Автор: Пользователь скрыл имя, 20 Марта 2012 в 18:23, доклад
Great Britain doesn't 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. If we outline the basic features of public education in Britain, firstly we'll see that in spite of most educational purposes England & Wales are treated as one unit, though the system in Wales is a different from that of England. Scotland & Nothern Ireland have their own education systems.
There are now 24 colleges for men, five for women and another five both for men and women.Among the oldest colleges are University College(founded in 1249), All Souls(1438), Christ Church(1525).
Cambridge University started during the 13th century and was grown until today. Now there are more than 30 colleges.They line the right bank of the Cam. There are beautiful college gardens with green lawns and lines of tall trees. The oldest college is Peterhouse(1284) and the most recent is Robinson College(1977), the most famous is King's College.
The University was only for men until 1871, when the first women's college was opened.That was the first time in Britain woman could get good education officially. In the 1970s, most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Almost all colleges are now mixed.
Many great men studied at Cambridge, among them Desiderius Erasmum(1469-1536), the great Dutch scholar, Roger Bacon(1214-1292), the philosopher, Milton, the poet Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), the soldier, Newton, the scientist, and Kapitza, the famous Russian physicist.
The universities have over a hundred societies and clubs, enough for every interest one could imagine. Sport is a part of students' life at Oxbridge, the most popular ones are rowing and punting.
The Scottish universities of St.Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen & Edinburgh date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
In the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries the so-called Redbrick universities were founded. These include London, Manchester, Leeds , Liverpool, Shetfield, and Birmingham. During the late sixties and early seventies some 20 'new' universities were set up. Sometimes they are called 'concrete and glass' universities. Among them are the universities os Sussex, York, East Anglia and some others.
During these years the government set up 30 Polytechnics. The Polytechnics, like the universities, offer first and higher degrees. Some of them offer full-time and sandwich courses(for working students) . Colleges of Education provide two-year courses in teacher education or sometimes three years if the graduate specializes in some Particular subjects.
Some of them who decide to leave school at the age of 16 may go to a further education college where they can follow a cource in typing, engineering, town planning, cooking , or hairdressing, full-time or part-time. Further education colleges have strong ties with commerce and industry.
There's an interesting form of studies which is called the Open University. It's intended for people who study in their own free time and who 'attend' lectures by watching TV and listening to the radio. They keep ih touch by phone and letter with their tutors and attend summer schools. The Open University students have no formal qualifications and would be unable to enter ordinary universities.
Some 80,000 overseas students study at British universities or further education colleges or train in nursing, law, banking or in industry.