EDUCATION
School Year – runs from September to July and is 39 weeks long.
School holidays:
o Christmas- 2 weeks
o Spring - 2 weeks
o Summer - 6 weeks
State Schools – in the UK 93% of the children in England and Wales go to "state schools".
o are non fee-paying
o funded from taxes
o most are organised by Local Authorities (LA).
Independent Schools – 7% of the children in England go to independent schools
o are known as private schools and public schools
o parents pay for their children to attend these schools
o since 1870 in England there are free compulsory education
o education is not paid for children between 3 and 18
o school leaving age: 16 (it will change to 18 in 2015)
o most school in England require children to wear a school uniform
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Infant School
for children from 5-7
Junior School
for children form 7-11
SECONDARY SCHOOL
for children from 11-16
FURTHER EDUCATION
College / Sixth Form
for people from 16-18
WORK
HIGHER EDUCATION
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
EXAMINATION SYSTEM
Primary School:
o at the age of 7, 11, 14 – internal exams (in their own schools)
Secondary School:
o at the age of 16 – external exam (assessed by different teachers) – GCSE
GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) - mark the end of compulsory education.
o marks are given for each subjects separately
SUBJECTS
National Curriculum – all government-run schools follow the same National Curriculum. It is the curriculum of subjects taught in state schools.
o was introduced in 1988
o assessment
o 3 core subjects – compulsory for all students aged 5 to 16:
o English
o Maths
o Science
o 6 foundation subjects:
o Technology and Design,
o History,
o Geography,
o Music,
o Art,
o Physical Education
o in addition: Religious Education and Foreign Language
TYPES OF SCHOOLS
Types of Secondary Schools:
o before 1980 - Tripartite System – depended on Eleven Plus examination results
o Grammar schools – for the best students
o Secondary modern schools – train pupils in practical skills (for less skilled jobs and home management)
o Secondary technical schools – to train children in mechanical and scientific subjects (to provide scientists, engineers and technicians)
o after 1980:
o Comprehensive schools
Further education
o is paid
o prepare students for A Level exam
o not compulsory at present
Sixth Form Colleges – is an educational institution where students aged 16 to 18 study for advanced school-level qualifications.
Youth Training Scheme – a scheme provide vocational training for unemployed 16-17 year-olds.
A Levels (Advance Levels) – higher level academic exams. They are taken by people around the age of 18 who wish to go on to higher education. At present, they are split into A1s and A2s.
Courses:
o lower level
o middle level
o higher level
Higher Education is paid.
To be a teacher:
o of primary school – you have to finish college or further education (with diploma)
o of secondary schools – you have to finish university (B.A or B.Sc.) and do pedagogical course (B.Ed.)
DEGREES
Undergraduate education:
o Bachelor’s Degree – first degree
o Bachelor of Arts (BA)
o Bachelor of Science (BSc)
o 3 years full-time study, sometimes exam, sometimes not (may be diploma)
o need to be an additional ? come to be Bachelor of Education
Postgraduate education:
o Master’s Degree – second degree
o Master of Arts (MA)
o Master of Science (MSc)
o Doctor’s Degree – the highest academic qualification
o Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Master thesis – topic you are interested
UNIVERSITIES
Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge)
o founded in medieval period
o are federation of semi-independent colleges
o have tutorial system (one teacher is responsible for one or two students – they help or advice them)
o they are residential
Redbrick Universities (The older civic universities)
o founded in 19th century in big industrial cities
o in the past: created only for local people
o are not-residential (firstly for local people)
o the stress was put on technical subjects (because of industrial revolution)
Campus Universities
o founded in 1960s and 1970s – mostly in countryside
o are residential
o teaching in seminars (small groups)
o place emphasis on relatively new academic disciplines (e.g. social sciences)
Polytechnics
o founded in 1960s and 1970s
o technical colleges
o set up by local authorities
o financed now by central government
o usually for local people
o “sandwich” courses – flexible arrangement of studies (possible to work)
o they had degree courses
The Open Universities
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