School Education
School education in the United Kingdom is divided into primary education and secondary education. In England, Scotland and Wales, education is compulsory from age 5 to age 16. In Northern Ireland, education is compulsory from age 4 to age 16.
school education in england,
wales and northern ireland
The education systems of England, Wales and Northern Ireland share a similar structure. Maintained or state (publicly funded) schools offer:
• optional pre-primary/preschool education for children between the ages of 3 and 5
• compulsory primary education from age 5 to age 11 (or ages 4 to 11 in Northern Ireland)
• compulsory secondary education from ages 11 to 16
• optional secondary or further education from ages 16
to 18
Independent (private) schools generally follow a similar structure, but may use the terms “pre-preparatory” to refer to pre-primary/preschool education and “preparatory” to refer to primary education. It is useful to note that the British commonly use the term “public school” to refer to private schools.
The compulsory part of education is divided into four key stages (see Table 2). Key Stage 1 covers the first two years of primary school, when students are normally aged 5 to 7. Key Stage 2, the second and last stage of primary schooling, is for children aged 7 to 11.

Note: There is one additional year of primary education in Northern Ireland where children start school at the age of 4 bringing the number of years of compulsory education to 12.