Освіта в великобританії

Education within the state school system comprises either two tiers (stages) – primary and secondary, or three tiers – first schools, middle schools and upper schools. Nearly all state secondary schools are comprehensive, they embrace pupils from 11 to 18. The word “comprehensive”  expresses the idea that the schools in question take all children in a given area without, selection. NURSERY EDUCATION. Education for the under-fives, mainly from 3 to 5, is not compulsory and can be provided innursery schools and nursery classesattached to primary schools. Although they are called schools, they give little formal education. The children spend most of their time in some sort of play activity, as far as possible of an educational kind. In any case, there are not enough of them to take all children of that age group. A large proportion of children at this beginning stage is in the private sector where fees are payable. Many children attendpre-school playgroups, mostly organized by parents, where children can go for a morning or afternoon a couple of times a week. 

PRIMARY EDUCATION. The primary school usually takes children from 5 to 11. Over half of the primary schools take the complete age group from 5 to 11. The remaining schools take the pupils aged 5 to 7– infant schools, and 8 to 11 –  junior schools. However, some LEAs have introduced first school, taking children aged 5 to 8, 9 to 10. The first school is followed by the middle school which embraces children from 8 to 14. Next comes the upper school(the third tier) which keeps middle school leavers until the age of 18. This three-stage system (first, middle and upper) is becoming more and more popular in a growing number of areas. The usual age for transfer from primary to secondary school is 11. 

SECONDARY EDUCATION. Secondary education is compulsory up to the age of 16, and pupils may stay on at school voluntarily until they are 18. Secondary schools are much larger than primary schools and most children (over 80 per cent) go to comprehensive schools. 

    There are three categories of comprehensive schools:

    schools which take pupils from 11 to 18, 

schools which embrace middle school leavers from 12, 13or 14 to 18, and schools which take the age group from 11 to 16. 

The pupils in the latter group, wishing to continue their education beyond the age of 16 (to be able to enter university) may transfer to the sixth form of an 11-18 school, to asixth-form college or to a tertiary college which provide complete courses of secondary education. The tertiary college offers also part-time vocational courses. Comprehensive schools admit children of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary education for all or most of the children in a district. In some areas children moving from state primary to secondary education are still selected for certain types of school according to their current level of academic attainment. There aregrammar and secondary modern schools, to which children are allowed at the age of 11 on the basis of their abilities. Grammar schools provide a mainly academic education for the 11 to 18 age group. Secondary modern schools offer a more general education with a practical bias up to the minimum school-leaving age of 16. 

Some local education authorities run technical schools (11 –18). They provide a general academic education, but place particular emphasis on technical subjects. However, as a result of comprehensive reorganization the number of grammar and secondary modern schools fell radically by the beginning of the 1990s. 

There are special schools adapted for the physically and mentally handicapped children. The compulsory period of schooling here is from 5 to 16. A number of handicapped pupils begin younger and stay on longer. Special schools and their classes are more generously staffed than ordinary schools and provide, where possible. Physiotherapy, speech therapy and other forms of treatment. Special schools are normally maintained by state, but a large proportion of special boarding schools are private and fee-charging. 

About 5 per cent of Britain’s children attend independent or private schoolsoutside the free state sector. Some parents choose to pay for private education in spite of the existence of free state education. These schools charge between 300 pounds a term for day nursery pupils and 3, 500 pounds a term for senior boarding-school pupils. 

All independent schools have to register with the Department of Education and Science and are subject to inspection be Her Majesty’s Inspecrorate, which is absolutely independent. About 2, 300 private schools provide primary and secdondary education. 

Around 550 most privileged and expensive schools are commonly known as public schools. The principal examinations taken by secondary school pupils at the age of 16 are those leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). It aims to assess pupils’ability to apply their knowledge to solving practical problems. It is the minimum school leaving age, the level which does not allow school-leavers to enter university but to start work or do some vocational training. The chief examinations at the age of 18 are leading to the General Certificate of Education Advanced level (GCE A-level). It enables sixth-formers to widen their subject areas and move to higher education. The systems of examinations are co-ordinated and supervisedby the Secondary Examination Council. Admission to universities is carried out by examinationor selection (interview). Applicants for places in nearly all the universities are sent initially to the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). In the application an applicant can list up to five universities or colleges in order to preference. Applications must be sent to the UCAS in the autumn term of the academic year preceding that in which the applicant hopes to be admitted. The UCAS sends a copy to aech of the universities or colleges named. Each univesity selects its own students. 

The overall pupil-teacher ratio in state primary and secondary schools is about 18 to 1, on of the most favourable in the world.