In the UK, all children must go to school from age five to age sixteen. They go to primary school for seven years and secondary school for five years.
Primary school may be divided into Infant school (three years) and Junior school (four years). There are different kinds of secondary school, but all pupils follow the same national curriculum that leads to GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) qualifications.
After age 16, British students can choose to leave school, or – if their GCSE results are good enough – they can go on to attend Sixth Form for a further two years. At the end of this time, they sit ‘A’ (Advanced) Level exams to qualify for entry yo college or university.