Education in Wales
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Education in Wales differs in certain respects from the systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom. A significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh; lessons in the language are compulsory for all until the age of 16. Welsh medium education is available to all age groups through nurseries, schools, colleges and universities and in adult education. There are also plans to increase the number of Welsh medium schools.
Currently, demand has passed supply for education through the medium of Welsh especially in Cardiff and the surrounding South Wales Valleys. Some schools in South Wales are now having to turn Welsh students away as there are no spaces in the schools compared to the English schools where in some cases pupil levels are only reaching 50% capacity. In Cardiff, there are plans to close two English Schools and open two large Welsh schools. In Newport, there are now plans for the city to have its first Welsh medium secondary school, and there are also plans for Swansea and Llanelli to have more Welsh schools. This is in line with Welsh Assembly policy of having a totally bilingual Wales.
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[edit] The Structure of the Welsh Educational System
Since devolution policy in the four constituent countries of the UK has diverged: for example, England has pursued a model of education based on diversity and choice; Wales (and Scotland) remain more committed to the concept of the community-based comprehensive school. Systems of governance and regulation - the arrangements for planning, funding, quality-assuring and regulating learning, and for its local administration - are becoming increasingly differentiated across the four home countries.[1]
Education researcher David Reynolds claims that policy in Wales is driven by a "producerist" paradigm emphasising collaboration between educational partners. He concludes that performance data do not suggest that Wales has improved more rapidly than England, although there are considerable difficulties in making these kinds of assessments.[2]
[edit] Compulsory Schooling
A child's age on the 1 September determines the point of entry into the relevant stage of education. School is compulsory beginning with the term following the child's fifth birthday. Most parents, however, enrol their children in the reception year in September of that school year, with most children thus beginning school at age four or four and a half.
[edit] Primary Education
[edit] Secondary Education
Pupils in secondary school take part in the compulsory GCSE and the non-compulsory A-level qualifications at age 16 and 18 respectively. Since 2007 the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification has also been available as an option.
[edit] Further Education
Further education (FE) includes full- and part-time learning for people over compulsory school age, excluding higher education.[3] FE in Wales is provided by 23 FE colleges and a range of public, private and voluntary sector training providers, such as the Workers' Educational Association. Colleges vary in size and mission, and include general FE, tertiary and specialist institutions, including one Roman Catholic Sixth Form College and a residential adult education college. Many colleges offer leisure learning and programmes designed to meet the needs of business.[4][5]
[edit] Adult Community Learning
Adult Community learning is a form of adult education or lifelong learning delivered and supported by local authorities in Wales.[6] Programmes can be formal or informal, non-accredited or accredited, and vocational, academic or leisure orientated.[7]
[edit] Higher Education
Students normally enter University from 18 onwards and study for an Academic Degree. All undergraduate education is largely state financed (With Welsh students contributing £1,255), and students are generally entitled to student loans for maintenance. The state does not control syllabi, but it does influence admission procedures and monitors standards through the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
The typical first degree offered at Welsh universities is the Bachelor's degree (typically three years). Many institutions now offer an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree, typically lasting four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between undergraduate and traditional postgraduate Master's degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former) makes taking an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree a more attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate Master's degrees means that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear.
Some universities offer a vocationally-based Foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue to take a first degree but wish to remain in employment. Within Wales, medical undergraduate education is provided by only Cardiff University, while graduate fast track route training in provided in Swansea. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of universities with their own degree awarding powers owing to the change in the University of Wales from a single awarding body for most of the Universities in Wales to a confederal structure, along with former institutes gaining university status. Overall there are twelve universities in Wales including one music conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in the capital, Cardiff.
[edit] See also
- List of universities in Wales
- Education in England
- Education in Northern Ireland
- Education in Scotland
- Education in the United Kingdom
- Education by country
- Blue book
- Estyn
[edit] References
- ^ Raffe, D. and Byrne, D. (2005) Policy Learning From ‘Home International’ Comparisons. Centre for Educational Sociology briefing.
- ^ Reynolds, D. (2008) "New Labour, Education and Wales: The Devolution Decade" in Oxford Review of Education, v34 n6 p753-765 Dec 2008
- ^ Education Act 1996, Part 1, Chapter 1, Paragraph 2
- ^ Welcome to fforwm
- ^ National Training Federation for Wales
- ^ Introducing Community Learning Wales
- ^ Delivering Skills that Work for Wales: A new approach to Adult Community Learning. Consultation document issued 29 September 2008
[edit] External links
- Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in English and Welsh
- Welsh FE Colleges
