Your Guide to British Educational Terminology

The British education system is arcane, with different systems of exams, interviews, assessment, roles and school groups given different names dating back hundreds of years. As an organic educational culture that began more than a thousand years ago and has been through significant reform from the 19 th century through to the present day, the school system is understandably confusing, with many words meaning the same thing, and many similar-sounding terms being diametrically opposed. In some cases, even the schools themselves have worryingly similar names. So recalls Akademos co-founder Ayse Sevin: “I have a British friend; she was born and educated here, and she sent her son to Dulwich Prep, thinking that Dulwich Prep and Dulwich College were the same schools.” So, whilst it would be an impossible task to address every single school’s unique terminology (book a meeting with a Parent Ambassador from Westminster School to learn what “shag day” is), we’ve assembled a broadly comprehensive searchable guide to the most commonly used words and phrases at British schools.

11+/Eleven-plus

A series of standardised exams taken by pupils in their final year of primary school (aged 10 or 11) to gauge their ability and decide admission to academically selective secondary schools. These exams were once taken by every pupil in the UK, but are now only taken for admission to grammar and other selective schools (see below). In recent years, many independent secondary schools no longer use the 11+, and prefer to administer their own pre-test(s) and interviews to assess which children to offer places.

13+/Thirteen-plus/Common Entrance

The Common Entrance 13+ exams are a standardised set of exams used to assess entry to selective independent schools at 13 (starting in Year 9). They are set by the Independent Schools Examination Board (ISEB), although some schools set their own tests. English, Maths and Science are compulsory. Prep schools usually register their pupils to take the 13+. Often, by the time the Common Entrance exams come around at 13, pupils will have been offered a conditional place at a secondary independent school, on the basis of a satisfactory performance in exams and pre-tests taken aged 11 or 12.

Academy school

An academy school is a type of non-selective state school, which is free to attend and receives funding from the government, but which has more freedom to run its own affairs. It can, for example, set its own curriculum and term dates. They are run by not-for-profit academy trusts. Some academies are supported by sponsors, which might include businesses, universities, other schools, faith groups or voluntary groups. Sponsors usually work with the academy trust to improve the performance of their schools. Approximately 75% of English state schools have academy status. New academies in the UK are now called “free schools” (see below).

A-Level

A-Level (Advanced Level) exams are taken at the end of the final year of secondary school, very often to finalise a place at university. Pupils choose either three or four subjects at the end of Year 11, and study them through Years 12 and 13 (collectively known as sixth form). In some cases, however, pupils will take the International Baccalaureate instead of A-Levels, depending on their school.

Boarding school

Any school that has facilities where pupils (either all or some) regularly live on-site, sleeping at school.

Bursar

The member of non-academic staff at a school in charge of financial matters such as fees and scholarships.

Catchment area

The local area around some schools where a family or parent must live in order for a child to qualify for a place at the school. Catchment areas are generally much more relevant for those attending grammar or state schools than they are for independent schools.

Co-educational/co-ed

A school that accepts both boys and girls; a mixed school.

Combined Cadet Force (CCF)

An extracurricular programme offered by some schools sponsored by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), to encourage pupils who show an interest in the British Armed Forces to become soldiers or officers. Cadets are in no way part of the Armed Forces, though many go on to join the Army, Navy or RAF; the programme’s adherents value its emphasis on teamwork and leadership. The CCF may take pupils on trips to go hiking, orienteering, climbing or to do other outdoor activities.

Comprehensive school

A non-selective, state-run school that is free to attend, and not academically selective, though they may have a catchment area. More than ninety per cent of British children attend a comprehensive school; along with grammar schools and independent (private) schools, they comprise the three most common types of secondary schools in the UK.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (D of E)

An extracurricular programme founded by the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, in 1956, to encourage responsibility, leadership and teamwork in young people. Generally, boys and girls undertake the Award between 15 and 18, and it involves elements of outdoor exploration such as hiking and orienteering, as well as volunteering for a certain number of hours.

Exeat

Generally, a leave of absence from school, but more commonly, a period in which the school is completely closed. This usually means that boarders who might normally stay at school during weekends or holidays must leave the premises for the exeat period.

