Education in Britain is not solely concentrated on academic
study. Great value is placed on visits and activities like organizing the
school club or field trips, which are educational in a more general sense.
The organization of these activities by teachers is very much taken for
granted in the British school system. Some teachers give up their free
time, evenings and weekends to do this “unpaid” work. At Christmas teachers
organized concerts, parties and general festivities. It is also considered
a good thing to be “seen” to be doing this extra work since it is fairly
essential for securing promotion in the school hierarchy.
Classes of pupils are called “forms” (though it has recently
become common to refer to “years”) and are numbered from one to beginning
with first form. Nearly all schools work a five-day week and are closed on
Saturdays. The day starts at nine o’clock and finishes between three and
four. The lunch break usually lasts about an hour-and-a-quarter. Nearly two-
thirds of pupils have lunch provided by the school. Parents pay for this
except for the 15 per cent who are rated poor enough and have it for free.
Other children either go home for lunch or take sandwiches.
Schools usually divide their year into tree “terms” starting at
the beginning of September:
|Autumn |Christmas |Spring |Easter |Summer |Summer |
|term |Holiday |term |Holiday |term |Holiday |
| |(about | |(about 2| | |
| |2weeks) | |weeks) | |(about 6|
| | | | | |weeks) |
Passage from one year to the next one is automatic. At the age of
14 pupils are tested in English, mathematics and science, as well as in
statutory subjects. At that same age in the third or forth pupils begin to
choose their exam subjects and work for two years to prepare for their
qualifications. The exams are usually taken in fifth form at the age of 16,
which is a school-leaving age. The actual written exams are set by outside
examiners, but they must be approved by the government and comply with
national guidelines. There are several examination boards in Britain and
each school decided that board’s exam its pupils take. Most exams last for
two hours, marks are given for each exams separately and are graded from A
to G (grades A, B, C are considered to be “good” marks).
16 are an important age for school-leaves because they have to
make key decisions as to their future lives and careers. There is a number
of choices for them.
7.Life at School.
The school year is divided into terms, three months each, named
after seasons: autumn term, winter term and spring term.
The autumn term starts on the first Tuesday morning in September.
In July schools break up for eight weeks.
Life at school is more or less similar everywhere. Each group of
30 pupils is the responsibility of a form tutor. Each school day is divided
into periods of 40-50 minutes, time for various lessons with 10-20 minutes
breaks between them. It might be interesting for you to see the “Bell
Times” at Lawnswood school in Leads.
Bell Times
8.40 a.m. – School begins
8.45 a.m. – Registration
8.50 a.m. – Assembly bell
9.00 a.m. – Pupils move to lessons
9.05 a.m. – Lesson 1
9.45 a.m. - Lesson 2
10.25 a.m. – Lesson 3
11.25 a.m. – Lesson 3
11.05 a.m. – Break
11.25 a.m. – Pupils move to lessons
11.30 a.m. – Lesson 4
12.10 p.m. – Lesson 5
12.50 p.m. – Lunch time
1.40 p.m. – Afternoon school begins
1.45 p.m. – Registration
1.50 p.m. – Lesson 6
2.30 p. m. Lesson 7
3.10 p.m. – End of normal lessons
3.10 p.m. – Start of additional lessons, clubs, societies, team practice,
detentions.
On important occasions such as end of term or national holiday,
called in English schools speech-days pupils are gathered in the assembly
or hall.
Most of the pupil’s time is spent in a classroom equipped with
desks and a blackboard nowadays often called chalkboard because normally it
is brown or green. The desks are arranged in rows, the space between the
rows is called an aisle.
In addition to classrooms there are laboratories for Physics,
Chemistry and Biology. Technical rooms are for Woodwork, Metalwork,
Technical Drawing. There are rooms for computer studies. Many young people
use them for school exercise. They are now able to write their own games as
well. The Physical Education lessons are conducted at the gymnasium, games-
hall or at the playground in front of the school building. There are also
language laboratories and house craft rooms. Every school has a library and
a school canteen. In student common room boys and girls can relax during
the breaks and lunchtime the Staff common room is for teachers. In case of
illness a schoolchild may go to the sick room.
