A-Level
A-Levels are the exams typically taken at the end of year 13 (age 18 for most), they are comprised of two parts: AS-Level (year 12 and a qualification in itself) and A2 level (year 13), there is no general standard that employers or universities look for as each one has different requirements. There are no nationwide mandatory subjects but each college may have its own e.g. at mine General Studies was mandatory.
ELA
English Language Assistant - it is not really relevant to this blog but is included here for completion, it is a native English speaker who works in a foreign school.
GCSE
Of course, any British people reading this blog will know what these are, but for those outside the UK, this stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education. They are the standard highschool leaving exams, the grades that most aim for and that many employers and colleges want is 5 grades between A* and C - two of which are to be maths and English language, as such, these two subjects are mandatory, possibly along with others depending on the school you attend e.g. at my school, ICT, science and a language were also mandatory. They are typically taken in year 11 (age 16 for most) but accelerated pupils can take them in year 10 or even year 9.
Key Stage
Key stages are the main 'sections', if you will, of the English education system, there are 5 in total:
KS1 - years Reception to 2 (ages 4 to 7)
KS2 - years 3 to 6 (ages 7 to 11)
KS3 - years 7 to 9 (ages 11 to 14)
KS4 (or GCSE) - years 10 to 11 (ages 14 to 16)
KS5 (or sixth form) - years 12 to 13 (ages 16 to 18)
MFL
Modern Foreign Languages - I have never quite understood the need to call them modern - they've been around for centuries, but there you go.NQT
The first year working in a school after achieving QTS I will be known as an NQT, or Newly Qualified Teacher.
Pedagogical
This words basically encompasses all learning about teaching methods and how to manage a classroom, a child's behaviour, or even a school. I had never actually heard of this word until I was in Catalunya and was asked to give a presentation at the 'Dies Pedagògiques d'Amposta', when I asked what pedagògica meant no-one could really explain it except to tell me that in English it means pedagogical, leaving me still a little bit lost!PgCE
Stands for Postgraduate Certificate of Education, while there are teaching degrees available at Bachelor's and Master's level that run for 3 or 4 years, the PgCE requires you to already have a Bachelor's or Master's in, well, any subject (hence the 'Postgraduate') and it runs for one year. It counts for a third of a Master's degree itself (which I believe is 60 credits.)
QTS
This stands for Qualified Teacher Status which I will achieve at the end of this PgCE, and entitles me to teach any subject that isn't swimming in any secondary school in the EU.
SATs
Standard Attainment Tests, and upon researching what this actually stood for I have discovered that their name has changed to NCTs - National Curriculum Tests, they are run at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 and offer different levels:
Key Stage 1
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Key Stage 2
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Level 1
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Poor
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Level 2
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Pass
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Level 3
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Good
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Poor
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Level 4
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Exceptional
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Pass
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Level 5
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Good
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Level 6
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Exceptional
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They also used to run at the end of Key Stage 3, offering levels 5 to 8, however that has been phased out.
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