Throughout most of the country there is a two tier system in operation. Children move up to 'big school' at the end of year six. The notion is that, by the age of eleven, they are ready, willing and able to negotiate a larger campus and share it with, what are effectively, young adults. They have longer to prepare for GCSEs and many teachers prefer working with the two tier system - apart from anything else it means they can transfer their skills between local education authorities more easily. The three tier system is often suspected of being more expensive to maintain. Although in Bedfordshire, one of the few counties which still offers three tier education, plans to move from three tier to two tier have had to be scrapped for the time being because of the recent cuts to the education budget.

Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling where pupils are taught in three distinct school types; lower, middle and upper or high school.

Many local authorities trialled this system during the 1970s but most reverted to the established two tier system fairly swiftly.

Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum and the first years of Key Stage 2 are covered in lower school. The rest of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 are followed in middle school and the remainder of  compulsory education, and sometimes on into sixth form, is tackled at upper school.

Supporters of the three tier system believe that the more gradual change from lower to middle to upper school is much easier for children to cope with and the change, particularly at 13 years old, keeps children who otherwise might have become disaffected and bored, fresh and on their toes.

They believe that middle school teaching also allows for a more integrated curriculum in year 7 and 8 and that, at the age of 11 children are too young to be traipsing from classroom to classroom studying isolated subjects. Some educationalists believe that three tier systems enable teachers to play to their strengths and work with the kids they are most comfortable with.

*In the independent sector schools generally move children up at the age of 13 rather than at 11 years old.*

Bedfordshire on Sunday news article Shedding a tier by stealth