Pupils at many secondary schools Britain have to wear a school
uniform. This usually means a white blouse for girls (perhaps with a tie),
with a dark-colored skirt and pullover. Boys wear a shirt and tie, dark
trousers and dark-colored pullovers. Pupils also wear blazers-a kind of
jacket-with the school badge on the pocket. They often have to wear some
kind of hat on the way to and from school-caps for boys and berets or some
other kind of hat for girls shoes are usually black or brown. And no high
heels!
Young people in Britain often don’t like their school uniform,
especially the hats and shoes. Sometimes they do not wear the right
clothes. Schools will often give them a warning the first time that this
happens but then will punish them if they continue not to wear the correct
uniform. Senior student don’t have to wear their school uniform.
It sounds logical to say that the school’s function is to train a
pupil’s mind and his character should be formed at home. Teachers would be
pleased if the problem could be solved so easily. But children don’t leave
their characters at home when their minds go to school. Many of them have
personality problems of one kind or another.
The pupils who violate various school regulations may be punished in
the following ways: for lateness, truancy they may be reported to the
Headmaster or named in school assembly. They may be detained in school
after ordinary hours.
Corporal punishment has recently been banned in state schools. But in
most public schools it is still allowed. Caning is the usual punishment for
serious misbehavior in class, damage and vandalism. Many teachers remark
that standards of discipline have fallen since corporal punishment was
banned by the government.
You may want to know whether there are any rewards and prizes for the
best pupils. Of course, there are. Each school has its system of rewards:
medals and prizes.
8.Social, Cultural and Sporting Life
Each school or sixth-form college has its School or College Council.
It helps to plan the policy for the whole school. It organizes the social
and cultural life at the school.
School Councils in many schools and colleges are chaired by a student
and have a majority of student members. They run discos and parties, stage
drama productions and decorate the student common room. Music-making is
part of school life. Some students help in local hospitals, homes for the
handicapped and elderly people.
There are many clubs and societies. Very popular, especially with
senior pupils, is а school debating society.
Most clubs meet regularly: daily, weekly or monthly, at lunch time or
after school. Extracurricular activities include various outings, visits to
places of interest and dances. School choirs and orchestras give regular
concerts. Sports are very popular too: running, jogging, swimming, self-
defence, football, soccer, badminton, aerobics, rugby, etc.
There are many national voluntary youth organizations in Britain. You
have probably read about the Scout and Girl Guides Associations. There are
some clubs run by the churches. There three pre-service organizations (the
Sea Cadet Corps, Army, Cadet Force and Air Training Corps) are not very
large. Their activities are related to the work of the armed forces.
But the largest youth organizations, as you probably know, are the
associations of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides. There are about
1,300,000 boys and girls in them. The movement of Boy Scouts was founded by
General Baden-Powell in 1908 and began to spring up in almost every town
and village of the British Isles. Its aim is to help I а Scout (а boy from
8 to 18) to develop into а good man and а useful citizen. He must be able
to handle sails, to use а compass, to lay and light а fire out of doors, he
must know first aid and develop his interest in music, literature, drama,
arts and films. A Scout is а friend to animals, he is 'clean in thought,
word and deed’. He must obey the Scout Law.
The Girl Guides Association was founded by Lord Baden-Powell in 1910.
It is divided into three sections: Brownies (from 7,5 tо 11), Guides (age
11 — 16) and Rangers (age 16 — 21). The programmer of training is planned
to develop intelligence and practical skills inculding cookery, needle-work
and childcare. The training and the Law are much the same as those of the
Scouts. Like а Scout а Girl Guide must be а friend to animals. She must be
‘pure in thought, word and deed’. She must be loyal to God and the Queen.
