What does schooling look like where you live?
The UK is really four school systems, and within England, selection varies from one authority to the next. Enter your postcode to get a plain-English briefing for your area. It gives you the lay of the land, not a directory of individual schools.
Which local authorities still have grammar schools, and the 11+ test each uses.
See what applies to you
Enter your postcode to find your nation's school system, whether your area has grammar schools, the nearest selective areas, and local clubs.
Or click any marker on the map to learn about it.
How the systems differ across the UK
Curriculum, exams and selection are set separately in each nation. Here is the short version.
England
Key Stages, SATs, GCSEs and A-levels, mostly comprehensive with pockets of selection.
- Curriculum
- National Curriculum, organised into Key Stages 1 to 5.
- Key exams
- SATs (Years 2 and 6), GCSEs at 16, then A-levels or T-levels at 18.
- Selection
- Most areas are fully comprehensive, but 36 local authorities keep grammar schools with academic selection at 11+.
Scotland
A separate system: Curriculum for Excellence, Nationals and Highers, no grammar schools.
- Curriculum
- Curriculum for Excellence (Broad General Education, then the Senior Phase).
- Key exams
- National 4 and 5 around 15 to 16, Highers at 17, Advanced Highers at 18.
- Selection
- Fully comprehensive. There is no academic selection and no 11+, children move to secondary at around age 12.
Wales
Curriculum for Wales, GCSEs and A-levels, with Welsh-medium options and no selection.
- Curriculum
- Curriculum for Wales, with progression steps rather than Key Stages.
- Key exams
- GCSEs (largely WJEC) at 16, then A-levels at 18. The Welsh Baccalaureate runs alongside.
- Selection
- Fully comprehensive with no grammar schools and no 11+. Many families choose Welsh-medium schools.
Northern Ireland
Comprehensive by law, but widespread academic selection for grammar schools at 11.
- Curriculum
- Northern Ireland Curriculum, with Key Stages similar to England.
- Key exams
- GCSEs at 16 and A-levels at 18, plus unofficial transfer tests at 11 for grammar entry.
- Selection
- Roughly half of pupils attend grammar schools. Entry is by unofficial transfer tests (AQE, and previously GL) taken at age 11.
Turn your area's system into a plan
Get the free year-by-year planner for your child's stage, with the applications, deadlines and at-home preparation that matter where you live.