In Great Britain education is compulsory for all children from 5 to 16 years of age. Before 5 some children attend Nursery Schools, while most children start their basic education in an Infant School, which is the first stage of Primary Education. From 7 to 11 they attend Junior Schools, the second stage of Primary Education. In Primary School children are taught the so-called 3R's -- reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as elementary science and information technology. They also have music, physical training and art classes.
At the age of eleven children transfer to Comprehensive Schools. These schools give general education and a wide range of academic courses leading to the public examinations taken at 16. They also provide some vocational courses.
Before the 1960s there were two main kinds of state schools in Britain: "grammar" schools and "modern" schools. The grammar schools were for the most intelligent children and the secondary modern schools were for the less intelligent children. Children were selected for secondary education by means of an examination known as "eleven-plus" which they took at the age of 11. Many people thought that this system was unfair and now more than 80% of the state secondary schools in Britain are comprehensive (which are for children of all abilities).
Along with the state schools, there are about 500 private schools in Britain that comprise about 6% of the school population. Most of these Independent or Public Schools charge fees and there are boarding schools, where the children actually live in the school.
Any child may leave school at 16 when all children take the school-leaving examinations and get a certificate of secondary education. Those who want to continue their education at a University have to stay on at school for two more years and take another exam (at an advanced level). Advanced level examination is very important, because on the results of this examination the Universities and Polytechnics choose their students, as there are no entrance examinations.
The leading universities in England are Oxford, Cambridge and London. Each University consists of a number of faculties: medicine, arts (philosophy), law, music, natural science, commerce and education. Alter three years of study, a student receives a Bachelor's degree. Some may continue their studies for two or more years to get the degrees of Master and Doctor. Besides universities, there are other types of higher educational institutions: Polytechnics and Colleges of different kinds.