Образование в Великобритании

Introduction.

Great Britain is one of the most developed countries in the world.

Great Britain enters into the number of countries of “large eight”.

We all know that the Britains are very cultural people and many possess

an outstanding mind. What makes them similar? National culture, heredity,

traditions or may be education? But do many people in our country know

about education in other countries? Many students would like to know about

how their contemporaries in other countries live. In what schools do they

study? Does the state ensure all them with necessary means for studying?

What are their chances to obtain higher or technical education for worthy

life in the future?

This article opens the curtain above education in Britain and contains

sufficiently complete and comprehensive information for the student and

school staff. The purpose of this article is to study the system of

education in Britain and to look at from an objective point of view.

In the second half of the 20-century qualitative changes in education

system occurred in Britain: the system of education began to be more

oriented towards the development of useful knowledge. But in spite of this

in the British system of education many survivals of the past, which

strongly harm education, still remained.

In this synopsis the following reductions are accepted:

. A-level (advance level) – an examination usually taken by pupils at

their final year at school at the age of eighteen. The exam was

introduced in 1951. A-levels are needed to enter most types of higher

education and a student must usually have three good grades to enter

university.

. AS level (advanced supplementary level) – an examination taken by some

pupils in their final year at school when they are taking their A-

level. The AS level is a simpler examination than the A-level and can

be studied in half the time. The exam was first introduced in 1989 and

is intended to give pupils the chance to study a greater variety of

subjects.

. Cathedral school (choir school) – a school in a cathedral city,

usually a preparatory school or, occasionally, a public school, some

of their pupils sing in the cathedral choir.

. College of Further Education (CFE) – a local college attended mostly

by students between the ages of 16 and 19 who are working for the

NVQ’s and practical qualifications; by some students taking A-levels

and by mature students doing part-time courses.

. College – 1. An independent institution of higher education within a

university, typically one at Oxford University or Cambridge

University. 2. A specialized professional institution of secondary

higher education, such as a college of music or a college of

education. 3. The official title of certain public schools, such as

Eton College.

. Comprehensive school – a large state secondary school for children of

all abilities from a single district, providing a wide range of

education. Over 90% of all secondary school students attend a

comprehensive school. Comprehensive schools were introduced in 1965 to

provide an equal secondary (11 – 18 years old) education.

Comprehensive schools put pupils in different classes according to

their ability, but there are no entry examinations.

. Further education – a term used to apply to any kind of education

after secondary school, but not including university work (which is

higher education).

. General Certificate of Education, the (GCE) – the standard school-

leaving examination. It is taken by school pupils at the end of their

fifth year of secondary education, at the age of 16. The GCE replaced

the formed dual examination system of GCE O-level (General Certificate

of Education Ordinary Level) and SCE (Certificate of Secondary

Education, Ordinary Level), and the first GCSE examination were held

in 1988. GCSE certificates are awarded for each subject on a seven-

point scale, from A to G, and the examination’s syllabus and grading

procedures are monitored by the School Examination and Assessment

Council.

. Local Educational Authority (LEA) – the local government body that is

responsible for the state schools in a district, as well as further

education, and that engages teachers, maintains school buildings and

supplies schools with equipment and materials.

. National Curriculum (NC) – was introduced into the education system in

1989. Until that time LEA decided on the curriculum, the subjects

which would be taught in school in their area. The NC is designed to

make a national standard for all school pupils between the ages of 5

to 16. The main subjects are English, Mathematics, Science and a

foreign language, either French or German. There are examinations for

all pupils at the ages of 7, 11, 14, and 16 to check on their

progress.

. Oxbridge – a colloquial term for the universities of Oxford and

Cambridge, jointly regarded as being superior to other universities

and as enjoying and giving special privilege and prestige.

. Secondary school – a state school or private school education for

school children aged between 11 and 18. Other types of secondary

schools are grammar schools, middle schools, secondary modern schools,

technical schools and public schools. An extension of a state

secondary schools a tertiary college.

. Nursery school – a school for very young children, usually three or

four years old (before compulsory education, which begins at the age

of five).

. Pidgin English (PE) – 1. A language made up of elements of English and

some other foreign language, especially Chinese or Japanese,

originally developing as a means of verbal communication when trading.

2. Loosely, any kind of English spoken with the elements of another

language, whether for genuine communication or of comic effect.

§1. Education.

The British educational system has much in common with that in Europe,

in that:

> Full-time education is compulsory for all children in the middle

teenage years. Parents are required by law to see that their children

receive full-time education, at school or elsewhere, between the ages

of 5 and 16 in England, Scotland and Wales and 4 and 16 in Northern

Ireland.

> The academic year begins at the end of summer.

> Compulsory education is free of charge, though parents may choose a

private school and spend their money on education their children.

About 93% of pupils receive free education from public funds, while

the others attend independent schools financed by fees paid by

parents.

> There are three stages of schooling, with children moving from primary

school (the first stage) to secondary school (the second stage). The

third stage (sometimes called the tertiary level) provides further and

higher education and includes CFE, technical college, college of

higher education, and universities.

