Academic

August can seem a funny month in education. Some of the British boarding schools we work with are closed altogether, with just a skeleton staff in place to handle enquiries and, in some cases, host events, while others are abuzz with summer schools welcoming children from all over the world. At this point in the month, however, it starts to feel like business as usual, as the schools and, more to the point, their students brace themselves for exam results: A Level results are published on Thursday 16^th and (i)GCSE results come out on Thursday 23^rd.

The latest newsletter from Bede’s, a British boarding school in the south east of England, includes a feature about its diploma programme, which we thought would make an interesting addition to our blog.

The external qualifications offered in Bede’s Sixth Form are A Level, Pre-U and BTEC. Alongside studying for those exams, all pupils undertake a holistic enrichment programme, the Bede’s Diploma, which has four elements: Extend, Enrich, Enlighten and Enhance.

Each year Warminster School, an English boarding school in Wiltshire, holds a Curriculum Enrichment Day (CED), which takes learning out of the classroom, crosses subject boundaries and combines the talents of students from years 7 to 13, as they work together within their House groups to solve a problem or create a product.

The big news over the summer was that GCSE results in England included the new grades for English Language, English Literature and Maths.

GCSEs in England are in the process of being reformed and, as we like to keep you updated on developments in British education, this is our short guide to the changes and their chronology.

When considering a child’s education in the UK, obviously the course of study they will follow is of paramount importance, particularly at that key phase just ahead of leaving secondary education at the age of 18. We have covered the courses available to 16-18-year-olds in a previous article but this academic year sees a change to the way A Levels are taught and examined, so we thought a follow-up may be useful.

Early in July, students across the UK and the world receive their International Baccalaureate Diploma results. This news, which to them is so important, passes largely unnoticed by the British media, unlike the furore which greets A Level then GCSE results later in the summer.

Time flies when you’re having fun and, amazingly, we are already more than halfway through this academic year. While the summer and exams may still seem a little way off, coursework deadlines could be looming and it’s never too soon to at least prepare for revision.

Following on from our recent guide to British Sixth Form study, we thought it might be helpful to zero in on the options available at boarding schools in Scotland.

Schools in the UK offer several different qualifications to students completing their Sixth Form studies. These include the vocational BTECs (certificates awarded by the Business and Technology Education Council); the Cambridge Pre-U, which prepares learners for the skills and knowledge they need to succeed at university, and, in Scotland, the Scottish Highers, which provide certification for a broad general education and have been the main route to higher education since 1888.