Education in Britain
Education is a subject about which most British people care deeply. The British education system aims to educate the whole person, so that each child develops his or her personality as well as gaining academic knowledge.
Education in Britain is characterized by dual system: the publicly financed state schools, which are attended by about 95% of British schoolchildren, and the fee-paying private or independent schools, some of them known as “public schools”, which take in the relatively small percentage of about 5%. (*The main types of schools are shown in the chart.)
The Educational Structure in England and Wales
Form Doctorate Age Master’s degree course Other further education courses, leading to various professional and academic certificates and diplomas 3-4 year degree course at university or polytechnic 18
Upper 6th Upper C (A-level) Independent Secondary Schools Public Schools 17
Lower 6th B (CPVE) 16
5th A (GCSE) 15
4th Comprehensive Schools Grammar Schools (less common) City Technology Colleges (since 1988) 14
3rd Middle 13
2nd 12
1st (Junior) Primary Schools (Infant) Preparatory Schools 11
10 9 First Pre-prep Schools 8 7 6 Pre-school Nursery Schools and Private Playgroups (Kindergartens) 5 4 3
Pre-schools Education
In Britain all children have to go to school between 5 and 16.
An increasing number of children under 5 receive pre-school education. Some go to playgroups several time a week and take part in structures play (=play with some educational purpose) with other children of the same age. Others go to nursery schools
or kindergartens. At the age of 3 they attend nursery school (or playgroup) and at 4 they attend kindergarten. But when they reach the age of 5 they start infant school, which they attend for 2 or 3 years.
Primary Education
Compulsory education in Britain begins at age 5, and all children attend primary school till the age of 11 (England and Wales) or 12 (Scotland). In some areas children receive their primary education at an infant school (6-7) and then a junior school (8-11), or at a primary school (6-11) that combines the two. At about 11 they begin secondary education.
Secondary Education
The secondary state schools that are attended by the overwhelming majority of British schoolchildren are the comprehensive schools. They are non-selective schools for all children of secondary school age in a particular neighbourhood.
They were introduced by the Labour Government in the 1960s and were to replace the three types of selective secondary schools, i.e. grammar schools (strictly academic, preparation for a university education), secondary modern schools (general education on somewhat lower level, including vocational courses), and technical schools (emphasis on practical and technical work, stress on career-oriented subjects).
This triggered off a controversial and heated debate. By the end of the 1970s, the comprehensive versus grammar school debate was almost over. The Conservatives, when they came to power, had to carry on with the comprehensive schools, but opposition to them has never stopped completely. Since Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister in 1979, LEAs (Local Educational Authorities) are no longer required to abolish selective schools. This means that about 5-10% of children attending state schools are selected at the age of 11 according to their total school performance. The famous ‘eleven-plus’ exam, which pupils had to take up to the 1970s at the end of primary education to find out which of the existing secondary schools under the tripartite system they should attend, has been abandoned in most areas.
Discipline
There is one basic rule in the school: to respect others and their property and behave in a normal, sensible way, with due consideration for the health and safety of all. If a pupil misbehaves there is a system known as WRO – Warning, Report, Out. First you get a warning from your teacher. Then you are put on report; you have to carry a form around with you and the teacher signs it after each lesson – to show that you were present and behaved well. If you do anything wrong at this stage you are out; you have to go to the hall to join any other pupils in trouble. In the hall, all such pupils work in silence under the supervision of a teacher.
For persistent offenders, there is a system of detentions, when pupils are kept for an hour after school. In really serious cases, it is possible to exclude pupil for a period of time from the school, or to expel them permanently.
School Year
Schools usually divide their year into three ‘terms’, starting at the beginning of September. In addition, all schools have a ‘half-term’ ( = half-term holiday), lasting for a few days or a week in the middle of each term
I holiday II holiday III holiday
Autumn
term Christmas holiday (2 weeks) Spring term Easter holiday (2 weeks) Summer term Summer holiday (6 weeks)
