Secondary education lasts for five to seven years. Students between 12 and 16 years old must attend a secondary school. You must apply for a secondary school place for your child to start year 7 at secondary school. You will need to do this when your child is in Year 6 at primary school.
After three years in secondary school, children are officially assessed by their teachers. Students then need to choose their subjects for the nationwide GCSE exams. GCSEs are mandatory examinations at the end of Year 11, i.e. the students’ fifth year in secondary school.
Students usually have to take tests in English, math, and science and they have to choose classes from the fields of arts, humanities, modern languages, technology, and vocational studies as well.