School Education in Great Britain

English education offers two systems: a system of non fee-paying and a private system of Independent Schools.

Compulsory school begins at the age of five, but before that age children can go to a nursery school, also called play school. School is compulsory till the children are 16 years old. All forms of education are available in State Schools, from the most academic to the technical and vocational, preparing children to work with their heads and/or their hands.

There are two stages within the system of both fee-paying and non fee-paying schools. Younger and older children are divided at various stages, while those aging 5-11 attend Primary Schools, the others aging 11-18 go to the Secondary Schools.

State Primary Schools are said to be “child-centered”, aiming to develop all the aspects of the child, physical, moral, intellectual and aesthetic. The school is divided into Infant (5-7) and Junior (8-11) departments.

In Primary School children learn to read and write and the basics of arithmetic. In the higher classes of Primary School children learn geography, history, creative writing, painting, religion and, in some schools, also a foreign language. Physical education is usually done twice a week. Outside the normal time-table there are many activities in which students may take part: sports, drama, table tennis and so on.

Secondary Schools can be divided into: Comprehensive offering all styles of education in one school, but some areas still separate children into academic Grammar Schools and the more vocational Technical or Secondary Modern Schools. The majority attend comprehensives. A comprehensive school offers 5-year courses to pupils of all levels of ability. Promotion to a higher class every year does not depend upon examination results – it is almost automatic. Pupils never repeat a year. There is still much disagreement about the good and the bad in the comprehensive system but the good comprehensive schools have shown that the academic and the non-academic children needn’t be kept apart, and that there are many school and out-of-school activities which they can share: acting, singing, woodwork, cooking and, of course, games. So boys and girls have the opportunity of making friends with young people from many different backgrounds.

The National Curriculum for children aged 5-16 in all state schools in GB consists of 10 subjects which all the children must study at school. The subjects are English, Mathematics, Science, a modern foreign language (for 11-16-year-olds), Technology and Design, History, Geography, Music, Art, PE (Physical Education). These subjects are called foundation subjects. English, Mathematics and Science are also known as the “core” subjects which help children in studying all the other subjects.

In Britain students aged 16 take GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams between May and June. They get the results in August. The exam grades from A (the top) to G. Students can leave school at 16 if they want to and start working. Students who do well in their GCSE exams often go on to study for A (Advanced) levels in three of four subjects. They take their A-level exams at the age of 18. Many of them then go to the college or university.

Some parents prefer to pay for their children to be educated at independent schools. There are about 2,400 independent schools in Britain educating 600,000 pupils of all ages. They are very expensive (250 pounds a term for day pupils at nursery age to 2,900 pounds a term for senior boarding pupils) but considered to provide a better education and good job opportunities.

The stages of education in independent schools are called in a different way:

• children from 5 to 8 attend a pre-preparatory school;
• between the ages of 8 and 13 they go to a preparatory (or prep) school;
• from 13 to 18 they attend a public school, but only if they pass an examination called Common Entrance.

The boys’ schools include such well-known schools as Eton (College), founded in 1440, Harrow (School), Winchester (College). Among leading girls’ public schools are Roedean School and Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1444