UK and UK's Education

                                       The UK and the UK Education

     The United Kingdom is the first foreign country that I’ve ever been, and I am really attracted by the cultures of UK. Personally, as a big fan of the British accent, I enjoyed listening to English speaking English, and I also tried my best to correct my weird sound British accent. When I was young, I was obsessed with beautiful architectures around the world, no matter the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, or the Big Ben in London, they all get my attention and I really love them. Similar to the feelings that I have toward China, I love the UK’s old cultures, and also the “lonely feelings” of the street. I am a big fan of a fiction which named “Sherlock”, and it can also account for another reason I love the UK so much.

     Well, for this segment I will introduce some backgrounds of this magic country. One breaking news about the UK last year shocked everyone who knows a little about the UK. The UK was one of the member countries of the European Union, but last year, without any signs, the UK announced that they would leave the European Union. At that time, the whole world’s attention was on the UK and the news, no matter online, on paper, or on the TV, about UK’s decision was everywhere, and everyone concentrated on how it went and what happened after they leave. Undoubtedly, UK has a very high reputation on abundant international affairs, so once the politics in UK unrest, a lot of other countries will also get some impacts. For example, for Chinese, we were cheering for this big decision because once the UK leaves the European Union, the pounds were depreciated, and comparatively, Chinese currency (RMB) appreciates. This was the good news for those students who planned to study abroad in England.

     For studying abroad in the UK, there were hundreds of options, the UK is maybe the country with the most ancient and highest quality higher education. In fact, 345 of the top 800 higher education institutes are in Europe and, as we can see from the infographic below, most of them are found in England. The two most famous and recognized UK universities are Oxford and Cambridge (both in the top 10 of the world’s higher education institutions). They are often referred to collectively as “Oxbridge” to distinguish them from other UK Universities, with implications for greater intellectual and social status. Another top university in the territory of England is King’s College which is lower in the rankings but is also a representative of a major higher education facility. Usually, students study abroad only for higher education, more specifically, Chinese higher education needs more improvements, so the tendency now for Chinese students to study abroad is increasing, they are planning to go to the more developed countries such as UK and US.

        So the basic design of higher education in the UK is similar to most other educational systems in other countries. The main step in preparation for college is the A levels, or sixth form. These take place the last 2 years before university. In year 12 (equivalent to 11th grade), students pick 4 subjects to study, and in year 13, they study 3 of those 4 subjects. Students grades on the exams for these years are what universities look at when accepting students. Once in university, UK schools work fairly similar to American schools with students able to get a BA (or similar degrees) in 3 or 4 years, and then a master’s in 1 or 2. The first notable difference in the UK system is that students take courses more related to what they want to study, and don’t have an equivalent to “core” classes. In other words, if a UK student is studying, say, art, they wouldn’t be required to take an English or science course.  



The second big difference is the option for honors degrees as a bachelor. These degrees can be classified as first class honors (which is the highest level), second class honors, which is split into upper division (2:1) and lower division (2:2), and third class honors, which is the lowest degree. Usually, a 2:1 or better is required for graduate school. Another more recent difference is that many students are going to apprenticeships after the sixth form instead of university. Apprenticeships are similar to paid internships, but they can be used to get a degree as well (or taken alongside other degree programs).  

Before I visited the UK, I have a dream of visiting one of the most renowned universities in the UK. Although I am not a fan of Harry Potter, I have a deep impression about the dining hall of the University of Oxford, and everyone arounds me who are obsessed with Harry Potter suggested me to visit that dining hall. So, the University of Oxford was both the first established university in the UK and the first university amongst “the English-speaking world.” While the exact date of foundation is unknown, evidence of its existence dates back to 1096. Higher education and education in the UK in general has been changing ever since, but a few large scale events had unique effects on the education system:
In response to the industrial revolution (starting around 1760), education became more common and more accessible. Throughout the 1800s, schools continued to become more accessible to the poor, specifically, and the Factory Act of 1833 required 2 hours of school a day for child factory workers. This also sparked the Education Act of 1902, which opened over a thousand secondary schools. Eventually, this shift towards practicality and work based education from the industrial revolution led to the “red-brick” universities to be established in the early 1900s. These universities were the first to focus on vocational training. (Winter, 2017)

Finally, every country has its own sparkling spots which can attract people to get to know them, for me, England is like an elegant pearl on the continent of the Europe, and it does attract me a lot from every aspect.