Education System in the UK

It is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) and 16 to receive full-time education:

• In a state school, which is free of charge; or

• In an independent school (also known as a private school), which normally charges a fee; or at home.

UK’s Basic Education System

Similar to the old system in Hong Kong, the UK basic education system is split into three phases: six years of primary school (Year 1-6), five years of secondary school (Year 7-11) and two years of A-Level programme (Year 12-13).

Primary education is from the age of 5 to 11. There are two stages: Key Stage 1 (Age 5-6) and Key Stage 2 (Age 7-10).

The five-year secondary education starts from the age of 11, again in two stages: 3 years of Key Stage 3 (Year 7 to Year 9) followed by 2 years of Key Stage 4 (Year 10 to Year 11).  Students at stage 4 will be preparing for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).

Upon the completion of GCSE, students who are aged 16 or above can enrol in the 2-year A-Level programme and take up 3-4 subjects to prepare for university entrance exam.

State Schools

State schools receive funding through their local authority or directly from the government. The most common ones are:

Community schools, which are sometimes called local authority maintained schools - they are not influenced by business or religious groups and follow the national curriculum.

Foundation schools and Voluntary schools, which are funded by the local authority but have more freedom to change the way they do things - sometimes they are supported by representatives from religious groups.

Academies and Free schools, which are run by not-for-profit academy trusts, are independent from the local authority - they have more freedom to change how they run things and can follow a different curriculum.

Grammar schools, which can be run by the local authority, a foundation body or an academy trust - they select their pupils based on academic ability and there is an admission test. 

BNO Visa Holders’ Rights to Study

Dependent children of BNO visa holders are entitled to be educated in a state school. Application can begin before moving to the UK, but the school place would only be allocated after arrival.

The co-ordinated admissions process

The co-ordinated admissions process is designed for children who are going to attend Year 1 and Year 7. Year 1 admissions are for children going to be 4 years old before the coming September, and Year 7 are for those going to be 11 years old before the coming September. The process is managed by local authorities. The application procedure is as follows:

Step 1: Check the choices for primary or secondary schools

Primary and secondary schools are classified by areas. The schools will be listed on the website of the respective local authorities. Find your relevant local authority’s web page and click “School admissions”.

Step 2: Gather school information

Use official websites such as Compare Schools in England or Locrating to get the Ofsted report, academic results of students, and number of staff, etc., of the schools in your area.

You can find out more by: 

• Checking the school’s current and past admission requirements

• Attending the school’s Open Day and visiting the school in person

• Checking any curriculum and activities 

• Arranging a meeting with the principal

Step 3: Choose a school

Admission requirements are different for each school.  General considerations are:

• Distance between home and school

• Whether there are siblings in the school already

• For religious schools: having the same religion

• For grammar schools: the entrance exam result

• The primary school the child went to 

• Whether a parent has worked in the school for more than two years

Local authorities and the respective school would provide more detailed admission requirements upon enquiry.

Step 4: Submit an application form for a school place

You can list at least 3 schools in your local or other areas in the order of your preference.  In general, the closer to your home a school is, the better is the chance of being offered a place there.

Application forms can be submitted on the local authority’s website. The deadline for every academic year is:

• Primary school: 15 January 

• Secondary school: 31 October

Step 5: Confirm the school place.

Local authorities will allocate the school places according to the choices submitted. If places in the first choice are full, the student will be allocated the next choices until a place is available.

Results will be announced:

• For primary school places: 16 April

• For secondary school places: 1 March

The central allocation will be open until 31 August to allow those who submitted the form late or did not get the first choice to apply in person at schools which still have available places.

“In-year” admissions

Students over the admission age of Year 1 or Year 7 can go for “in-year” admissions. The in-year admission, according to the UK government, means:

• An application after the start of the school year (for Year 1 and Year 7)

• An application for any other year group at any time.

Although some schools will have places available throughout the year, your choice of school is likely to be limited by the fact that some of the most popular schools will have already been full when you are applying for an in-year place. 

You may obtain information regarding space availability from your local authority, and apply through it. You may also apply directly to the school of your choice. Since every school has different arrangements for in-year places, the best is to approach the specific school directly.

Eligibility for home fee status for Higher Education in England

Based on an article from the House of Commons Library of the UK Parliament website (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/eligibility-for-home-fee-status-and-student-support-in-england/) , the eligibility is:

“Generally, individuals must be resident and ‘settled’ in the UK on ‘the first day of the first academic year’ of their course to be eligible for home student status. With some exceptions, they must also have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for the three years before that date. The three-year residency rule applies to UK nationals who have been living abroad.” (see source website for exceptions).

According the website, “Being settled” and “Being ordinarily resident” can be defined as below:

“A settled person is someone ordinarily resident in the UK without any immigration restriction on the length of their stay. The regulations take this definition from immigration law (section 33(2A) of the Immigration Act 1971). Students with right of abode in the UK or indefinite leave to remain will meet the criteria.”

“A person is ordinarily resident if they normally and lawfully live in an area from choice. Temporary absences, including for work, are permitted.”

“In reaching a judgement about whether a student fulfils the ordinarily resident criteria, assessors rely on case law from UK courts and tribunals.”

If the student has been granted ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) status AND normally and lawfully live in England for 3 years before the first day of the academic year of the course, the student can apply home fee status with the respective higher education providers. Please note that higher education providers follow regulations produced by the Department for Education but may also exercise some discretion when making decisions on fee status.

This is just a general introduction of the eligibility. If you have any questions, please visit the government website or talk to the respective higher education provider.

In addition, based on statement made on 25 January 2024 by Robert Halfon to the UK Parliament, students gaining settled status part-way through their course will qualify for student support and home-fee status for the remainder of their course. Full statement can be found at the UK Parliament website.