Education majors can experience a unique six to fourteen-week student teaching assignment in public or private schools. Anglo American currently places and supervises qualified students in carefully screened London elementary and secondary schools. All schools accepting student teachers are within Zones 1 to 4 of the London Transportation System, although the majority are in zones one and two. Placements are available for, amongst others, elementary, secondary, special education and physical education majors. Anglo American will also provide accommodations. Anglo American will be responsible for: Identifying and securing appropriate placement Conducting an orientation session related to British education and the city of London Providing professional supervision (2-4 visits depending on length of stay) Conducting a mid-program seminar Distributing and collecting evaluation forms Hosting a student seminar at the competition of the program Submitting to the home campus a final assessment of the student teacher's performance Student teacher candidates must: Have a 2.75 GPA Submit an application, resume and letter of introduction Submit a written approval from home college or university Adhere to the assigned school's academic calendar Assume financial responsibility for airfare, accommodations, meals, local transportation and personal expenses Pay an administrative fee

All teaching placement will also be directly under the auspices of Anglo American Educational Services. Anglo American have a dedicated Student Teacher Co-ordinator who is on-hand throughout your stay should students have any problems.

Information on the British Education System
The British Educational System is very different to the one in the States. You will find that your placement here is a lot less structured that in your home state. British schools are governed by a system called the National Curriculum, which demands that a school covers a certain syllabus over a set length of time. Therefore, there is little room for manoeuvre. Teachers will plan their lessons months in advance and spend a set amount of time on each activity. There are a number of differences within the classroom as well. Some students have found it shocking that the children all change together for P.E. Others have commented on the difference in discipline, and how it differs from the system in the States. It may help for you to look at some of the following websites;

www.dfse.gov.uk
www.teachernet.gov.uk
www.standards.gov.uk
www.nc.uk.net
www.completeteacher.co.uk
www.schoolzone.co.uk
www.cricksoft.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/default.stm

As a summary, British Education is divided up into different categories.  

Primary Education starts at the age of 5, although you may find that some children start school a little earlier than this.   Compulsory schooling starts at the beginning of the school term after the child's 5 th birthday. From the ages of 5 to 7 a child will attend Infants school, which incorporates Key Stage One. At the age of 7, through 11 is Junior school, which covers Key Stage Two. Infants and Junior schools are normally combined, often on the same site, but in different buildings.

After leaving Junior School students go onto Secondary Education, which is where they begin to take classes in specific subjects. At the beginning, in Key Stage Three, students cover all subjects, and then at the age of 14 start Key Stage Four where they chose their "options" which is where they begin to look at areas in which they might want to specialise.