Education in Great Britain

Parliament acts
Reform Act 1832 - education was provided to the middle-class.
Reform Act 1867 - respectable working-class children were provided with education.
Education Act 1880 - everyone, at least up to the age of 10 had to attend school.
Education Act 1891 - free education.

Basic features
Full-time education is compulsory;
Compulsory education is free of charge but a child can be educated privately;
The academic year begins at the end of summer;
There are 3 stages: primary or elementary , secondary, higher;
The education debates: quality, social justice, freedom of choice.

School education
primary education (up to 11)
secondary education (up to 16)

Primary education
Given children between 5 and 11 years of age
In First School (infant school) children learn reading and writing, the basis of arithmetic, music, history, art, geography, technology (age 5 to 7)
In Middle School (junior school) new subjects: physics, chemistry, biology (7 to 11)
much practice
12 compulsory subjects

Secondary education
Comprehensive schools Secondary modern schools
Grammar schools Technical schools
Ages from 13 to 16
Amount of subjects decreases
Can chose from 5 to 9 subjects
Getting ready for GCSE (A & G marks)

Private education
The government does not support these schools financially.
Choice: day or boarding schools, single-sex or mixed schools.
There are 2,400 schools in Britain.
10% of all pupils in Britain go to public schools.
Nearly all pupils pass successfully A-level exam.

The most prestigious private schools
Eton
Charterhouse
Harrow
Rugby
Shrewsbury
Westminster
Winchester
St. Paul’s
Merchant Taylors’

M A R K S
EXELLENT
VERY GOOD
GOOD
Satisfactory
Poor
Very poor
Awful

HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
Higher education begins at 18 and usually lasts three or four years.
Students go to universities, polytechnics or colleges of higher education.
There are now about 80 universities in Great Britain.
The academic year is divided into three terms.
Terminal examinations are held at the end of autumn, spring and summer terms. Only two reexaminations are allowed.
British universities usually keep to the customs of the past. Upon graduation all the students have to wear long black gowns and “students caps”.

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES DIFFER IN

OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE
Oxford University is the oldest and most famous in Britain. It was founded in the 12-th century and is a collection of colleges with more then 12,000 students and 1,000 teachers.
Cambridge is the second oldest. It was founded in the 13-th century and has 27 colleges.
They both have a reputation of privileged schools. Many prominent people studied there.
The tutorial system is one of the ways in which these universities differ from all other. Every student has a tutor who plans his work.

ACADEMIC YEAR

DEGREES
Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc
AFTER THREE YEARS
OF STUDY
Master's Degree
Doctor's Degree
LATER:
needs two further years of study,
with examination papers and
substantial dissertations
preparing theses which
must make original contributions
to knowledge

UNIVERSITIES / GROUPS
OXBRIDGE
THE OLD SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES
REDBRICK UNIVERSITIES
THE CAMPUS UNIVERSITIES
THE NEWER CIVIC UNIVERSITIES