Education in Great Britain
1.Education.
The British education system has much in common with that in Europe,
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 4 and
16 in Northern Ireland.
. The academic year begins at the end of summer.
Compulsory education is free 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 to secondary school. The third stage provides
further and higher education, technical 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 comparatively 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 such lick. As many details possible are left to the
discretion of the individual institution.
Many distinctive characteristics of British education can be
ascribed at least partly, to 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 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” 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 leaves for 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
advanced 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.
2.Public Schools – For Whom?
About five per cent of children are educated privately in what is
rather confusingly called public schools. These are the schools for the
privileged. There are about 500 public schools in England and Wales most of
them single-sex. About half of them are for girls.
The schools, such as Eton, Harrow, Rugby and Winchester, are
famous for their ability to lay the foundation of a successful future by
giving their pupils self- confidence, the right accent, a good academic
background and, perhaps most important of all, the right friends and
contacts. People who went to one of the public schools never call
themselves school-leaves. They talk about “the old school tie” and “the old
boy network”. They are just old boys or old girls. The fees are high and
only very rich families can afford to pay so much. Public schools educate
the ruling class of England. One such school is Gordonstoun, which the
Prince of Wales, the elder son of the Queen, left in 1968. Harrow School is
famous as the place where Winston Churchill was educated, as well as six
other Prime Ministers of England, the poet Lord Byron, the playwright
Richard Sheridan and many other prominent people.
Public schools are free from state control. They are independent.
Most of them are boarding schools. The education is of a high quality; the
discipline is very strict. The system of education is the same: the most
able go ahead.
These schools accept pupils from preparatory schools at about 11
or 13 years of age usually on the basis of an examination, known as Common
Entrance. There are three sittings of Common Entrance every year in
February, June and November. Scholarships are rarely awarded on the results
of Common Entrance. The fundamental requirements are very high. At 18 most
public school-leaves, gain entry to universities.
3.Schooling.
Great Britain does not have a written constitution, so there are
no constitutional provisions for education. The system of education is
determined by the National Education Acts.
Schools in England are supported from public funds paid to the
local education authorities. These local education authorities are
responsible for organizing the schools in their areas.
Let’s outline the basic features of public education in Britain.
Firstly, there are wide variations between one part of the country and
another. For most educational purposes England and Wales are treated as one
unit, though the system in Wales is a little different from that of
England. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own education systems.
Secondly, education in Britain mirrors the country’s social
system: it is class-divided and selective. The first division is between
those who pay and those who do not pay. The majority of schools in Britain
are supported by public funds and the education provided is free. They are
maintained schools, but there are also a considerable number of public
schools. Parents have to pay fees to send their children to these schools.
The fees are high. As matter of fact, only very rich families can send
their children to public schools. In some parts of Britain they still keep
the old system of grammar schools, which are selective. But most secondary
schools in Britain, which are called comprehensive schools, are not
selective – you don’t have to pass an exam to go there.
Another important feature of schooling in Britain is the variety
of opportunities offered to schoolchildren. The English school syllabus is
divided into Arts and Sciences, which determine the division of the
secondary school pupils into study groups: a Science pupil will study
Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Economics, Technical Drawing, Biology,
geography; an Art pupil will do English Language and Literature, History,
foreign languages, Music, Art, Drama. Besides these subjects they must do
some general education subjects like Physical Education, Home Economics for
girls, and Technical subjects for boys, General Science. Computers play an
important part in education. The system of options exists in all kinds of
secondary schools.
The National Curriculum, which was introduced in 1988, sets out
detail the subjects that children should study and the levels of
achievement they should reach by the ages of 7, 11, 14, and 16, when they
are tested. Until that year headmasters and headmistresses of schools were
given a great deal of freedom in deciding what subjects to teach and how to
do it in their schools so that there was really no central, control at all
over individual schools. The National Curriculum does not apply in
Scotland, where each school decides what subjects it will teach.
After the age of 16 a growing number of school students are
staying on at school, some until 18 or 19, the age of entry into higher
education in universities, Polytechnics or colleges. Schools in Britain
provide careers guidance. A specially trained person called careers advisor
or careers officer helps school students to decide what job they want to do
and how they can achieve it.
British university courses are rather short, generally lasting
for 3 years. The cost of education depends on the college or university and
special which one chooses.
4.Education in Britain.
|class |school |age |
| |nursery school |3 |
| |playgroup or |4 |
| |kindergarten | |
|reception class | |5 |
|year 1 |infant school |6 |
|year 2 | |7 |
