Primary and Secondary Education

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

III. Be ready to speak on the topic.

II. Make up a vocabulary of new words.

IV. Give translations to the following words and word-combinations:

advantage, employment opportunities, secondary school student, to measure, fair way, accomplishment, to satisfy, widespread complaint, wide range of electives, knowledge, vocational, to master.

TEXT 30

Schooling is compulsory for 12 years, for all children aged 5 to 16. There are two voluntary years of schooling thereafter. Children may attend either state-funded or fee-paying independent schools. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the primary cycle lasts from 5 to 11. Generally speaking, children enter infant school, moving on to junior school (often in the same building) at the age of seven and then to secondary school at the age of 11. Roughly 90 per cent of children receive their secondary education at comprehensive schools. For those who wish to stay on, secondary school can include the two final years of secondary education, sometimes known in Britain (for historical reasons) as the sixth form. In many parts of the country, these two years are spent at a tertiary or sixth-form college, which provides academic and vocational courses.

Two public academic examinations are set, one on completion of the compulsory cycle of education at the age of 16 and one on completion of the two voluntary years. At 16 pupils take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), introduced in 1989 to replace two previous examinations, one academic and the other indicating completion of secondary education. It was introduced to provide one examination whereby the whole range of ability could be judged, rather than having two classes of achievers; and also to assess children on classwork and homework as well as in the examination room as a more reliable form of assessment. During the two voluntary years of schooling, pupils specialise in two or three subjects and take the General Certificate of Education (always known simply as GCE) Advanced Level or A level examination, usually with a view to entry to a university or other college of higher education.

Advanced Supplementary (AS) levels, were introduced in 1989, to provide a wider range of subjects to study, recognition that English education has traditionally been overly narrowed. The debate about the need for a wider secondary level curriculum continues and Labour is likely to introduce more changes at this level. These examinations are not set by the government, but by independent examination boards, most of which are associated with a particular university or group of universities. Labour may replace these boards with one national board of examination.

A new qualification was introduced in 1992 for pupils who are skilled, rather than academically orientated, the General National Vocational Qualification, known as GNVQ. This examination is taken at three distinct levels: the Foundation which has equivalent standing to low-grade passes in four subjects of GCSE; the Intermediate GNVQ which is equivalent to high-grade passes in four subjects of GCSE and the Advanced GNVQ, equivalent to two passes at A-level and acceptable for university entrance.

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