<HTML>Don Holeman wrote:
[snip]
> I would like to ask you top explain to me the British
> educational system,
On a single sheet of A4, or will the back of an envelope do? [g] Actually, it is clear that neither the Secretary of State for Education nor the Quality and Curriculum Authority actually understands it! I don't think anyone does.
> as I have no idea what a sixth form
> student is.
Equivalent of US 11th grade (Lower 6th) or 12th grade (Upper 6th). The 'form' refers to the classes ('grades' to our colonial cousins) in secondary school. The first year of secondary school used to be called 'first form' (still is in many public ('private' to our cc's – nice source of transatlantic confusion, that one [g]) schools) which is equivalent to US 7th grade.
However, different counties had different schooling systems and hence differing class (grade) numbering systems (e.g. this county, Dorset, still has 'middle schools', which overlaps the US 'junior high' but has a lower median age). The state (cc: 'public') schools have unified their class numbering systems but, just to be confusing, our numbering system is one year ahead of the US one, so a 'year 6 pupil' here would be called a '5th grade student' in the US. So a common progression will be from 'year 11' to 'lower 6th'.
HTH</HTML>
