Education in the UK

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ПО САМОСТОЯТЕЛЬНОЙ РАБОТЕ

ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ 1 КУРСА (1 СЕМЕСТР)

Task 1

1. Read the text “Education in the UK” and translate it into Russian.

Education in the UK

The System of Education in Great Britain is class divided. There are state and private schools in England. State schools are divided into infant schools, junior schools and secondary schools. British boys and girls begin to go to school at the age of 5. At the age of 7 they go to junior school. They study History, English, Geography, Mаths, Sport, Art, Music, Computing, and Cooking. They study there for four years. Then they take the exams and enter the secondary schools.

There are 3 main types of secondary schools: grammar schools, modern schools and comprehensive schools. English schoolchildren go to a secondary school from 11 till 16 years. They don’t go to school on Saturdays and Sundays. If you want to go to the University, you have to go to grammar school. Modern schools are not popular today. Most children (about 90 %) go to comprehensive schools.

There are also private schools in England. They are fee paying and expensive. They are for elite people. 10% of the population attends the best-known private schools such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester, and some others. It is possible to enter the best English Universities after leaving such schools.

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have separate systems of education.

Universal state education in England and Wales was introduced for primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900. Education is mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. Despite a fall in actual numbers, the proportion of children in England attending private schools has risen to over 7%. Just over half of students at the leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended state schools. State schools which are allowed to select pupils according to intelligence and academic ability can achieve comparable results to the most selective private schools: out of the top ten performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 two were state-run grammar schools. England has some of the top universities in the world; Cambridge, Oxford, and London are ranked among the top 20 in the 2007 World University Rankings. There are fears, however, that a decline in the number of English students studying a foreign language will have a negative effect on business, which has led to calls for languages to be given greater priority.

Scotland first legislated for compulsory education in 1496. The proportion of children in Scotland attending private schools is just over 4%, although it has been rising slowly in recent years. Scottish students who attend Scottish universities pay neither tuition fees nor endowments as the fees were abolished in 2001 and the endowment was abolished in 2008.

Education in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Minister for Education, although responsibility at a local level is administered by five Education and Library Boards, covering different geographical areas. The 'Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) is the body responsible for advising the government on what should be taught in Northern Ireland's schools, monitoring standards and awarding qualifications.

The National Assembly for Wales has responsibility for education in Wales. A significant number of Welsh students are taught either wholly or largely in the Welsh language; lessons in Welsh are compulsory for all until the age of 16. There are plans to increase the provision of Welsh Medium schools as part of the policy of having a fully bi-lingual Wales.

The Program for International Student Assessment ranked the UK 14th in science, which was higher than the OECD average.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 889