England's school system!

     The English school system is very similar to America. School is free for students ages 5-16 and this is provided by state funds. The school years run from September to July with mild holidays like we have. Primary schools are for children 5 and above where secondary schools are for 11 year olds to 16. For most areas they split the school year into six terms. At the age of 16 they take the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) the studying for this starts when you are 14 and 15. England has sent up a National Curriculum that all kids from ages 5 to 16 must be taught. Some core subjects are English, Science, Design and Technology,History, Geography, Art and Design, Music, Phys Ed, and Information and Communication Technology for Stages 1 and 2 which is basically 5 to 11 year olds. By stage 3 ,or 11 to 16 year olds,  Citizenship, Modern Foreign Language, Careers education, Religious Education, and Sex Ed is added. Throughout these years they monitor students through Standard Asessment Tests which is similar to Westests but a lot harder. At the end of their education and after they have taken the GCSE about one third go into higher education at age 18 with roughly 1.8 million students enrolling. This is the English school system that is similar to ours but much more condensed and thorough.