Exams and qualifications

GCSE= General Certificate of Secondary Education. The exams taken by most fifteen-to sixteen-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Marks are given for each subjects separately. The syllabuses and methods of examination of the various examining boards differ. However, there is a uniform system of marks, all being graded from A to G. Grades A, B and C are regarded as 'good' grades. SCE= Scottish Certificate of Education. The Scottish equivalent of GCSE. These exams are set by the Scottish Examinations Board. Grades are awarded in numbers (I = the best). A Levels = Advanced Levels. Higher-level academic exams set by the same examining boards that set GCSE exams. They are taken mostly by people around the age of eighteen who wish to go on to higher education. SCE 'Highers'= The Scottish equivalent of A-levels. GNVQ= General National Vocational Qualification. Courses and exams in job-related subjects. They are divided into five levels, the lowest level being equivalent to GCSEs/SCEs and the third level to A-levels/'Higher'. Most commonly, GNVQ courses are studied at College of Further Education, but more and more schools are also offering them.

Degree:A qualification from a university. (Other qualifications obtained after secondary education are usually called 'certificate' or 'diploma'). Students studying for a first degree are called undergraduates. When they have been awarded a degree, they are known as graduates. Most people get honours degrees, awarded in different classes. These are: Class I (known as 'a first') Class II, I ('a 2, 1' or 'an upper second') Class II, II ('a 2, 2' or 'a lower second') Class III ('a third') A students who is below one of these gets a pass degree (i.e. not an honours degree). Bachelor's Degree: The general name for a first degree, most commonly a BA (= Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (= Bachelors of Science). Master's Degree: The general name for a second (postgraduate) degree, most commonly an MA or MSc. At Scottish universities, however, there titles are used for first degrees. Doctorate: The highest academic qualification. This usually (but not everywhere) carries the title PhD (= Doctor of Philosophy). The time taken to complete a doctorate varies, but it is generally expected to involve three years of more-or-less full-time study.

There has been a great increase in educational opportunities for people at this age or older in the last quarter of the twentieth century. About half of those who stay in full-time education will have to leave their school, either because it does not have a sixth form or because it does not teach the desired subjects, and go to a Sixth-form Collage, or Collage of Further Education.

Дата добавления: 2013-12-13