Education System in Great Britain

If all good people were clever and all clever people were good, the world would be nicer than ever.

I think that education is considered to be a key to a good future. And schools are the first step on the education-way. Schools help young people to choose their career, to prepare for their future life; they make pupils clever and well-educated. They give pupils the opportunity to fulfill their talent.

Speaking about the education in the UK it should be noted that system of education in England and Wales is the same, but in Scotland it is quite different.

In England and Wales compulsory schooling takes place between the ages of 5 and 16. There is no law which provides for education of the underfives. In England some 40 percent of three- and four-year-olds receive education in nursery schools or classes. In addition many children attend informal pre-school playgroups organized by parents and voluntary bodies.

Most children receive free education financed from public funds, but a small proportion (roughly 6 per cent) attends schools wholly independent of direct public financial support.

Compulsory education begins at five when children in England and Wales go to infant schools or departments (ages 5-7). The majority of primary schools are mixed. They are largely informal. Children are encouraged to read, write and make use of numbers (the three R's - reading, writing, arithmetic) and to develop their creative abilities. In junior schools (ages 7—11 or 12), teaching is often more formal than it is in infant schools. In junior schools, children have set periods of arithmetic, reading, composi­tion, history, geography, nature study and other subjects.

The usual age of transfer from primary to secondary school is 11. Till recently, most junior schoolchildren had to sit for the eleven-plus examina­tion (Secondary Selection Examination). It was important, for it decided what kind of secondary school the child would attend. It usually consisted of an arithmetic paper, an English paper, and an intelligence test which was supposed to determine the child's inborn abilities and his/her intellectual potential.

Only those children who have the best results are admitted to Grammar schools. These schools provide a mainly academic course for selected pupils from the age of 11 to 18 or 19. They give pupils a much higher level of aca­demic instruction, which can lead to a university.

Technical schools, which appeared in England at the beginning of the 20th century, were planned as academic equals to grammar schools but specialized in technical subjects. In fact, the standing of a technical school is often lower than that of a grammar school.

Secondary modern schools were formed in England in 1944 to provide a non-academic education up to the minimum school-leaving age of 16 for children of lesser attainment. The curriculum includes reading, writing, arith­metic, some elementary history and geography, and more practical subjects than are included in the grammar school curriculum (cooking, needlework, gardening, shorthand, typing, woodwork, metalwork).

Within the non-selective comprehensive system, at the age of 11 children may go directly to a secondary comprehensive school. The majority of children in England and Wales go to state comprehensive schools. Comprehensive schools have a number of education­al advantages: they are open to all children, they are mixed schools, and they provide a wide range of subjects. Although streaming is preserved, it is mod­ified and made more flexible, and some schools do not stream their pupils.

Special schools cater, for a wide variety handicap.

Since 1988, most sixteen-year-olds have taken the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in five, ten or even fifteen subjects.

Grammar, technical and comprehensive schools give schoolchildren the opportunity to become sixth-form pupils, and to continue their studies in the sixth form up to the age of 18 or 19. The sixth-form curriculum offers consid­erable opportunities for specialist study and is often aimed at university entry. Since the course lasts two years, it is usually subdivided into the lower sixth and the upper sixth. The curriculum of the sixth form is narrowed to about 5 subjects, of which the pupil will specialize in 2 or 3. The choice of subjects tends to divide the sixth form into two sides: the Natural Science side and the Arts/Humanities side.

Before leaving secondary school between the ages of 16 and 18, British schoolchildren take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam. It is held at two levels: Ordinary level ("O" level) and Advanced level ("A" level).

Candidates sit for "O" level papers at 15/16 years of age. They usually choose 6 or 7 subjects to sit for: mathematics, English, a science subject (bi­ology, chemistry, physics or general combined science), a foreign language, history, geography and music. "O" level candidates are awarded one of five grades ("A", "B", "C", "D", "E") or are ungraded. "O" level grades "A", "B", and "C" are considered "pass" grades, those which are necessary to get accepted for further study in the 6th form. "A" level is usually taken at the end of the 6th form. Candidates may take as many subjects as they like. Three "A" levels are enough to gain entry to most universities.

Independent (private, fee-paying) schools are outside the publicly maintained sector. There are about 2,500 independent schools educating more than 500,000 pupils of all ages.

There is a great variety of provision within the inde­pendent sector, ranging from small kindergartens to large boarding schools and from new and in some cases experimental schools to ancient foundations. The normal age range is from seven plus to 11, 12 or 13, but many of the schools now have pre-preparatory departments for young­er children.

Independent schools for older pupils—from 11, 12 or 13 to 18 or 19 — include nearly 500 which are some­times referred to as "public schools". Today the term is becoming less frequently used but refers to the mainly boys' schools (which are increasingly admitting girls).

Preparatory schools prepare children for the Common En­trance Examination to senior schools. The normal age range is from seven plus to 11, 12 or 13, but many of the schools now have pre-preparatory departments for younger children.

There are 126 universities in Britain. They are divided into 5 types:

The Old ones, which were founded before the 19th century, such as Oxford and Cambridge;

The Red Brick, which were founded in the 19th or 20th century;

The Plate Glass, which were founded in 1960s;

The Open University It is the only university offering extramural education. Students learn subjects at home and then post ready exercises off to their tutors for marking;

The New ones. They are former polytechnic academies and colleges.

The best universities, in view of "The Times" and "The Guardian", are The University of Oxford, The University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, London Imperial College, London University College.

Universities usually select students basing on their A-level results and an interview.

Colleges choose their own students, and a student only becomes a member of the University by having been accepted by a college. Students are chosen mainly on academic merit, but the policy of colleges in this respect varies from college to college. Some tend to be rather keen to admit a few men who are very good at rugby or some other sport, or sons of former students or of lords, or of eminent citizens, or of millionaires.

After three years of study a university graduate get the Degree of a Bachelor of Arts, Science or Engineering. Many students then continue their studies for a Master's Degree and then a Doctor's Degree (PhD).

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1129