Education in Great Britain

I. Read the text and define the main idea of it.

Foreign Educational Environment:

School is compulsory in Great Britain until the age of 16. Children start formal education at 5 and many of them complete 13 full years of schooling at 18. But not all. Some can leave school at 14 or 16 after the fifth form. To leave school and go to other educational institution (vocational or technical schools, as a rule) they have to take the exam for General Certificate of Secondary Education. Pupils must take English language, Math and Science for GCSE, as well as a half GCSE in a foreign language and technology.

Private schools include public and tutorial schools. Most of these are single-sex boarding schools, where students study and live. The public schools provide well-rounded education, pay­ing attention to academic disciplines, art, music and sports. Once they were established to educate the monarchy and aristocracy, and some have almost 1000-year old history. Such public schools as Eton, Harrow and Roedean are very expensive and during their long history educated many monarchs and leaders of many countries of the world. Tutorial schools have smaller classes, per­sonal tutoring here focuses on academic subjects only; that's why tutorial schools have smaller campuses with no sports facilities.

Most secondary schools in Britain are comprehensive schools. These are state schools, which take children of all abilities. About six per cent of students go to grammar school, state schools which only take students who pass an examination at the age of 11.

In 1988, for the first time in British history, the National Curriculum was introduced. It tells pupils which subjects they have to study, what they must learn and when they have to take as­sessment tests.

So, at the age of 16 pupils can leave school. If they stay on, in two years they usually take a higher level of secondary school exam, the so-called A- (advanced) level required by the UK universi­ties.

Most big towns in Britain have both a university and a college of higher education. There are 169 universities and colleges in the UK with more than 1.8 million students studying there. Univer­sities offer two-, three- and four-year degree courses, leading to a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree. A degree is a qualification students get from the university when they pass their final exams. They are then awarded a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts), B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) or B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education). Sandwich courses, which include a period of work outside the university, add one year. Medical and veterinary courses require five years of study.

Competition to get into British universities is tough and not everyone who gets levels can go. Students usually apply to universities months before they take their A- levels. They are given a personal interview and the university decides which students it wants. The place, which a student is offered, depends on his or her A-level results. The most popular is the university, the higher the grades it will ask for.

Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest universities in Britain and they have the highest aca­demic reputation.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-24