British education
BRITISH EDUCATION
The state educational school system in England:
- under 5 years -
NURSERY (pre-school)
- 5-7 years - INFANT (primary school)
- 7-11 years - JUNIOR (primary school)
- 11-16 years - SENIOR (secondary
school)
- 16plus - FURTHER EDUCATION (6-form colleges)
- 18plus - HIGHER EDUCATION (university)
Every child in Britain has to
go to school from the age of five to sixteen.(compulsory education) The great majority of parents send their childeren to state schools, where
education and equipment, incuding textbooks are entirely free. Besides state schools there are independent schools for the children of all ages,
which are financed by fees and private money. (for instance Eton, Harrow, Winchester)
Berore the age of five, some children go to
kindergartens or nursery schools. All start at five in the infant department of a primary school.Boys and girls are taught together in most schools
and usually wear school uniforms, the teachers are generally women. The school year begins in September, and is divided into three terms, with
holidays at Christmas, at Easter, and in the summer. In british education students aren´t evaluated by marks but by grades from A to F. A is the
best and F is the worst.
Many primary schools practice „streaming". Quite early, if a school is big enough, children are placed in
„streams", which means that there are parallel classes learning at different speeds. „A" stream for children who learn the quickest,
„B" Stream for average pupils and „C" Stream for slower children. After two years children move into the junior department. Here the
work is of course more advanced than in the infant classes. There is less free activity in the classroom, less art and handcrafts. The school day
usually lasts from 9 a. m. until 3 p. m., but the younger children do not stay for the whole day.At eleven they continue in secondary schools.
There are two type of secondary schools :
a) comprehensive schools - non selective schools for all children, more
common than grammar schools
b) grammar schools - offer mainly academic education up to 18 or 19 and are selective
education on secondary
schools is based on three core subjects -English, mathematics and science together with seven other foundation subjects - technology, history,
geography, music, art, physical education and a modern foreign language(mostly french,spanish or german).
At 16 the pupils who want to
leave school take an examination in 8 - 10 subjects. They pass the examination G. C. S. E. (General Certificate of Secondary Education) to find a job
or G. C. E. (general certificate of education)to continue their studies. G. C. E. – „O" - level (ordinary level).When they pass the
„O"- level, they can enter 6-form colleges, where they continue to study only three or four subjects they like best.these schools prepare
students for a-level exam(advanced level), which the pass at the age of 18. There is new exam called Advanced Supplementary (AS) which enables the
last-formers to increase the number of subjects studied, so they can study more than three or four subjects.
"A" - level
passes are essential for entrance to a university.Only Oxford and Cambridge Universities require applicants to take an entrance examination as
well.When students want to go to the university, they can send up to six applications.
Full-time university first degree courses usually
last 3 or 4 years. The main qualification is B.A., B. SC. (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science etc.)Within studies students usually spend some
time away from the university and get practical experiences at work ( f.e. technology, medicine).Some students continue to study for Masters degrees
(M.A., M. Sc., M. Phi) for two more years. A few of them go even further - they can get the degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.) when they make
original contributions to knowledge.nowadays britain has 47 universities.
the most well-known universities are:
-
the university of Cambridge
- the university of Oxford
- the university of Glasgow
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