Jargon Buster
Below is a list of words and phrases commonly used in education. Selecting them will reveal their definitions:
- Answer:
- AS and A levels are the next step up from GCSEs if your child stays on in academic education after the age of 16 (as opposed to getting a job or doing a vocational qualification).
Further information is available on our A-levels page.
- Answer:
A common entrance exam is taken by some children as part of the admissions process for academically selective independent schools, following on from primary education (whether state or independent). There are two versions, catering for school admissions starting at 11 and 13 years old.
- Answer:
- Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the regulatory and quality framework for the provision of learning, development and care for children between birth and the academic year in which they turn five (0–5).
Further information is available on our Reception Class page.
- Answer:
- There are only a few geographical areas in the UK that still use this system, which was most popular in the early 1980s (there were just 171 middle schools remaining in the UK at the end of 2013). The First School takes children from Reception to Year 4, the Middle School from Years 5 – 8, with the Upper school catering for Years 9 – 13.
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- Eleven plus is mainly used as admissions test in areas that still have state grammar schools, the Eleven Plus is taken in the final year of primary education.
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- A free School is a school that is funded directly by the Department for Education and run by a non-profit-making charitable trust.
- Answer:
- GCSEs are the General Certificate of Secondary Education is a national qualification that pupils work for during Key Stage 4. Pupils often take a number of GCSEs, graded by a mixture of coursework and exams.
Further information is available on our GCSEs page.
- Answer:
- These are schools that are independent in funding (relying on tuition fees, endowments and so on) and independent in governance. Independent, public and private schools are fundamentally the same.
- Answer:
- LEA is the Local Education Authority, the local council responsible for education in an area.Learning Objective (LO): A description of the skills, knowledge and attitudes you can expect your child to acquire.