header

Schools Guide



Schools by County
SHOW ALL Bath & North East SomersetBedfordshireBerkshireBristolBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCarmarthenshireConwyCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDenbighshireDerbyshireDevonDorsetEast SussexEssexGloucestershireHampshireHerefordshireHertfordshireIsle of ManIsle of WightKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMiddlesexMonmouthshireNorfolkNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshirePowysRutlandScotlandShropshireSomersetStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyWarwickshireWest MidlandsWest SussexWiltshireWorcestershireYorkshire SHOW ALL
Foreword

When we in the Forces take the decision to send our children to boarding schools, there are always doubts. Will the school we have chosen provide the stability that we believe our children requiremore

Introduction

"We in the Services have three options: our children have a disruptive education; we board; or we live apart from our families. None of these is ideal for most people". Such was a recent indictment of the choice facing Service parents starting to educate theirmore

Articles
The Education of Service Children - the boarding option - Introduction Service Children's Education (SCE) CEAS Boarding? Choosing a School Government Funded Boarding Schools Boarding at an Independent School Types of boarding School Specialist Schools The Sixth Form Whatever next? Overseas Pupils and parents
Paying the fees

Paying the school fees ranks second only to paying one�s mortgage and, as such, this is a real attention-grabbing subject. Sending a child off to a fee-paying school means not only a major financial 2006: more

Special Awards

Looking specifically at grants and awards for children of those in the Armed Forces the ISBI lists some 200 schools. The following list has been specifically researched from the Independent more

From the editor

Ian Jones' career includes eleven years as Head Master of Bedford School, two years as the Director of Studies at Britannia Royal Naval College more

Useful information
 

Sixth-form examinations - the choice

From 2008 those entering the sixth form will have a choice of examinations. The larger schools may be able to offer a choice, but most schools will have to commit themselves to one of those below.
The differences are summarised:

 
A-level
(AS and A2)
Advanced Diploma
International
Baccalaureate
The Cambridge
Pre-U
Who is it for?
16 to 19-year-olds
14 to 19 year-olds
16 to 19-year-olds
16 to 19-year-olds
What can you study?
Any number of subjects from 70 but most students study four AS and three A2
Five subjects initially: health, IT, construction, media and engineering and eventually 14 vocational subjects, plus science, languages and humanities
Six subjects from an extensive list (three at Higher Level and three at Standard Level)
Three subjects from 26
How does it work?
The AS level takes a year and can be freestanding or can form the first half of the full A Level. In year two students take the A2 exam. Courses are divided into 6 modules. In 2010 exams will be made tougher, with more stretching open-ended questions and a new A* grade. Modules will be reduced to four
Introduced from September 2008 and studied at four levels: Foundation and Higher (14 to 16-year-olds) and Progression and Advanced (16 to 19-yearolds). Study covers two years and mixes classroom teaching, project work and workplace experience
Students complete a 4,000- word essay and a Theory of Knowledge course in addition to their six subjects over two years. They also do community service work. Exams taken at the end of the second year of study
Three subjects studied over two years. Students complete an independent Research Report and a Global Perspectives portfolio. Exams taken at the end of the second year of study
What is it worth?
A grade = 120 UCAS points. From 2010, the new A* grade is expected to be worth 130 – 140 points
Foundation = equivalent of five GCSE passes; Higher = equivalent of seven GCSE passes; Progression = equivalent of two A Levels (300 UCAS points); Advanced = equivalent of 3.5 A Levels (420 UCAS points)
The top scores are worth the equivalent of six A grades at A Level and one A grade at AS, or 768 UCAS points
Expected to be on a par with IB
Expected number
of study hours
1,080 hours (classroom teaching and coursework) for three A Levels
1,080 hours for the advanced diploma
1,460 hours (classroom teaching and coursework)
1,200 hours for three subjects
Where can you
study it?
Schools and FE colleges
1,300 schools and colleges in England from 2008. Nationally from 2013
110 schools in England
Most interest from Independent schools
Comment
Still regarded as the ‘gold standard’ school qualification. Some critics claim that A levels have become two grades easier in the past 20 years
The government hopes it will become “the qualification of choice” within a decade but experts say it is “doomed to fail” unless A Level and GCSE courses are withdrawn
Heavier workload than A Levels and more independent learning. Pass rates have remained constant for 20 years, while A Level pass rates have risen
Designed specifically for students who want to go to university