Specialist school
Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialising in special needs education, which are typically known as special schools. Specialist schools often have admission criteria making them selective schools as well.
In Europe
Specialist schools have been recognised in Europe for a long period of time. In some countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, education specialises when students are relatively young. In Germany, children are 10 when they are enrolled to either an academic school, which is known as a gymnasium, or a vocational school, i.e. a school offering the compulsory lower secondary education, which qualifies for subsequent vocational training. Many other countries in Europe specialise education from the age of 16.Germany
Nazi Germany
The Nazi Regime established new specialist schools with the aim of training the future Nazi Party elite and leaders of Germany:- National Political Institutes of Education – Run in a similar way to military academies, these were boarding schools for boys aged 10–18. They fell under the control of the Schutzstaffel from 1936.
- Adolf Hitler Schools – These were free-to-attend boarding specialist schools for leadership, serving 12–18-year olds. Students were selected for their leadership skills and Aryan likeness.
- Order Castles – These schools trained elite 25–30-year olds who were expected to become future political and military leaders.
Since 1945
In modern Germany, education becomes specialised from the age of 10, with students attending either academic schools, i.e. university-preparatory schools, known as Gymnasien or vocational schools. Vocational schools offer only lower secondary education, a qualification needed for vocational training. However, schools known as Gesamtschulen combine the different tracks and are a third option.
Vocational specialist schools and academies offer vocational training and qualifications.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, many specialist schools exist within the public education system. Education is specialised between vocational and academic schools from the age of 13, however there are many specialist schools in the primary sector of education, with specific types including partnership schools, Dalton schools and brede schools/community schools.Brede schools, also known as extended schools or community schools, combine education with important parental and children's services such as childcare and community health centres, and follow a goal of delivering effective and affectionate education while granting equal opportunities of education to adults, children and teenagers. They may also be an alliance between schools and services rather than one institution. Brede schools do not receive additional funding on a national level, nor is there a centralised model of brede schooling, with funding and policy being decided locally. In Rotterdam for example, brede schools are integrated into the education system. In addition to primary schools, pre-schools and secondary schools can also be brede schools. There are over 1,200 brede schools. In the 1990s, the majority of breed schools were located in areas which were historically deprived, namely those with significant levels of migration.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the term specialist school refers to a school with an emphasis or specialist focus on a certain field or area of the curriculum, with these specialised areas being called specialisms. British specialist schools intend to act as centres of excellence in their specialism. Specialist schools have been present in the primary, secondary and further education sectors. There have been specialist schools in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but none in Wales.England and Northern Ireland
In England, secondary specialist schools may select up to ten per cent of their yearly student intake for aptitude in their specialism provided that it includes either the performing arts, visual arts, physical education, sports or modern foreign languages. There was a near-universal specialist system of secondary education in England in 2011, with 96.6% of English state secondary schools having specialised.Under the specialist schools programme which ran from 1993 and 2006 until 2011, secondary schools pursuing specialist school status in England and Northern Ireland had to go through a designation process where they were required to pass benchmarks and demonstrate achievement in their desired specialism, while also raising between £20,000 and £50,000 in private sector sponsorship. Passing the process gave designated schools specialist status in one of 10 or 15 available specialisms and an optional curricular rural dimension. Two of the 10 or 15 specialisms could be combined to form one specialism. The reward for specialist status was a £100,000 government grant alongside an additional £129 in funding for every student enrolled to the school. Every three years, schools had to renew their status and re-designate. Re-designation brought with it the possibility of a second specialism and high performing specialist status; both of these would grant additional funding. Selected primary schools joined the specialist schools programme in 2007 as part of a government trial. Since 2011, secondary schools in England no longer need to designate or re-designate for specialist status and can gain specialisms beyond the 12 originally available in the specialist schools programme. Academy schools, which were specialist schools at this time, were already unrestrained in their choice of specialism. The United Kingdom's specialist schools programme has attracted other countries toward specialisation.
Any state secondary school in England, whether they are local authority-maintained or independent from their control, can become a specialist school. Unique types of specialist school include City Technology Colleges, early academy schools, University technical colleges, studio schools and maths schools.
Other countries
Australia
Schools that operate specialist education programs exist in all Australian states and territories. These schools are typically associated with the arts or elite sports programs. In South Australia, specialist schools cover the arts, gifted and talented programs, languages, agricultural schools, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, advanced technology project schools, sports schools, and trade training centres. In Victoria, examples of specialist government schools include those focused on science and maths, performing arts, sports, and leadership and enterprise. An alternative model is those sporting organisations that deliver specialist programs to a narrow selection of schools, such as Cricket Australia's Specialist School Program to three Western Australian schools. The Victoria State Government defines specialist schools as schools which specialise in subjects and also schools which specialise in special needs teaching.Canada
In Canada, there have been specialized schools in Calgary, Toronto and Niagara Falls. These schools, also known as niche schools and alternative schools, are usually selective, however the Toronto District School Board has recently scrapped its old admission arrangements and have made its specialized schools enrol students based on the students' interest in attending the school.China
In the 1990s, the Chinese government addressed demands for a trained workforce by establishing selective specialist schools. The main type of specialist school is the key school. These are primary and secondary schools serving academic children. Schools can be designated with key status by meeting requirements in facility and teaching quality. Between 15 and 20 per cent of Chinese schools satisfied these criteria in 1999.China has established Confucius colleges and classrooms across 87 countries. The Ministry of Education has also identified 3,916 middle schools and primary schools as specialist schools for youth football.
Japan
In Japan, the first specialist schools were the. These were officially defined during the Meiji era in the ordinance of 1879 as a tertiary institution which taught one curricular subject. However, in practice, the term defined private institutions which taught multiple subjects. Before they were allowed university status in 1918, being a Senmon Gakkō was the highest status that these institutions could achieve. An example of one of these specialist schools was Waseda University, which opened in 1882 as but was given its current name after claiming university status in 1902.In March 1903, the government increased its oversight over the Senmon Gakkō through Imperial Ordinance 61, officially called the Senmon Gakkō Rei. This ordinance required the schools to seek approval from the Ministry of Education for their name, location, teaching staff, admission quotas, academic year, fees, curriculum and regulations, and those that failed to receive approval were closed down. The schools also needed permission to hold examinations from the Ministry of Justice. The ordinance also expanded the term specialist school to include Japan's prestigious Imperial Universities and also military academies, although both of these were put in a "special category" separate from the Senmon Gakkō and given different regulations to them. Under the ordinance, many private institutions became vocational Senmon Gakkō.
In modern Japan, the Senmon Gakkō are tertiary specialist schools for vocational education with two years of study. The majority of them are private. There are also other private specialist schools in Japan called Senshūgakkō. These offer curricular subjects such as computer programming, languages and bookkeeping. There was previously a system of specialist schools for teacher training which consisted of normal schools, higher normal schools and colleges of arts and sciences. In 2002, former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone recommended establishing new specialist schools "to train prospective education professionals", with these schools being "separate from ordinary universities".