In the Formal vs Informal Education thread, there has been mention of different qualifications and I am curious to know how the system works in different countries.

I am out of date but in my time in the uk, you started your secondary education as a first former and in the fifth year, you took either O levels or CSEs, (O levels being the higher) and that was basically the end of your compulsory education - I'd guess at around 16 yrs old.

If you did well enough at these, you could to do further education and do A levels (or other courses like national diplomas) which specialised a little more and you typically took 3 and this lasted a further 2 years.

After this you could go on to Higher Education and choose and take a degree (or slightly lower - a Higher National Diploma) which typically lasted 3 years before you gained you BA, BSc or what ever. From then on I think it was another year for a Masters degree and I don't know from there on.

The HNC (Higher National Certificate) I mentioned in the other thread was a course originally designed for people on day release from their place of work, took 2 years to gain and is about the equivilant of the first year of a degree. This course is also now offered as a 9 month (or less) intensive course for people like myself who have been out of work for a while to gain a qualification meaningful to employers.

How does this all compare to other counties and how far out of touch am I with the UK?

Jon