Types of institutions
There are a number of types of learning institutions the UK. These include:

			Private language schools
			Boarding schools and tutorial colleges
			Further education institutions
			Higher education institutions

Private language schools
These schools specialise in teaching English to international students. Over two hundred and eighty are accredited by the British Council.

Boarding schools and tutorial colleges
These schools and colleges provide education up to the age of eighteen. Boarding schools combine modern teaching methods and up-to-date facilities with traditional values and attractive learning environments. Tutorial colleges provide a bridge between school and university, allowing sixteen to eighteen-year-olds a more independent lifestyle.

Further education institutions
Further education institutions offer a very diverse range of courses for students from the age of sixteen upwards. They are the main providers of career-based courses and have good links with industry. In addition, many further education institutions offer GCSEs, A Levels (or equivalents) and access or foundation courses. Some also offer degree and postgraduate programmes in the areas in which they are particularly strong.

Further education institutions provide many different routes to degree-level study thanks to their extensive links with higher education institutions. For example, you could spend a year at a further education institution taking an access course and then transfer to a partner university for a three-year degree course. Or you might spend two years at a further education institution gaining a career-based qualification and then transfer to a university for the final one or two years of a degree course. The options are numerous and flexible.

Higher educaton institutions
Higher education institutions are centres of high-level teaching and research activity, and most courses at this level lead to a degree or degree-level qualification. The degrees and postgraduate qualifications offered by these institutions are among the most prestigious academic qualifications available. Higher education institutions include universities, higher education colleges and institutes. The first universities were founded some eight hundred years ago, so higher education institutions in the UK draw upon an exceptional depth of educational experience.

Further information
Download our Education Information Sheets or visit our comprehensive Education UK website for detailed information on institutions, courses and other areas of interest.