Education in Birmingham
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This article is about education in Birmingham, England.
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[edit] Schools
[edit] State schools
As in the rest of England and Wales, education is compulsory in Birmingham between the ages of 5 and 16. The majority of children are educated in state schools which follow the National Curriculum. These are divided into primary schools for children from Reception to Year 6 (5 to 11) and secondary schools for children from Year 7 to Year 11 (11 to 16). Most secondary schools in Birmingham also have a sixth form (Years 12 and 13), but sixth form education is also provided in a number of sixth form colleges and further education colleges.
Most of Birmingham's state schools are community schools run directly by Birmingham City Council in its role as local education authority (LEA). However, there are a large number of voluntary aided schools within the state system, primarily Roman Catholic schools, but also schools whose religious basis is Anglican, Jewish and Islamic and schools which are non-denominational. In addition, there are a number of foundation schools in Birmingham (which were formerly grant maintained schools) which enjoy greater independence from the LEA than community schools.
Most state secondary schools in Birmingham are comprehensive, but a number of historic grammar schools, among them Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Handsworth Grammar School and the grammar schools of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, survived the policy of moving to a comprehensive system in the 1960s and 1970s - mostly due to the historical accident of their exact legal relationship with the LEA.
See also: Moseley School
[edit] Private schools
A minority of Birmingham's children attend private schools which range from small institutions to historic schools of national prestige such as King Edward's School in Edgbaston.
[edit] Further and higher education
Birmingham has three universities: The University of Birmingham founded in 1900, Aston University founded in 1966, and The University of Central England (UCE), the former Birmingham Polytechnic, which was raised to university status in 1992. There are also two higher education colleges, Newman College of Higher Education (which specialises in teacher training) and Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies which also receive funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Both higher education and further education are offered by a number of colleges funded primarily by the Learning and Skills Council, amongst them City College, Birmingham, Josiah Mason College,Cadbury College, Queen Alexandra College, Matthew Boulton College, South Birmingham College, and Sutton Coldfield College. Other further education colleges do not offer higher educational courses but do provide a range of vocational and academic teaching to full-time and part-time students.
[edit] Arts education
UCE in particular has a significant role in education in the arts in Birmingham. The Birmingham Conservatoire, now part of UCE, was formed as the Birmingham School of Music in 1859 and formerly constituted in 1886. It is one of only nine conservatoires in the United Kingdom and the only one which is also a university faculty. The conservatoire has strong links with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra whose former conductor, Simon Rattle, is the conservatoire's president.
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), another faculty of UCE, is one of the largest faculties of art, design and media education in the United Kingdom. BIAD's School of Jewellery in the Jewellery Quarter highlights the importance of jewellery manufacture in the city.
Birmingham School of Acting, founded in 1936 is one of the United Kingdom's leading vocational drama schools, offering higher education courses in drama as well as a range of part time, summer schools and short courses for adults and children. On June 21, 2005, its merger with UCE was announced [1].
Elmhurst School for Dance is the oldest vocational dance school in the United Kingdom and offers dance training and academic education to pupils of secondary school age. The school was originally located in Camberley, Surrey but after becoming an associate school of the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2002 it relocated to Edgbaston in Birmingham in 2004.
[edit] Lifelong Learning
In addition to the numerous institutions which offer education primarily to full-time students and to those pursuing vocational development, there are a wide number of courses aimed primarily at part-time and recreational learners. The city council's Birmingham Adult Educational Service (BAES) offers around 4000 different courses each year at around 70 different centres in diverse subjects such as foreign languages, information technology, mathematics, literacy and various types of creative arts. Some courses allow the students to achieve qualifications such as GCSEs and A-levels. BAES also provides teaching in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for the many inhabitants of the city who do not speak English as a mother-tongue.
Similar courses are offered by many of the city's further education colleges, and various arts organisations such as the mac offer workshops in the creative arts. Experienced musicians from ground roots enterprises such as Punch Records in The Custard Factory host many 'Urban Workshops' for modern music including street-level DJ mixing tuition and dance.
The city council is also responsible for the provision of libraries throughout the city. There are 41 local libraries in addition to Birmingham Central Library, reputedly one of the largest public libraries in Europe. According to city council figures, Birmingham's library system has over 2.7 million books and receives over 4 million visitors each year.
