. A few areas kept a selective system based on an eleven- or twelve-plus exam.

Many schools are under the control of a Local Education Authority (LEA). Grant-maintained schools are run entirely by governors, parents of pupils and members of the local community, and are responsible to central government. Grant-maintained schools are free to change their status, so a compre­hensive school may choose to become a grammar school and admit only brighter students, as under the old system.

Secondary schools are much larger than primary schools and students may have to travel longer distances by school bus or public transport. Most secondary school students wear school uniform. Students in each year may be divided into groups based on ability. Classes are taught by teachers who have specialist knowledge of a particular sub­ject. Students continue to study subjects in the National Curriculum and take SATs at 14, and then work towards GCSEs in as many subjects as they can manage, often eight or ten. Students who hope to go to university stay on at school or go to a sixth-form college to study for A levels in two, three or four subjects. Some secondary schools now offer more practical courses leading to GNVQs as an introduction to work-related skills.

In Scotland students take the Scottish Certific­ate of Education (SCE). The standard grade, which is roughly equivalent to GCSE, is taken at 16 at one of three levels, and the higher grade is taken at 17. Students take five or six subjects as Highers and may then take A levels.

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Schools in the USA

Schoolusually means the same in American Eng­lish as in British English, but sometimes it can also mean 'university'. If a parent says 'I work during the mornings when the children are at school', it means that the children are young and are probably at elementary school. But 'My youngest son is away at school now' almost certainly means that he has started university in another city.

Many Americans send their children to a nursery school, or to day care or pre-school at an early age. At 5 children go to kindergarten and begin their formal K—12 education. As in Britain, US schools are divided into primary and secondary, but these words are rarely used. It is more common to talk about elementary school, junior high school and high school, and the grade, or year group, students are in. Elementary schools teach children from kindergarten till the end of sixth grade. Grades seven and eight are taken at junior high school, and the ninth to the twelfth grades at high school.