Primary and Secondary Education

A Guide to Country Studies

Education in the UK and USA

Составитель: Лосева А.В.

Москва

EDUCATION

Warm up

1. Work in a group to discuss the system of education in Russia. How is it structured? When do you start/finish your education? What are famous schools, universities? What subjects do pupils study at schools? Prepare a brief report.

Compare your reports and summarize your findings in a whole class discussion.

Work together on the mind map presenting subtopics of the major one.

EDUCATION in the UK/US

Choose the way you are going to make a presentation on one of the suggested subtopics at the end of the Unit. Fill in the table. Tick appropriate options.

Reading

Read the texts and answer the following questions:

v What stages does the educational system in the UK/USA consist of?

v What are the similarities and differences in the two systems? Name the stages of both.

UK Education System

The education system in the UK is divided into four main parts: primary education, secondary education, further education and higher education. Children in the UK have to legally attend primary and secondary education which runs from about 5 years old until the student is 16 years old.

Primary and Secondary Education

More than 90% of students in the UK attend publicly-funded state schools (1); still there are also financially self-supported independent, or “private”, schools (2). By law, all children in England and Wales between ages 5 and 16 must receive a full-time education, while in Northern Ireland, children must begin at age 4. For children under age 5, publicly-funded nurseries and pre-schools are available for a limited number of hours each week. Primary schooling starts at 5 and continues up to the age of 11 when children take their first exams to proceed to secondary schooling phase which is also compulsory in the country.

From the age of 11-14, students study a broad range of subjects. National Curriculum (3) core subjects at this stage are: English (Welsh is also a core subject in Welsh-speaking schools), mathematics, science, design and technology, information and communication technology, history, geography, modern foreign languages, music, art and design, physical education, and citizenship.

When students reach 14, they generally enter into the first year of a 2-year process known as GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). GCSE's are a set of exams that test your knowledge and skill. Most schools offer to take such core subjects as English, Maths and Sciences (either combined or separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics). Students typically then select additional 4 or 5 subjects in which to take GCSE’s, and these can be subjects like French, German, Business Studies, Design and Technology, Music, Sports Science, Geography, History and many other options.

GCSEs mark the end of compulsory education for students in the UK. Once they have completed their GCSEs students then have the choice to either move into further education (with a view to higher education) or can leave school and look for work.

Scotland has its own qualification framework that is separate from that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (4). After seven years of primary education and four years of compulsory secondary education, students aged 15 to 16 may take the Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE). The Scottish Certificate of Education is recognized throughout the UK as the equivalent to GCE A-levels and is usually the entry qualification for university.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1582