Schools in Britain.
As far as I know, in Britain children do not have to go to school until they reach the age of five and only very few go to nursery schools before that. In nursery schools children learn such things as numbers, letters and colours. They may betaught to read and to write. Primary education can be given at infant schools (pupils aged from 4 or 5 to 7 years) and junior schools (from 8 to 11 years). Secondary schools are much larger than primary schools and they take pupils from the age of 11 or 12 to 18.
Compulsory secondary education lasts five years. Traditionally secondary schools are divided into five years (which are) called forms. Unlike Russian school children, English pupils go to the first form only when they are 11 or 12 years old. In the fifth form at the age of 16 they may either leave school or continue their education in the 6th form.
Nowadays most British children go to comprehensive schools which take pupils of different abilities without any exams. Moreover, comprehensive schools offer a wide choice of subjects from art and craft to the sciences and computer studies. At comprehensive schools pupils are often put into “sets” for such subjects as mathematics or languages. Sets are small groups of children formed according to their ability in each subject. For example, a child can be in the highest set for Maths but in the lowest set for French. All pupils move to the next class automatically at the end of the school year.
At the age of 14 or 15 in the third or fourth form of secondary schools students begin to choose their exam subjects and prepare for their exams. At the end of the 5th form students take their first public exam for the General Certificate of Secondary Education. Many students prefer leaving school at the age of 16, they can go to a Further Education College, where they choose more practical courses, for example, engineering, typing or hairdressing.
The sixth form lasts for two years, so students, who stay on into it, prepare for their “A” Level Exams. “A” stands for “Advanced”. Good “A” level results in several subjects are necessary to get a place at one of the British universities.
Since 1944 free secondary education has been available to all children in Britain. Nevertheless, some parents choose to pay for private education. Private or independent schools are expensive and, therefore, are attended by no more than 5 per cent of the schoolchildren. In most public schools children live as well as study, such schools are called boarding schools. In Britain some public schools are coeducational (mixed) schools, however, there are boys’ schools and girls’ schools too. The most famous British public schools include Harrow, Winchester and Eton which date back to the 15th century.
A lot of public schools are known for their high academic standards and are considered (to be) prestigious. At the same time not all people in Britain think that their country needs public schools. They believe that all children in the country should be given equal opportunities at the start.
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