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Private education (5 to 18 years)

Some parents choose to pay for private education in spite of the existence of free state education. Private schools are called by different names to state schools: the preparatory (often called ‘prep”, schools are for pupils aged up to 13, and the public schools are for 13 to 18 year-olds. These schools are very expensive and they are attended by about 5 per cent of the school population.

Secondary education (11 to 16/18 years)Since the 1944 Education Act of Parliament, free secondary education has been available to all children in Britain. Indeed, children must go to school until the age of 16, and pupils may stay on for one or two years more if they wish.

Secondary schools are usually much larger than primary schools and most children –over 80 per cent – go to a comprehensive school at the age of 11. These schools are not selective – you don’t have to pass an exam to go there.

In 1965 the Labour Government introduced the policy of comprehensive education. Before that time, all children took an exam at the age of 11 called the ‘11 + ‘. Approximately the top 20 per cent were chosen to go to the academic grammar schools. Those who failed the ‘11 + ‘ (80 per cent) went to secondary modern schools.

A lot of people thought that this system of selection at the age of 11 was unfair on many children. So comprehensive schools were introduced to offer suitable courses for pupils of all abilities. Some LEAs started to change over to comprehensive education immediately, but some were harder to convince and slower to act. There are a few LEAs who still keep the old system of grammar schools, but most LEAs have now changed over completely to non-selective education in comprehensive schools.

Comprehensive schools

Comprehensive schools want to develop the talents of each individual child. So they offer a wide choice of subjects, from art and craft, woodwork and domestic science to the sciences, modern languages, computer studies, etc. All these subjects are enjoyed by both girls and boys.

Pupils at comprehensive schools are quite often put into ‘sets’ for the more academic subjects such as mathematics or languages. Sets are formed according to ability in each subject, so that for example the children in the highest set for maths will not necessarily be in the highest set for French. All pupils move to the next class automatically at the end of the year.

 

Educational reform

In the late 1980s the Conservative Government made important changes to the British educational system. One of the most fundamental changes was the introduction of a new ‘National Curriculum’. The aim was to provide a more balanced education.

In secondary schools, for example, 80% of the timetable must be spent on the ‘core curriculum’. This must include English. Mathematics, Science and a Modern Language for all pupils up to the age of 16. (Before 1989 pupils of 13 or 14 used to choose the subjects they wanted to continue studying.) At the same time, the new curriculum places greater emphasis on the more practical aspects of education.



Skills are being taught which students will need for life and work, and ‘work experience’ – when pupils who are soon going to leave school spend some time in a business or industry – has become a standard part of the school programme.

Together with the ‘National Curriculum’, a programme of’Records of Achievement’ was introduced. This programme is known as ‘REACH’, and it attempts to set learning objectives for each term and year in primary school, and for each component of each subject at secondary school. This has introduced much more central control and standardization into what is taught. Many people think this will raise educational standards, but some teacher? argue that they have lost the ability to respond to the needs and interests of their pupils, which may be different from pupils in other areas.

As part of the ‘REACH’ programme, new tests have been introduced for pupils at the ages of 7,11, 13 and 16. The aim of these tests is to discover any schools or areas which are not teaching to high enough standards. But many parents and teachers are unhappy. They feel that it is a return to the days of the ‘ 11 +’ and that the tests are unfair because they reflect differences in home background rather than in ability. Some teachers also fear that because of preparation for the tests, lessons will be more ‘narrow’, with a lot of time being spent on Mathematics and English, for example, while other interesting subjects which are not tested may be left out.

Educational reform is bringing other changes too. City Technology Colleges (CTCs) are new super-schools for scientifically gifted children, who – the Government hopes-will be scientists and technological experts of the future. These schools are partly funded by industry.

In addition to the CTCs, since 1988 the Government has given ordinary schools the right to ‘opt out of (choose to leave) the LEA if a majority of parents want it. Previously all state schools were under the control of the LEA, which provided the schools in its area with money for books etc., paid the teachers, and controlled educational policy. Now schools which opt out will receive money direct from the Government and will be free to spend it as they like. They can even pay teachers more or less than in LEA schools if they want to, and they can accept any children – the pupils do not have to come from the neighbourhood. Many people fear that this will mean a return to selection, i.e. these schools will choose the brightest children. The Government says that the new schools will mean more choice for parents.

 

Exams

At the age of 14 or 15, in the third or fourth form of secondary school, pupils begin to choose their exam subjects. In 1988 a new public examination - the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) - was introduced for 16 year-olds. This examination assesses pupils on the work they do in the 4th and 5th year at secondary school, and is often internally assessed, although there may also be an exam at the end of the course.

Pupils who stay on into the sixth form or who go on to a Sixth Form College (17 year-olds in the Lower Sixth and 18 year-olds in the Upper Sixth) usually fall into two categories. Some pupils will be retaking GCSEs in order to get better grades. Others will study two or three subjects for an 'A' Level (Advanced Level) GCE exam (General Certificate of Education). This is a highly specialised exam and is necessary for University entrance. Since 1988 there has been a new level of exam: the 'AS' Level (Advanced Supplementary), which is worth half an 'A' Level. This means that if pupils wish to study more than two or three subjects in the sixth form they can take a combination of 'A' and 'AS' Levels. In Scotland the exam system is slightly different.

 


Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1653


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