Education in Great Britain

	NURSERY SCHOOL (VOLUNTARY)
1	11 YEARS COMPULSORY EDUCATION	PRIMARY SCHOOL At least 6 years primary education
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12		SECONDARY SCHOOL At least 5 years secondary education GSCE exams (taken at 15 – 16)
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17		“A” level exams taken at 17 – 18	COLLEGE OF FURTHER EDUCATION
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HIGHER EDUCATION
University	College of Education	Polytechnic

Task 1. Read the text. Translate it into Russian, and render it.

Task 2. Memorize the key terms, concepts, expressions and their meaning

renaissance	возрождение
reinforce	усиливать, подкреплять
a spate (many)	много
Eton (1440)	Итон
nursery education	дошкольное образование
primary school	начальная школа
secondary education	среднее образование
junior high school	школа для младших школьников
senior high school	школа для старших школьников
bachelor's degree	степень бакалавра
master's degree	степень магистра
doctor of philosophy	доктор философии
Local Education Authority (LEA).	региональный отдел по образованию

Task 3. Answer the questions. Solve the problems. Do the tasks.

1. What are the trends in the British educational system? Is it moving towards greater or lesser uniformity? Towards more or less provision before or after the years of compulsory schooling? Concentrating more on purely academic subjects or on more practical ones?

2. Would you say that people in your country are more or less enthusiastic about university education than they are in Britain?

3. Would you say that there is equality of opportunity in the present educational system in Russia and Great Britain?

4. What would you say are the successes and failures of the British educational system?

5. How do you understand the statement “public means private”?

6. What is Eton?

7. Identify education beyond sixteen.

8. Name a development in education in which Britain can claim to have led the world (the Open University).

9. What would you say about concept “education”?

10. What does it mean to be an educated person?

11. What skills should young adult get to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving “knowledge economy”?

12. “By standing still, we’re falling behind.” Argue for or against this statement

13. Is it necessary to give vocational training to high school graduates?

Task 4. Discuss education of Great Britain, exchange informed opinions, argue your points effectively and listen carefully to the views of others.

Task 5. Do the test.

At these public schools, the emphasis was on “character-building” & the development of “team-spirit” rather than on academic achievement. They were______ schools

a) boarding b) elementary c) primary d) compulsory

1. Schools in Britain usually divide their year into_____ terms, starting at the beginning of September.

a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4