1. General Terms

Academic

Academic study refers to subjects that are taught within the education system. Being academic and being intelligent are very different; being academic means you are good at subjects within the education system, and does not determine your intelligence.

Academic year

For school education and most undergraduate degrees, the academic year starts in September and finishes in July. The exact dates are determined by the school or university.

Exam

A way of assessing and grading work that involves a student answering questions often in the form of a short answer or an essay, in timed conditions where no discussion between students and/or staff is allowed.

Minimum Entry Requirements

Qualifications or experiences that you must have to be able to study on a course. They are specific to each course. They might be in terms of qualifications (e.g. GCSE Grade 7 in Maths) or in terms of experiences (e.g. having worked with children before).

Occupation/Career/ Job

Being employed and (usually) paid for the work you do. This often comes after finishing education, but can happen at the same time.

Term

Sections that the school or university year is divided into. The dates and number of terms depends on the school, college, or university.

Qualification

A record of achievement showing you have completed or passed your course, programme, training or assessment. This means you now have evidence that you have achieved at this level.

Vocational

Learning skills that are relevant for work (like food safety, massage therapy or personal training) in a practical way.