The School Education in Great Britain (Школьное образование в Великобритании)

The School Education in Great Britain

The aim of education in general is to develop to the full the talents

of both children and adults for their own benefit and that of society as a

whole. It is a large-scale investment in the future.

The educational system of Great Britain has developed for over a

hundred years. It is a complicated system with wide variations between one

part of the country and another. Three partners are responsible for the

education service: central government – the Department of Education and

Science (DES), local education authorities (LEAs), and schools themselves.

The legal basis for this partnership is supplied by the 1944 Education Act.

The Department of Education and Science is concerned with the

formation of national policies for education. It is responsible for the

maintenance of minimum national standard of education. In exercising its

functions the DES is assisted by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate. The primary

functions of the Inspectors are to give professional advice to the

Department, local education authorities, schools and colleges, and discuss

day-to-day problems with them.

Local education authorities are charged with the provision and day-to-

day running of the schools and colleges in their areas and the recruitment

and payment of the teachers who work in them. They are responsible for the

provision of buildings, materials and equipment. However, the choice of

text-books and timetable are usually left to the headmaster. The content

and method of teaching is decided by the individual teacher.

The administrative functions of education in each area are in the

hands of a Chief Education Officer who is assisted by a deputy and other

officials.

Until recently planning and organization were not controlled by

central government. Each LEA was free to decide how to organize education

in its own area. In 1988, however, the National Curriculum was introduced,

which means that there is now greater government control over what is

taught in schools. The aim was to provide a more balanced education. The

new curriculum places greater emphasis on the more practical aspects of

education. Skills are being taught which pupils will need for life and

work.

The chief elements of the national Curriculum include a broad and

balanced framework of study which emphasizes the practical applications of

knowledge. It is based around the core subjects of English, mathematics and

science ( biology, chemistry, etc.) as well as a number of other foundation

subjects, including geography, history, technology and modern languages.

The education reform of 1988 also gave all secondary as well as

larger primary schools responsibilities for managing the major part of

their budgets, including costs of staff. Schools received the right to

withdraw from local education authority control if they wished.

Together with the National Curriculum, a programme of Records of

Achievements was introduced. This programme contains a system of new tests

for pupils at the ages of 7, 11, 13 and 16. The aim of these tests is to

discover any schools or areas which are not teaching to a high enough

standard. But many believe that these tests are unfair because they reflect

differences in home rather than in ability.

The great majority of children (about 9 million) attend Britain’s

30,500 state schools. No tuition fees are payable in any of them. A further

600,000 go to 2,500 private schools, often referred to as the “independent

sector” where the parents have to pay for their children.

In most primary and secondary state schools boys and girls are taught

together. Most independent schools for younger children are also mixed,

while the majority of private secondary schools are single-sex.

State schools are almost all day schools, holding classes between

Mondays and Fridays. The school year normally begins in early September and

continues into the following July. The year is divided into three terms of

about 13 weeks each.

Two-thirds of state schools are wholly owned and maintained by LEAs.

The remainder are voluntary schools, mostly belonging to the Church of

England or the Roman Catholic Church. They are also financed by LEAs.

Every state school has its own governing body (a board of governors),

consisting of teachers, parents, local politicians, businessmen and members

of the local community. Boards of governors are responsible for their

school’s main policies, including the recruitment of the staff.

A great role is played by the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

Practically all parents are automatically members of the PTA and are

invited to take part in its many activities. Parental involvement through

the PTA and other links between parents and schools is growing . The PTA

forms both a special focus for parents and much valued additional resources

for the school. Schools place great value on the PTA as a further means of

listening to parents and developing the partnership between home and

school. A Parent’s Charter published by the Government in 1991 is designed

to enable parents to take more informed decisions about their children’s

education.

Compulsory education begins at the age of 5 in England, Wales and

Scotland, and at the age of 4 in Northern Ireland. All pupils must stay at

school until the age of 16. About 9 per cent of pupils in state schools

remain at school voluntarily until the age of 18.

Education within the state school system comprises either two tiers

(stages) – primary and secondary, or three tiers – first schools, middle

schools and upper schools.

Nearly all state secondary schools are comprehensive, they embrace

pupils from 11 to 18. The word “comprehensive” expresses the idea that the

schools in question take all children in a given area without, selection.

