Reading: Read the text. Choose the most suitable headings from the list (A –E) for each part of the text. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. There’s an example at the beginning (0).

Universities, Colleges of Higher Education and a number of specialized colleges make up the HE sector of GB. There are no state universities in GB. It is from the state, however, that they receive charters which define their status and give them the power to grant degrees to students. Currently there are some 96 universities and 70 or so Colleges of Higher Education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. English Universities differ in date of foundation, history, traditions, general organization, internal government, methods of instruction, way of students life, size.

0 D

For several hundred years Oxford and Cambridge (together they are often called Oxbridge) dominate the British education. Cambridge has always had a particularly high reputation in the field of Science and Mathematics, Oxford in classical studies and the humanities. Both of them are federations of autonomous colleges with origins dating from the 12 century. Each college offers teaching in a wide range of subjects. They are all residential colleges. In addition to rooms for undergraduates and the staff, meals, common rooms, libraries, sporting and social facilities for its students, each college admits students to the University and through tutorials or supervisions, contributes to the work of educating them. The colleges own their own buildings, employ their own staff, and manage their own endowments. Less than 1% of the British population goes to Oxbridge, but once there, they will dominate the controlling positions in the state and economy.

The University of London is the third ancient institution which was first established in 1836. It has been a pioneering force in higher education from its early years. The London syllabus introduced many new subjects into university education, including modern languages and laboratory science. Its degrees have always been awarded without discrimination on religious, social or sexual grounds. In 1878 London became the first university in the UK to admit women to its degrees. In 1880, four women passed the BA examination and in 1881 two women obtained a BS. By 1895, over 10% of the graduates were women and by 1900 the proportion had increased to 30%. In 1948, the University became the first University in the Commonwealth to elect a woman as its Vice-Chancellor. The University of London is now a federal mega university made up of 31 affiliates: 19 separate university institutions, and 12 research institutes. The University of London is the largest university in the UK by number of full-time students, with 135,090 campus-based students and over 45,000 in the University of London International Programmes.

The English “civic” universities (they are also referred to as the Red Brick universities) are distinguished from Oxbridge and London by being non-collegiate institutions. They were established after World War II to give technological training for the poorer boys in the provinces. The “civic” universities have always devoted special attention to the technology of the industries of their regions: e. g. Sheffield is famous for metallurgy, Leeds for textiles, and Reading for agriculture. They were the 1^st to admit men without reference to religion or background and to emphasize practical knowledge over the academic sort. Unlike Oxbridge these universities are divided into various faculties, each having a number of departments, dealing with separate subjects. The teaching is organized in departments and is based on a set of lectures.

The 20^th century development of HE continued with the establishment of the “Plate Glass” universities (East Anglia, Kent) in 1960s and “new” universities which were granted their university status by John Major's government in 1992 (Kingston, Middlesex). By the end of the 20^th century the number of Universities in GB had doubled. The name “plate glass” reflects the universities’ modern architectural design. Most of them are campus universities. The term refers to a university situated on one site, with student accommodation, teaching and research facilities, and leisure activities all together. The classic Campus University is often found on the edge of cities, such as the University of Sussex which is a few miles from the city of Brighton, etc. Campus Universities attract students from all classes and schools, especially the state funded Comprehensives. These institutions helped initiate a great expansion in numbers of students. Originally looked down on by the older universities many Campus Universities within the UK are now large elite institutions, educationally on a par with their older rivals.

A Expansion in HE sector C Focus on the practical and “real-world” skills	B Progressive developments
D A narrow channel of elitism	E Students’ life

Vocabulary

1. accommodation	стол и ночлег
2. to admit	принимать в колледж, университет, школу и т. д.
3. to award degrees (syn. to grant degrees)	присуждать ученые степени
4. BA (Bachelor of Arts) – bachelor’s degree – the 1^st university degree	бакалавр гуманитарных наук
5. BS (Bachelor of Science)	бакалавр естественных наук
6. campus (universities)	университетский городок
7. common room	комнаты отдыха для студентов и учителей колледжа
8.Comprehensive school	единая средняя школа, включающая в себя классическую, среднюю современную и техническую; поступающие принимаются без отборочных экзаменов
9. to differ in (smth.)	отличаться (чем-либо)
10. to be distinguished from (smth./ smb.)	отличаться от кого-либо (чего-либо)
11. endowment	пожертвования с целью получения прибыли на развитие учебного заведения в виде денежных средств и пр. собственности
12. employ	нанимать
13. expansion	расширение, увеличение
14. full-time student (opp. : part-time student)	студент дневной формы обучения, (ант.: студент вечернего отделения)
15. look down on smb. / smth.	смотреть свысока на
16. non-collegiate institutions	учебное заведение, не имеющее в своем составе автономных колледжей
17. on a par with	быть одного уровня, иметь такие же высокие показатели
18. residential college (opp.: non-residential)	колледж, предоставляющий места для проживания (не обеспечивающий студентов местами для проживания во время учебы)
19. rival	соперник, конкурент
20. staff	зд.: профессорско-преподавательский состав
21. site	местонахождение (зд.: территория университетского городка)
22. an undergraduate	студент
23. Vice-Chancellor	Вице-канцлер (фактический глава университета; избирается или назначается главным руководящим органом университета на срок от двух до четырех лет из числа руководителей колледжа или преподавателей); ср.: chancellor – канцлер – номинальный глава университета; назначается пожизненно; бывает в университете лишь на торжественных церемониях 1 -2 раза в год

Answer the questions:

1. What educational institutions make up the HE sector of GB?

2. Who grants charters to universities?

3. What are the two oldest universities in GB?

4. Where do students of Oxbridge live?

5. What rights do Colleges of Oxford and Cambridge have?

6. What percent of the British population goes to Oxbridge? Why is it prestigious to be a student of Oxbridge?

7. Why is the University of London considered a pioneering force in higher education of GB?

8. Which university was the first to grant degrees to female students?

9. Which universities are called non-collegiate universities?

10. Which universities started admitting students without reference to their background?

11. Why was it necessary to give technological training for the students in the provinces?

12. What are the main ways of educating students in Oxbridge and in later established universities?

13. What are the main features of the classic Campus University?

14. What century saw the greatest expansion in the number of universities in GB?