For those of you who left school quite some time ago a lot of the terminology for the English education system must seem fairly strange. So over the next few week, we at Supa Swap thought we would explain some of the more popular terms.

This week we thought we would loom at class/form names.

Originally class names started at 1 and went through till 6 or the 6th Form as it became known. Recently you will hear phrases like year 11 and this must be a little confusing.

So lets start at the GCSE year (O Levels as we knew them). What was known as the 5th Form, the year we took the final O Level exam, is now year 11 and all years below that go in numerical order, 4th Form is Year 10, 3rd Form is Year 9 and so on.

Funny enough the 6th Form is still fairly much known as Lower 6th and Upper 6th and not Years 12 and 13, although you will hear people refer to them as that.

There are also groups of Years known as Key Stages and relate to the National Curriculum. Years 7, 8 and 9 are Key stage 3 and the GCSE years, 10 and 11 are Key Stage 4.

Below is a table that should hopefully make sense.

Form	Year	KeyStage
	1	KS1
	2	KS1
	3	KS2
	4	KS2
	5	KS2
	6	KS2
1	7	KS3
2	8	KS3
3	9	KS3
4	10	KS4
5	11	KS4
L6th	12	KS5
U6th	13	KS5

As Supa Swap is a website for the younger generation and parent’s this blog has proved to be very popular for many reasons. Education is an emotive topic at the moment and many have very strong views about the subject. We would welcome any comments you would like to make on the topics featured and also any suggestions you may have on how we can improve the content, this is your blog and we always listen to suggestions from our members and the general public.

Tell us if you had the power how you would structure an education system in your country or maybe you believe it can’t be improved?

 Supa Swap is the first site on the internet where the younger generation can swap, buy and sell items in complete safety. Listing items are free so register now and start to make money from all those unwanted items you have collected over the years, or swap items for new ones.

Before I worked for Supa Swap, I  remember the bemused look on my students face when I used to start an IT lesson (that is information technology in case you didn't know) with the sentence "This is a book and it can be found in the school library".

You may think this is a strange way to start a lesson about technology but it was done to highlight a very important point about online research; sometimes it is not very good.

Anyone can publish anything online. I am a year 10 pupil and I have just written what I consider to be the best essay ever on Henry VIII. In fact I am so pleased with it that I am going to put it up on a webpage for the world to see. Unfortunately what I have not published is the fact that my History teacher hated it and gave me an E grade for it. So my essay sits on the web for all to see with no justification. (what do teachers know anyway).

Justify your Research

Well hopefully you can see my point. Research done online mush be backed up with other research from other mediums like books, which tend to be correct as they have gone through the publishing process. The internet is a wonderful resource that can enhance our education but it is not a quick solution to serious research, otherwise we are in danger of entering a society where our facts become diluted with half truths and misconceptions like a form digital cheese whispers.

One more point for those of you in higher education following a philosophy course. If this article is stating that you can not trust what is on the internet, can you trust this article. If you therefore can not trust this article is it possible that you can trust information on the internet, which means you can trust this article. See if you can get yourself out of that loop of an argument.

News has emerged this week that college dons at Oxford University have been enjoying free lunches at the tax payers expense.

Labour MP David Lammy has hit out at this practice with the current background of tuition fee hikes for students across the county.

University Traditions

Certainly at Supa Swap we are finding it hard to justify this "tradition" at one of the most prestigious universities in the country if not the world.

Oxford have hit back and have stated that none of the lunches are funded by the taxpayer but from the Universities own funds that it uses to cover the costs not covered by its income from the public.

This does beg the question, how big are these private funds, where are they from and why have they not been taken into account when deciding to increase student tuition fees?

As we have just passed the time of year that is predominantly for children. Well ok some of us are still big kids and love Christmas but putting that to one side, we thought at Supa Swap we would look at something all to evident by its absence at this time of year, manners.

The recent economic changes may have pulled back our spending habits over the last year but we are still at hear a materialistic society. "I want" is an all to familiar cry from youngsters today.

Ok, so Christmas is after all in reality a Christian festival, celebrating the birth of Christ. Let´s just gloss over that the date is almost certainly wrong and the overtones of pagan symbolism we actually see as part of our celebrations. So what is wrong with expecting a little bit of good behaviour from our children in this time of goodwill to all men.

Writing a Thank You Letter

Firstly, I remember being sat down by my parents and being made to write thank you letters to everyone who sent me a present. How many of you can say you got one of those this year. An elderly relative who sees her pension going less and less further, i suspect would be overjoyed to receive such a letter for the present he or she saved to buy. Oh and I do not mean an email, pen to paper.

Relatives visit at Christmas and it would seem only polite for all the family to be present, not disappearing off to the bedroom because Aunty Mildred smell funny.

Of course the best way, I believe to install good manners in children is to lead by example. Children are great mimics and they will happily copy bad behaviour and use it as justification for their own transgressions.

So as the school holidays come to an end, maybe there is something children can learn while way from the classroom.

Revolting Students?

As a follow up to our story on student tuition fees, Supa Swap would like to report that today in the UK there will be the largest demonstration about recent government cutbacks.

This demonstration is being organised by The National Union of Students and it is expected that thousands of students will take part.

How Can They Afford the Cost?