Faith school

A faith school is a type of state school that follows the government-set national curriculum, with the exception of religious studies, in which they can teach what they like. As such, they have a particular religious character and may be affiliated with an institution like a church or cathedral. Anyone can apply to a faith school, but in practice, the vast majority of pupils will follow the specified faith of the school. About 1/3 of English state schools are faith schools, and around 68% of these are affiliated with the Church of England (C of E), while 29% are Catholic.

Feeder school

A prep school associated with a secondary independent school. The level of this vassociation can vary but often, they may share governors, and many (a plurality or a majority) of pupils from the feeder school might attend the secondary school. The same term can be applied to a senior school that sends a high proportion of pupils to specific universities.

Free school

As a type of academy, free schools are state-funded schools that tend to have more freedom over what they teach and how they administer their schools. They are funded by the government but are not run by the local authority and can set their own curriculum. They are non-selective, and they can set their own pay and conditions for staff, as well as changing the length of school terms and the school day. They were introduced in 2010. All new academies established in the UK are now called free schools.

Games

Often used in independent schools as a synonym for school sports/physical education.

GCSE/IGCSE

The General Certificate of Secondary Education is the standard academic qualification nearly always taken at the end of Year 11 (aged 15 or 16) by nearly all pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (state schools in Scotland take a qualification called the SQC, the Scottish Qualifications Certificate, instead). Pupils usually take around ten GCSEs in different subjects and begin studying for them for two or three years, either at the beginning of Year 9 or Year 10. In England, these are graded from 1-9, where 9 is the highest grade possible and 1 the lowest.

An alternative to the GCSE called the International GCSE, or IGCSE, is also offered by many schools. It is similar in scope to traditional GCSEs, but some independent schools began to offer it in the 2010s, when it was perceived to be more academically rigorous. It is not uncommon for pupils at these schools to take a mix of GCSEs and IGCSEs.

Grammar school

A grammar school is a free-to-attend, state-funded school that is academically selective. These schools are often extremely competitive to attend, because they are often regarded as more academically rigorous than many comprehensives despite also being free. In the 1960s, most grammar schools were abolished, either becoming comprehensives or independent schools. There are now 169 grammar schools in England, and 63 in Northern Ireland; along with comprehensive schools and independent (private) schools, they are comprise the three most common types of secondary schools in the UK by a long distance.

House

An organisational affiliation for school pupils that spans different years, usually headed by a housemaster or housemistress. Houses are often the organising principle on which pastoral care and safeguarding are delivered, as well as the basis for sporting competition and other non-academic activities at many schools. At boarding schools, the house is where boarders sleep and live outside of school hours; some boarding schools have day- and/or boarding-only houses.

Housemaster/Housemistress

The teacher in charge of running a school house. They usually teach lessons, too, including to children not in their house.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate or the IB, is an alternative examination system to British

A-Levels which was founded in 1968 and is offered around the world. Many schools with an international focus offer the IB. The programme necessarily has a stronger emphasis placed on well-rounded education, because pupils must take six subjects chosen from different groups. Usually, these are English, Maths, a science, a humanity or social science, a modern language and an arts subject.

Independent school

A school, often selective but not always, that charges fees for a pupil to attend; a private school.

Infant school

A school that teaches pupils from ages 4 or 5 to 7 (Reception and Years 1 and 2), directly following nursery. Often, an infant school will be combined in the same building as a junior school, and together they make up a primary school, which teaches primary education (from ages 5 to 11).

Junior school

A school that teaches pupils from ages 7 or 8 to 11 (Years 3, 4, 5 and 6), directly preceding secondary school. Often, a junior school will be combined in the same building as an infant school, and together they make up a primary school, which teaches primary education (from ages 5 to 11).

Lent Term

A common name at independent schools for the second of the three terms that comprise the school year, falling between Christmas and Easter. It derives its name from the second term at the University of Cambridge.

Matron

The non-academic member of staff responsible for the welfare, wellbeing and safeguarding of children at a boarding school. Many schools have a matron per boarding house.

Michaelmas Term

A common name at independent schools for the first of the three terms that comprise the school year, falling between the summer and Christmas. It derives its name from the first terms at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Mixed

A school that accepts both boys and girls; a co-educational school.

Mufty

Slang for non-uniform occasions. A “mufti day” is a day at school where pupils can wear their own clothes to lessons.