NURSERY EDUCATION. Education for the under-fives, mainly from 3 to 5,

is not compulsory and can be provided in nursery schools and nursery

classes attached to primary schools. Although they are called schools, they

give little formal education. The children spend most of their time in some

sort of play activity, as far as possible of an educational kind. In any

case, there are not enough of them to take all children of that age group.

A large proportion of children at this beginning stage is in the private

sector where fees are payable. Many children attend pre-school playgroups,

mostly organized by parents, where children can go for a morning or

afternoon a couple of times a week.

PRIMARY EDUCATION. The primary school usually takes children from 5

to 11. Over half of the primary schools take the complete age group from 5

to 11. The remaining schools take the pupils aged 5 to 7 – infant schools,

and 8 to 11 – junior schools. However, some LEAs have introduced first

school, taking children aged 5 to 8, 9 to 10. The first school is followed

by the middle school which embraces children from 8 to 14. Next comes the

upper school (the third tier) which keeps middle school leavers until the

age of 18. This three-stage system (first, middle and upper) is becoming

more and more popular in a growing number of areas. The usual age for

transfer from primary to secondary school is 11.

SECONDARY EDUCATION. Secondary education is compulsory up to the age

of 16, and pupils may stay on at school voluntarily until they are 18.

Secondary schools are much larger than primary schools and most children

(over 80 per cent) go to comprehensive schools.

There are three categories of comprehensive schools:

1) schools which take pupils from 11 to 18,

2) schools which embrace middle school leavers from 12, 13or 14 to

18, and

3) schools which take the age group from 11 to 16.

The pupils in the latter group, wishing to continue their education beyond

the age of 16 (to be able to enter university) may transfer to the sixth

form of an 11-18 school, to a sixth-form college or to a tertiary college

which provide complete courses of secondary education. The tertiary college

offers also part-time vocational courses.

Comprehensive schools admit children of all abilities and provide a

wide range of secondary education for all or most of the children in a

district.

In some areas children moving from state primary to secondary

education are still selected for certain types of school according to their

current level of academic attainment. There are grammar and secondary

modern schools, to which children are allowed at the age of 11 on the basis

of their abilities. Grammar schools provide a mainly academic education for

the 11 to 18 age group. Secondary modern schools offer a more general

education with a practical bias up to the minimum school-leaving age of 16.

Some local education authorities run technical schools (11 – 18).

They provide a general academic education, but place particular emphasis on

technical subjects. However, as a result of comprehensive reorganization

the number of grammar and secondary modern schools fell radically by the

beginning of the 1990s.

There are special schools adapted for the physically and mentally

handicapped children. The compulsory period of schooling here is from 5 to

16. A number of handicapped pupils begin younger and stay on longer.

Special schools and their classes are more generously staffed than ordinary

schools and provide, where possible. Physiotherapy, speech therapy and

other forms of treatment. Special schools are normally maintained by state,

but a large proportion of special boarding schools are private and fee-

charging.

About 5 per cent of Britain’s children attend independent or private

schools outside the free state sector. Some parents choose to pay for

private education in spite of the existence of free state education. These

schools charge between 300 pounds a term for day nursery pupils and 3,500

pounds a term for senior boarding-school pupils.

All independent schools have to register with the Department of

Education and Science and are subject to inspection be Her Majesty’s

Inspecrorate, which is absolutely independent. About 2,300 private schools

provide primary and secdondary education.

Around 550 most privileged and expensive schools are commonly known

as public schools.

The principal examinations taken by secondary school pupils at the

age of 16 are those leading to the General Certificate of Secondary

Education (GCSE). It aims to assess pupils’ ability to apply their

knowledge to solving practical problems. It is the minimum school leaving

age, the level which does not allow school-leavers to enter university but

to start work or do some vocational training.

The chief examinations at the age of 18 are leading to the General

Certificate of Education Advanced level (GCE A-level). It enables sixth-

formers to widen their subject areas and move to higher education. The

systems of examinations are co-ordinated and supervisedby the Secondary

Examination Council.

Admission to universities is carried out by examinationor selection

(interview). Applicants for places in nearly all the universities are sent

initially to the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). In the

application an applicant can list up to five universities or colleges in

order to preference. Applications must be sent to the UCAS in the autumn

term of the academic year preceding that in which the applicant hopes to be

admitted. The UCAS sends a copy to aech of the universities or colleges

named. Each univesity selects its own students.

The overall pupil-teacher ratio in state primary and secondary

schools is about 18 to 1, on of the most favourable in the world.