The fees are set to rise to a limit of £9,000 from their current level. Currently students leave university with debts of other £25,000, after these changes it is estimated that these debts will be in excess of £40,000. The government have stated that they believe that these fees are totally acceptable when you take into account the average income of a graduate, however student leaders have been at pains to point out that students are currently leaving university and joining one of the most bleak employment markets that have been around for some years.

I also believe that the government has also not taken into account that graduates do not go into jobs on the top salaries and it may take them some years before they reach the wages government ministers are so keen to quote.

Universities are  fast becoming a place to go if you can afford to, not if you have the intellectual ability to. Surely this defeats their objective.

New Government Policy

This week the UK government announced a change to their policy on University fees by the removal of the cap. This means that universities could now be charging up to £12,000 a year to their students.

Now when I went to University, and no it was not that long ago, tuition fees were free, and you did not have to get a student loan to survive. Admittedly the grant I received was not huge, but I had a part time job and managed to get by. However the most important point was that I left university with my bank accounts in the black.

As you go through life there are so many things that will cause you debt, marriage, buying a car, having children, buying a house etc. Theses items alone cause enough stress without starting your working life with a debt from your education.

British Universities, The Best in the World?

We pride ourselves on our university system, and it is still held in high regard all over the world but this new charging system does pose a threat.

When we buy a car we way up a number of things, style, economy, looks, functionality and price. However I am not sure I am comfortable with a student looking at courses choosing a course, not because it is the best course, but because it is cheaper. Nor do I feel comfortable with universities entering into a price war like a supermarket.

Some things must, and should be above market forces and education, along with heath, should be one of them. I feel very desperate for the students of today. I wish them all the best.

New Words?

Following on from the Oxford English Dictionaries new entries earlier this year we now have the entries in the Collins English Dictionaries.

Twitter has had an effect this year with the inclusion of the word "tweetheart", someone who is liked by another twitter user and "tweet tooth" which is a strong desire to send a tweet.

Gordon Brown´s recent gaff in the general election where he was hear calling Gillian Duffy a bigot with the term "bigotgate" following on from all those other "gates" we have had since Watergate.

Other events from the general election have also had their effect with the the terms "Clegmania" and "Con-Lib" making an appearance.

Are We Brain Washed by Advertising?

However the biggest surprise for me is the effect television has had on the new additions. "BGT" gets a listing being the acronym for Britain s Got Talent and the word first uttered by Alexander the Meercat "Simples", although the little squeak that follows is not included

One wonders how long it will be before the word Supa Swap is added.

Supa Swap realises that today we live in a regulated world. You have been informed that the school your child goes to is going to be inspected. Is this because there is something wrong?The short answer to this is probably not. There can be many reasons for a school to be inspected.

Who Carries out the Inspection?

School inspections are carried out by independent bodies and the main purpose is to check that schools are maintaining standards and are fulfilling their obligations. These inspections are carried out over regular intervals. The inspectors are usually teachers from other schools or recently retired teachers.

The school will be inspected for teaching practices and its support mechanisms. On the teaching side lessons will be observed and lesson plans looked at.

Is it Tough for Schools?

For a school an inspection can be very onerous. It can be thought that an inspection actually causes too much disruption to the school as they usually take many weeks in preparation. However inspections can insure that the correct procedures are put in place to make sure that your child is taught to the highest standards and are safe.

Inspection reports are made public and the inspecting body as well as the school will publish the information. The reports usually come in both full and condensed versions.

For more information about inspections, have a look at the Ofsted website http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/

 

What is Value for Money?

If you are going to pay for private education in the UK you then have a very large choice of schools to pick from unlike the limited choice dependent on catchment area in the state sector. However this does give you the problem of which one to choose.Before we carry on let me just clear up one thing for those of you from America. In the UK private schools are often referred to as public school, especially the schools that have a very good reputation.

When you are looking at schools, remember you are the customer so shop around. The first choice is what type of student your child will be, a day pupil, and weekly boarder or a full boarder. Obviously if you are looking at your child being a day pupil you can only look at schools within a certain distance from your house but if you are looking at boarding you have the choice of all schools.

You can find lists of schools and advice on the Independent Schools Council website www. isc.co.uk.

What is the Cost

Price is going to be another important factor and most schools will have their fees displayed either on their website or on their prospectuses. A lot of schools have bursaries and grants available and it is worth checking what may be available. Private schools are not cheap.

So you have picked the geographical area and the schools that fall into your price bracket. The next step is to look at their websites and prospectuses. Private schools are businesses and these are marketing tools for them and so they should be highly professional documents that give you a general feel of what the school can offer.

Here are the Supa Swap suggestions of other things to look out for:

1. Exam results (although in my opinion these are not the most important aspect as some schools have a selective entry and so will have better results because of this)

2. Press releases

3. Extra curricular facilities, especially in sport and music.

4. Is there an entrance exam

If you know of anyone who has children at the school, talk to them. Personally recommendation is probably the best gauge of a good school.

Finally and most importantly, make an appointment to visit. have a tour of the school meet the Head Teacher and get a feel for the school. Ask difficult questions, what are their discipline policies, how does the school deal with bullying, what career support is given.

Remember you are the customer, there is plenty of choice in the market. Shop around and make sure you are 100% satisfied.