Primary and Secondary Schools in the uk (Selective, Comprehensive and Private Systems)

The Department of Education and Science is responsible for national educational policy, but it doesn't run any schools, and it doesn't employ teachers, or prescribe curricula or textbooks. These matters are left to the local educational authorities (LEAs) that pass the responsibility on the school governing bodies, schools and head teachers. Each school has its own 'board of governors', consisting of teachers, parents, local politicians, members of the local communities, businessmen and sometimes pupils.

Schooling for children is compulsory from age 5 to 16, though children under five may attend nursery schools or day nurseries. Education within the maintained school system usually comprises two stages – primary and secondary education. The majority of primary schools are mixed. These schools are often subdivided into infant schools (ages 5-7) and junior schools (ages 7-11 or 12).

Infant schools are largely informal. Children are encouraged to read, write and make use of numbers (the three R's – reading, writing, 'rithmetic) and to develop their creative abilities.

In junior schools, teaching is often more formal than it is in infant schools. In junior schools, children have set periods of arithmetic, reading, composition, history, geography, nature study and other subjects.

The usual age of transfer from primary to secondary school is 11. Till recently, most junior schoolchildren had to sit for the eleven-plus examination (Secondary Selection Examination). It was important, for it decided what kind of secondary school the child would attend. It usually consisted of an arithmetic paper, an English paper, and an intelligence test, which was supposed to determine the child's inborn abilities and his/her intellectual potential. The selective procedure, though generally abolished, is still preserved in some areas. Where such selection is practised, i.e. within a selective system, children are sent to grammar schools, technical schools or secondary modern schools.

Grammar schools provide a mainly academic course for selected pupils from age of 11 to 18 or 19. Only those children who have the best results are admitted to these schools. They give pupils a much higher level of academic instruction, which can lead to a university.

Technical schools, which appeared in England at the beginning of the 20^th century, were planned as academic equals to grammar schools but specialized in technical subjects. In fact, the standing of a technical school is often lower than that of a grammar school. Children with slightly lower marks are often admitted. There are very few schools of this type in England and Wales.

Secondary modern schools were formed in England in 1944 to provide a non-academic education up to the minimum school-leaving age of 16 for children of lesser attainment. The curriculum includes reading, writing, arithmetic, some elementary history and geography, and more practical subjects than are included in the grammar school curriculum (cooking, needlework, gardening, shorthand, typing, woodwork, and metalwork).

Within the non-selective comprehensive system, at the age of 11 children may go to a secondary comprehensive school. The first schools of this kind appeared after World War II. Comprehensive education became national policy in the 1960s. The majority of children in England and Wales go to state comprehensive schools.

Comprehensive schools have a number of educational advantages:

• they are open to all children;

• they are mixed schools;

• they provide a wide range of subjects;

• although streaming is preserved, it is modified and made more flexible, and some schools do not stream their pupils.

Grammar, technical and comprehensive schools give schoolchildren the opportunity to become sixth-form pupils, and to continue their studies in the sixth form up to the age of 18 or 19. The sixth-form curriculum offers considerable opportunities for specialist study and it often aimed at university entry. Since the course lasts two years, it is usually subdivided into the lower sixth and upper sixth. The curriculum of the sixth form is narrowed to about five subjects, of which the pupil will specialize in two or three. The choice of subjects tends to divide the sixth form into two sides: the Natural Science side and the Arts/Humanities side.

Before leaving secondary school between the ages of 16 and 18, British schoolchildren take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam. It is held at two levels: Ordinary ("O" level) and Advanced ("A" level).

Candidates sit for "O" level at 15/16 years of age. They usually choose 6 or 7 subjects to sit for: mathematics, English, a science subject (biology, chemistry, physics or general combined science), a foreign language, history, geography and music. "O" level candidates are awarded one of five grades (marks) ("A", "B", "C", "D", "E") or are ungraded. "O" level grades "A", "B", and "C" are considered "pass" grades", those, which are necessary to get accepted for further study in the sixth form. "A" level is usually taken at the end of the sixth form. Candidates may take as many subjects as they like. Three "A" levels are enough to gain entry to most universities.

Along with state primary and secondary schools in Great Britain, there are also private schools. About 7% of children go to private schools – primary for children 4 to 8 years of age, and preparatory (prep) schools for children 8 to 13 years of age. At the age of 13, children take an examination. If they pass, they go on to public school, where they usually remain until they are 18. Many prep and most public schools are boarding schools – the children live at the school during the school terms. It can be very expensive to send your child to such a school.

A. Match the words from the text and their definitions given below.

1. The governmental department responsible for British educational policy.

2. Two stages of education within the maintained school system in the UK.

3. Schools for boys and girls.

4. Two levels of primary school in the UK.

5. The three skills developed at infant schools.

6. Non-selective school system of education in the UK.

7. The type of secondary schools providing a more academic education within the selective system.

8. Middle school within the private system.

9. Schools where children live during the term.

10. Institutions of pre-school education and upbringing in Great Britain.

11. The plan according to which the teaching programme is introduced.

12. A two-year course of full-time education for schoolchildren between 16 and 18 (19) aimed at university entry.

13. The certificate received by school leavers in the UK.

B. Answer the questions using the information given in the text.

1. What are the responsibilities of the local authorities in the UK?

2. Whom does a school-board of governors usually consist of?

3. At what age do most British children go to school?

4. What is the minimum leaving age for English schoolchildren?

5. How long do British children study at primary school?

6. What are the differences in the arrangement of teaching in infant and junior schools?

7. What examination do schoolchildren have to take at the age of 11 within the selective system in the UK?

8. What kinds of secondary schools can admit eleven-year-olds according to their performance at the age of 11 plus examination within the selective system?

9. When was the comprehensive system introduced in Great Britain?

10. What types of comprehensive schools are there in Great Britain?

11. What's the meaning of the word "public" in the word combination "public school" in Britain?

12. What is the exam taken at the age of 16 called?

13. Where can a teenager prepare for university in Great Britain?