The education system in England is developing alreadymany centuries and today is one of the best in the world, meeting high quality standards. The streamlining of the learning process was achieved after the adoption of the first important regulatory act in this area, namely the Education Act of 1944. From this began a glorious story.
Образование в Англии сегодня обязательно для всех citizens of the country at the age of five or sixteen. The structure of the educational system is divided into two sectors: public (free education) and private (paid education). In general, the state operates two systems on which the educational process is built: one of them operates directly in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and the second in Scotland.
Secondary education
In England, schools are very diverse.Boarding schools are common, where students not only gain knowledge, but also live. Such educational institutions appeared in Britain in the early Middle Ages, mainly they opened at monasteries. And from the twelfth century, the Pope introduced the obligation for all Benedictine monasteries to create charitable schools. Later, they began to charge for tuition.
At first, aristocratic families prevailedthe conviction that it is better for children to study at home than in monastic schools, but then they came to understand that, regardless of their background, children should get knowledge together with their peers. This opinion has become the foundation for the formation and development of privileged guesthouses, some of which have functioned to this day and have been teaching and cultivating the elite of British modern society for more than a thousand years.
Classification
The education system in England includes:
1. Preschool.
2. Full-cycle schools for children aged three to eighteen years.
3. Institutions for junior high school students who are divided into Junior Schools and Primary Schools.
- Junior Schools study children from the age of sevenup to thirteen. They are taught a special general initial cycle of subjects, and ends with an exam, the successful completion of which is necessary in order to enter high school.
- В Primary Schools принимают детей в возрасте от four to eleven years old. In the second and sixth years of study, the SATs exams are taken - as in the previous case, they are required for admission to high school.
4. Institutions for high school students are divided into Senior Schools, Secondary School and Grammar School.
- Senior Schools предназначены для детей thirteen to eighteen years. In these schools, teens first study for two years, then pass the GCSE exams, and then they have another two-year program of study.
- Secondary School provides an opportunity to receive education for children from eleven years.
- Grammar School also trains children witheleven years old, but there are in-depth programs. In such a school, you can even get a full-fledged preparation for entering a higher educational institution.
5. University preparatory schools are designed for older teens aged sixteen to eighteen years.
In addition, in the United Kingdom schoolsclassified according to the gender of students. There are separate schools for boys and girls, as well as mixed schools. There are many supporters of separate education of children of different sexes in the country, who argue their position by the fact that boys and girls develop physically and emotionally in different ways, and in the case of separate education they do not have to adapt to each other.
Pre-school education in England
Его можно получить и в частном, и в public school. Often, the British give their children to nurseries and kindergartens at the age of three or four years. Pre-school education in England continues until the child reaches the age of seven and includes learning to read, write, and count. As a rule, the development of children occurs in the form of a game. In many private schools of the country, preparatory classes for children from five years old are functioning. After graduation, children continue to receive primary and secondary education in the same educational institutions.
Primary School
As already mentioned, most parents give awaychildren to school at the age of five (in preparatory classes). In general, primary education in England begins at the age of seven and continues until the children reach eleven years old. After that, children go to high school classes, usually within the same educational institution. In this sense, education in Russia and England is not much different. In the elementary grades, children learn math, English, music, geography, history, art, and technology industry. Necessary items parents choose their own.
secondary school
It should be noted that education is carried outin England in English, and for children under sixteen years it is necessary. Secondary schools teach teenagers between the ages of eleven and sixteen and prepare them for a general secondary education certificate (GCSE) or national vocational qualification certificate (GNVQ).
Secondary education in England as one ofits most important tasks are responsible for the formation of independent, self-confident, creative individuals. At school, students master the general special cycle of training in various subjects, followed by passing exams. In order to successfully pass exams (in seven or nine subjects), which is necessary for admission to high school, schoolchildren begin to prepare for them from the age of fourteen.
University Preparation School
Upon completion of compulsory educationSixteen-year-old boys and girls can either go to work or continue their studies at Sixth Form, a school where preparations are made for entering a university. Those who wish are invited to master the two-year A-levels course, which involves passing two exams: after the first year of study - AS, and after the second year of study - A2-levels. In the first year, four or five subjects are studied, and in the second, three or four. At the same time, their students choose independently from fifteen to twenty proposed options, there are no obligatory disciplines. Thus, young people determine their future specialization, which will be further devoted to three to five years of study in higher education.
International students, as a rule, begin their education in England with a two-year A-levels course.
Vocational and higher education
UK has more than six hundred privateand public universities and colleges where young people can gain a profession. Schools offer a variety of training programs. A-levels preparatory course gives students the opportunity to get either a professional or higher education in England. The first is the development of a vocational training course in the chosen specialty, and the second already includes undergraduate and graduate programs, a doctoral degree, and an MBA.
Tuition payment
Образование в Англии платное как для своих citizens, and for foreigners, but for the latter its value is much higher. Citizens of the country have the opportunity to study in debt, and the state requires its return only if after receiving a diploma a person can get a job with a salary of at least 21 thousand pounds a year. Otherwise, return the debt is not necessary. Recently, in the English Parliament, disputes about whether or not to raise the cost of training have not subsided, and many deputies are inclined to think that it should be increased.
International assessment of the quality of educational services
Проводимые международные исследования indicate that in the last decade, the quality of secondary education in England has a negative dynamic regarding the preparation of university graduates for universities. As for higher education, in the international rankings of higher education institutions, the UK traditionally ranks second or third.