There is, however, quite a lot that distinguishes education in Britain

from the way it works in other countries. The most important distinguishing

features are the lack of uniformity and comparativly little central

control. There are three separate government departments managing

education: the Departments for Education and Employment is responsible for

England and Wales alone; Scotland and Northern Ireland retain control over

the education within their respective countries. None of these bodies

exercises much control over the details does not prescribe a detailed

program of learning, books and materials to be used, nor does it dictate

the exact hours of the school day, the exact days of holidays, school’s

finance management and suchlike. As many details as possible are left to

the discretion of the individual institution or of the LEA.

Many distinctive characteristics of British education can be ascribed,

at least partly, to the public school tradition. The present-day level of

‘grass-root’ independence as well as different approach to education has

been greatly influenced by the philosophy that a (public) school is its own

community. The 19th century public schools educated the sons of the upper

and upper-middle classes and the main aim of schooling was to prepare young

men to take up positions in the higher ranks of the army, the Church, to

fill top-jobs in business, the legal profession, the civil serves and

politics. To meet this aim the emphasis was made on ‘character-building’

and the development of ‘team spirit’ (hence traditional importance of

sports) rather than on academic achievement.

Such schools were (and still often are) mainly boarding establishments,

so they had a deep and lasting influence on their pupils, consequently,

public-school leavers formed a closed group entry into which was difficult,

the ruling elite, the core of the Establishment.

The 20th century brought education and its possibilities for social

advancement within everybody’s reach, and new, state schools naturally

tended to copy the features of the public schools. So today, in typically

British fashion, learning for its own sake, rather than for any practical

purpose is still been given a high value. As distinct from most other

countries, a relatively stronger emphasis is on the quality of person that

education produces rather than helping people to develop useful knowledge

and skills. In other words, the general style of teaching is to develop

understanding rather than acquiring factual knowledge and learning to apply

this knowledge to specific tasks.

|What’s a “public school”? A public school in Britain is not open to |

|everyone; the ordinary, local schools where most people go are called |

|“state” schools. Public schools are schools where parents have to pay |

|money if they want their children to attend. Public schools are old, |

|often traditional and prestigious institutions. Most of the kinds who |

|go to them have very rich parents. Public schools are often single-sex,|

|which means they don’t permit girls and boys to be educated together. |

|There are sometimes boarding schools, that mean that kids live at |

|school during the week. Some famous public schools for boys are Eton |

|college, Harrow and Malvern, and for girls, Benedon and Cheltanham |

|Ladies College. Prince William was educate at Eton and his brother |

|Harry is still a pupil there. Eton is renowned for its academic |

|excellence and some of its traditions. The school was founded by Henry |

|VI in 1440 – 1441 and was intended for 70 highly qualified boys who |

|received scholarships. This dates back to the death of George III. The |

|school wore mourning clothes but this later became established as the |

|official uniform. Weblink: www.etoncollege.com. |

This traditional public-school approach, together with the above-

mentioned dislike of central authority, also helps to explain another

thing: the NC, the purpose of which was to do away with the disparities in

the type and quality of education, was not introduced until 1989 – much

later than in other countries.

§2. Pre-school and primary education.

There is no countrywide system of nursery (or pre-primary) schools. In

some areas there are nursery schools and classes (or, in England, reception

classes in primary schools), providing informal education and play

facilities, but they are not compulsory and only 25% of 3-4 year-olds

attend them. There are also some private nurseries and pre-school

playgroups organized and paid by parents themselves where children are

brought twice a week for an hour or two.

The present Labour government is working to expand pre-school education

and wants all children to begin school with basic foundation in literacy

and numeracy, or what is know as ‘the three Rs’ (Reading, wRiting, and

aRithmetic). From September 1998 it is providing free nursery education in

England and Wales for all 4-year-olds whose parents want it.

The average child begins his or her compulsory education at the age of

5 starting primary school (infant schools are for children between at the

ages of 5 and 7 and junior schools for those between the ages of 8 and 11).

|LEAs, in the partnership with private nurseries, playgroups and |

|schools, have drawn up ‘early years development plans’ of providing 4 |

|year olds with basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. The |

|plans are designed to show how co-operation between private nurseries, |

|playgrounds and schools can best serve the interests of children and |

|their parents. In addition, the government aims to establish ‘early |

|excellence centres’ designed to demonstrate good practice in education |

|and childcare. |

§3. Secondary education.

The majority of state secondary school pupils in England and Wales

attend comprehensive schools. These largely take pupils without reference

to ability or aptitude and provide a wide range of secondary education for

all or most children in a district. Schools take those, who are the 11 to

18 age-range, middle schools (8 to 14), and schools with an age-range from

11 to 16. Most other state-educated children in England attend grammar or

secondary modern schools, to which they are allocated after selection

procedures at the age of 11.

Before 1965 a selective system of secondary education existed in

England. Under that system a child of 11 had to take an exam (known as ‘an

11+’), which consisted of intelligence tests covering linguistic,

mathematical and general knowledge and which was to be taken by children in

the last year of primary schooling. The object was to select between

academic and non-academic children. Those who did well in the examination

went to a grammar school, while those who failed went to a secondary modern

school and technical college. Grammar schools prepared children for

national examinations such as the GCE at O-level and A-level. These

examinations qualified children for the better jobs, and for entry higher

education and the professions. The education in secondary modern schools

was based on practical schooling, which would allow entry into a variety of

skilled and unskilled jobs.

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