For the purposes of UKStudy.com, an international student is someone whose first language is not English, and who wants to study English in the United Kingdom. We regret that we will not be able to help English-speaking students from North America or any other country where English is spoken as a first language. Education in England is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Familiesand the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, though the day to day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of Local Authorities (previously named Local Education Authorities Universal state education in England and Wales was introduced for primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900.Education is mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. Despite a fall in actual numbers, the proportion of children in England attending private schools has risen to over 7%. Just over half of students at the leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended state schools. State schools which are allowed to select pupils according to intelligence and academic ability can achieve comparable results to the most selective private schools: out of the top ten performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 two were state-run grammar schools. England has some of the top universities in the world; University of Cambridge, University of Oxford,Imperial College London and University College London are ranked in the global top 10 in the 2008THES - QS World University Rankings. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) rated pupils in England 7th in the world for Maths, and 6th for Science. The results put England's pupils ahead of other European countries, including Germany and Scandinaviancountries.SOURCES: /www.ukstudy.com/
