Education in Birmingham

This article is about education in Birmingham, England.

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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 Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls 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.

Private schools

. King Edwards Birmingham is widely recognised as one of the best schools in the UK, achieving very high A-Level and GCSE results.

Academies

Seven schools in Birmingham are to become academies in an attempt to improve the learning experience. As of July 2007, five schools have signed deals with sponsors and education charities. Ark and Edutrust invested £4m and are to run two academies each. Richardsons Capital LLP will run the other academy. A further two more schools were in need of sponsors. Ark are to run St Alban's CE Academy and Harborne Hill, whilst Edutrust will run Heartlands High and Shenley Court. Kings Norton High will be run by Richardsons Capital. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6753131.stm] College High School will be run in partnership with Edutrust and Aston Villa F.C.

Further and Higher Education

Birmingham has many educational institutes offering further and higher education

Colleges

Birmingham has several higher education and further education are offered by a number of colleges funded primarily by the Learning and Skills Council.

City College, Josiah Mason College, Cadbury College, Queen Alexandra College, Matthew Boulton College, Bournville 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.

Universities

Birmingham is home to three universities; the University of Birmingham (founded 1900), Aston University (founded 1966), and Birmingham City University (formerly Birmingham Polytechnic, raised to university status in 1992). It also has two university colleges: Newman University College, [cite web|url=http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_headline=city-college-wins-right-to-grant-degrees%26method=full%26objectid=19750162%26siteid=50002-name_page.html |author=Naqvi, Shahid|title=City college wins right to grant degrees|publisher=Birmingham Post|date=September 7 2007] which specialises in teacher training, and University College Birmingham. [cite web|url=http://www.bcftcs.ac.uk/asp/UCB-faq.asp|title=A New Year and a new name for the College.|accessdate=2008-01-07|publisher=University College Birmingham] Both of these also receive funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Acting, both now part of BCU, offer higher education in specific arts subjects. The conservatoire planning to move from their current location in Adrian Boult Hall to a site in the Eastside.

Arts education

, is the conservatoire's president.

The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), another faculty of BCU, 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 BCU was announced [http://www.uce.ac.uk/web2/releases05/3785.html] .

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.

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.

ee also

*List of schools in Birmingham

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/uk_systems/93605.stm BBC News - Funding and management of schools in England]
* [http://www.bgfl.org/services/admissions/which.htm Birmingham City Council - Which school?]
* [http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2004/04_48/outputWM.pdf Higher Education Funding Council for England - West Midlands Regional Profile]
* [http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/home.htm Birmingham Institute of Art & Design]
* [http://www.bgfl.org/services/baes/default.htm Birmingham Adult Education Service]
* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=1858&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=5255 Birmingham City Council - About Birmingham Libraries]

References