Non-verbal reasoning

A type of aptitude test assessed at pre-tests and in the 11+ to judge a candidate’s ability to solve problems using shapes and diagrams.

Pre-prep

A school which typically takes children from age 3 or 4 and educates them until they move to a prep school at age 7 or 8 (Year 3 or 4). Many, if not most pre-preps are associated with specific prep schools, and there is often a guaranteed transition between the two for pupils.

Pre-test

Pre-tests are a type of exam undertaken by children applying to independent schools at 13+ (aged 12 or 13). Typically taken when a child is 10 or 11 (in Year 6), they are used by schools to decide which candidates should be invited to continue with their application, and are often useful in providing an early indication of a child’s ability, ensuring they are unlikely to fail to gain entry to a school at 13 and therefore forced to look for a new school at short notice. Some pre-tests are common to several schools; the most common is

the ISEB

Common Pre-Test, which is used by about 75 different schools. However, some schools set their own, internal pre-test. The test may be accompanied by an interview.

Prep

A slang term for homework at independent schools. Some schools have “prep time”, a compulsory period often at the end of the day when pupils can do their prep in the classroom while supervised by a teacher before going home.

Prep school

Short for “preparatory school”, a school which caters for pupils up to the age of 12 or 13 (the end of Year 8), when they will leave to attend a secondary school.

Private school

A school, often selective but not always, that charges fees for a pupil to attend; an independent school.

Public school

A small group of the oldest private schools in the UK, considered by some the most historically prestigious. Although the term is often used interchangeably with the term “private school”, public schools were first formally defined in the Public Schools Act of 1868. There were nine, all for boys over 13 years old: Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow, St Paul’s, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse and Merchant Taylors’. Since then, other definitions have been offered.

Reception

The first year of infant school, following nursery, for children aged 4 or 5. Though most children attend reception, it is not a compulsory year in the UK (and there is no such year in Scotland, which has a different system).

Registrar

The non-academic member of staff at a school responsible for overseeing admissions.

Remove

A name for a school year. Originating at Westminster School where it referred to the final year (Year 13), it was adopted by many other schools and there is now no single specific academic year it refers to; it differs from school to school.

Scholarship/Scholar

A scholarship is a means of recognising a pupil’s excellence in a field, either in the form of a reduction in school fees or a financial grant, or in a symbolic way. Some scholarships have different benefits (a music scholarship, for example, might entitle its holder to free music lessons). Pupils who attain scholarships are called scholars.

Secondary school

A school for pupils aged 11 or 13 and older; a senior school. More typically used when describing a state school than an independent school.

Selective

Any school which uses a test, academic or otherwise, to decide whether to admit a child as a pupil or not.

SEN

An acronym for “special educational needs”. Many schools now have dedicated departments and professionals who focus on helping pupils who require extra care or attention in areas including communication, speech and language, physical and sensory difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties or thinking, understanding and learning.

Senior school

A school for pupils aged 11 or 13 and older; a secondary school. More typically used when describing an independent school than a state school.

Shell

A name for a school year or years. Like the Remove, it originated at Westminster School, where pupils of a certain age group were taught in a shell-shaped apse, and the Lower Shell and Upper Shell are now the school’s names for the two GCSE years. However, at other schools, the Shell might refer to a different age group.

Sixth form

The final two years of school, from 16 to 18, in which a pupil will usually study A- Levels or the IB. Generally divided into Lower Sixth (Year 12) and Upper Sixth (Year 13).

State school

Any school that receives its funding from the UK Government. The vast majority of schools in the UK are state schools. There are about 24,000 of them, and 93% of British pupils attend one between the ages of 3 and 18.

Trinity Term

A common name at independent schools for the third of the three terms that comprise the school year, falling between Easter and the summer. It derives its name from the third terms at the University of Oxford.

Tuck

Slang for snacks and treats, especially at independent boarding schools. Many of these schools might have a tuck shop where pupils can buy tuck.

Undermaster

A senior teacher subordinate to the headmaster or mistress of a school, often responsible for enforcing discipline within the school.

Verbal reasoning

A type of aptitude test assessed at pre-tests and in the 11+ to judge a candidate’s ability to solve problems using words and letters.

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