British children begin their education at the age of five and must attend school to the age of sixteen. Some go to nursery schools from the age of three to five. There are state schools and private schools in Britain. The majority of British children (94%) are educated in state schools which are free of charge.
The educational system in England has changed in recent decades and therefore there are several different systems nowadays. Many children start at primary schools at the age of five, then they go to middle school at the age of eight and when they are nearly thirteen they start to attend comprehensive secondary schools. They offer general education which ends at the age of sixteen. At that time most of the pupils take some form of public examination on around seven subjects.