Education
EducationIn the UK, all children have to go to school between
the ages of 5 and 16. In both the US and the UK, most children go
to schools that are provided by the government. In the US these are
known as PUBLIC SCHOOLS and in the UK they are known as STATE
SCHOOLS.
In the UK, some children go to schools that their parents pay
for. These are called private schools / independents schools, but
the most famous ones, such as ETON, HARROW, WINCHESTER, and RUGBY,
are confusingly known as PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Parents pay fees, often of
thousands of pounds / term, although the schools themselves are run
as non-profit making charities, with all profits put back into the
school. Many such schools are often BOARDING SCHOOLS, where
students live as well as study. Some British people think that
children at public schools get a better education than children at
state schools. Many of these independent schools often pride
themselves on their long traditions and on developing character as
well as academic abilities. The best ones among them are able to
attract highly qualified teachers and select only the brightest
pupils. In England and Wales the subjects taught in schools are
listed in the NATIONAL CURRICULUM, which was introduced in 1988,
and lists in detail the subjects that all children must study.
Children are tested at the ages of 7, 11, 14, and 16 (the so-called
key stages) to see it they have reached a particular level of
achievement in those subjects. Needless to say, this testing
greatly increased teachers workload and was initially widely
resisted. The National Curriculum does not apply in Scotland, where
each school decides what subjects it will teach.
Competition among schools is emphasized as the UK government
prints the LEAGUE TABLES of schools which put institutions in order
according to their examination results. Some people think that this
helps parents to choose the best school for their children but
others believe that they are unhelpful and are not a good way of
judging how successful a school is. At age 16, students in England
take GCSE examinations in subjects they have been studying for 2
years. The GCSE examinations involve a final examination as well as
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT (i.e. looking at a students coursework). The
marks students get in these examinations help them decide which
subjects to study for A-LEVEL. The A-LEVEL is an examination in a
particular subject which students take when they are 18. Students
usually start their A-LEVELS when they are 16 and need to pass at
least 2 A-LEVELS to go to a university (very frequently they need
to pass 3). In order to go to a good university and study a popular
subject such as MEDICINE or ENGLISH students usually need to get
grade A or B in all their A-LEVELS. For less popular subjects,
however, they do not need to achieve such high grades.In England
and Wales university courses usually last for 3 years and students
typically study either one subject or 2 subjects that are related.
Students in the UK take out STUDENT LOANS, which means that they
borrow money from a bank to pay for their tuition & living
costs and often have large debts by the time they finish their
course. Some students from poor families receive a GRANT from the
government to help pay for their living costs. Universities can
charge as much as 9000 / year for tuition fees. This means that
students have to borrow even more money so the government
introduced a system which means that students pay the money back
gradually after they have left university and only after their
income goes over 15,000 / year.
