1. Prepared by Olga Bokach, REPH-41 On the basis of the book of James o’Driscoll Britain. The country and its people: an introduction for learners of English (Oxford University Press, 2003, 224 p., p. 130-140) Karaganda State University

2. Full-time education is compulsory up to the middle teenage years; The academic year begins at the end of summer; Compulsory education is free of charge, but parents may spend money on educating their children privately if they want to.

3. Primary Secondary Further education at university or college

4. Central government does not prescribe a detailed programme of learning or determine what books and materials should be used. It says, in broad terms, what schoolchildren should learn, but it only offers occasional advice about how they should learn it. Nor does it dictate the exact hours of the school day, the exact days of holidays or the exact age at which a child must start in full-time education. In general, as many details as possible are left up to the individual institution of the Local Education Authority (LEA, a branch of local government).

5. Learning for its own sake, rather than for any particular practical purpose, has traditionally been given a comparatively high value in Britain. Much of the public debate about educational policy focuses not so much on how to help people develop useful knowledge and skills as on how education might help to bring about a better society.

6. Primary schoolchildren do not have as much formal homework to do and university students have fewer hours of programmed attendance than students on the continent do (On the other hand, they receive greater personal guidance with their work).

7. British schools and universities have tended to give a high priority to sport. The idea is that it helps to develop the ‘complete’ person. Sporting success enhances the reputation of an institution. People with poor academic records were sometimes accepted as students because of their sporting prowess (although, unlike in the USA, this practice was always unofficial).

8. In the late 1980s the National Curriculum was introduced. There are really three, not one, national curricula. There is one for England and Wales, another for Scotland and another for Northern Ireland. The organization of subjects and the details of the learning objectives vary slightly from one to the other. There is even a difference between England and Wales. Only in the latter is the Welsh language part of the curriculum.

9. At the lower primary level, this means a greater emphasis on what are known as ‘the three Rs’ (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic). At higher levels, it means a greater emphasis on science and technology.

10. Nearly all schools work a five-day week, with no half- day, and are closed on Saturdays. The day starts at or just before nine o’clock and finishes between three and four, or a bit later for older children. The lunch break usually lasts about an hour-and-a- quarter. Nearly two-thirds of pupils have lunch provided by the school. Parents pay for this, except for the 15% who are rated poor enough for it to be free. Other children either go home for lunch or take sandwiches.

11. Methods of teaching vary, but there is most commonly a balance between formal lessons with the teacher at the front of the classroom, and activities in which children work in small groups round a table with the teacher supervising.

12. In primary schools, the children are most taught by a class teacher who teaches all subjects. In secondary schools, pupils have different teachers for different subjects and are given regular homework.

13. The older children get, the more likely they are to be separated into groups according to their perceived abilities, sometimes for particular subjects only, sometimes across all subjects. But some schools teach all subjects to ‘mixed ability’ classes. The rights and wrongs of this practice have generated heated debate for several decades and there is great variety from school to school and area to area.

14. Schools usually divide their year into three ‘terms’, starting at the beginning of September. Autumn term Christmas holiday (about 2 weeks) Spring term Easter holiday (about 2 weeks) Summer term Summer holiday (about 6 weeks)

15. At the age of 16 people are free to leave school if they want to. With Britain’s newfound enthusiasm for continuing education (and because there are not enough unskilled jobs to go round), far fewer 16-year-olds go straight out and look for a job than used to. About a third of them still take this option, however.

16. GCSESCEA Levels SCE ‘Highers’ GNVQ

17. The exams taken by most fifteen-to sixteen- year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Marks are given for each subject separately. There is a uniform system of marks, all being graded from A to G. Grades A, B and C are regarded as ‘good’ grades.

18. The Scottish equivalent of GCSE. Grades are awarded in numbers ( 1= the best).

19. Higher-level academic exams set by the same examining boards that set GCSE exams. They are taken mostly by people around the age of eighteen who wish to go on to higher education.

20. The Scottish equivalent of A-Levels.

21. Courses and exams in job-related subjects. They are divided into five levels: - the lowest: equivalent to GCSE/SCE - the third: equivalent to A-Levels/SCE ‘Highers’ Most commonly, GNVQ courses are studied at Colleges of Further Education, but more and more schools are also offering them.

22. A qulification from a university. (Other qulifications obtained after secondary education are usually called ‘certificate’ or ‘diploma’). Students studying for a first degree are called undergraduates. When they have been awarded a degree, they are known as graduates.

23. Most people get honours degrees, awarded in different classes. These are: - Class I (known as ‘a first’) - Class II,I (‘a 2,1’ or ‘an upper second’) - Class II,II (‘a 2,2’ or ‘a lower second’) - Class III (‘a third’) A student who is below one of these gets a pass degree (i.e. not an honours degree).

24. Bachelor’s Degree A first degree. Most commonly a BA (=Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (Bachelor of Science) Master’s Degree A second (postgraduate) degree. Most commonly an MA or MSc. At Scottish universities, however, these titles are used for first degrees. Doctorate The highest academic qualification. This usually (but not everywhere) carries the title PhD (=Doctor of Philosophy).

25. In 1960 there were less than 25 universities in the whole of Britain. By 1980 there were more than 40. And by now there are well over 100 institutions which have university status.

26. This name denotes the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, both founded in medieval period. They are federation of semi-independent colleges, each college having its own staff, known as ‘Fellows’. The Fellows teach the college students either one-to-one or in very small groups (known as ‘tutorials’ on Oxford and ‘supervisions’ in Cambridge). Oxbridge has the lowest student/staff ratio in Britain. Lectures and laboratory work are organized at university level. Before 1970 all Oxbridge colleges were single-sex (mostly for men). Now, the majority admit both sexes.

27. By 1600 Scotland boasted 4 universities. They were Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews. The last of these resembles Oxbridge in many ways, while the other three are more like civic universities in that most of the students live at home or find their own rooms in town. At all of them the pattern of study is closer to the continental tradition than to the English one – there is less specialization than at Oxbridge.

28. Durham University was founded in 1832. Its collegiate living arrangements are similar to Oxbridge, but academic matters are organized at university level. The University of London started in 1836 with just two colleges. Many more have joined since, scattered widely around the city, so that each college (most are non-residential) is almost a separate university. The central organization is responsible for little more than exams and the awarding of degrees.

29. During the 19 th century various institutes of higher education, usually with a technical bias, sprang up in the new industrial towns and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Their buildings were of local material, often brick, in contrast to the stone of older universities (hence the name, ‘redbrick’). They catered only for local people. At first, they prepared students for London University degrees, but later they were given the right to award their own degrees, and so became universities themselves. In the mid 20th century they started to accept students from all over the country.

30. These are purpose-built institutions located in the countryside but close to towns. East Anglia, Lancaster, Sussex and Warwick. They have accommodation for most of their students on site and from their beginning, mostly in the early 1960s, attracted students from all over the country. They tend to emphasize relatively ‘new’ academic disciplines such as social sciences and to make greater use than other universities of teaching in small groups, often known as ‘seminars’.

31. These were originally technical colleges set up by local authorities in the first half of the 20 th century. Their upgrading to university status took place in two waves. The first wave occurred in the mid 1960s, when ten of them were promoted in this way. Then, in the early 1970s, another thirty became ‘polytechnics’, which meant that as well as continuing with their former courses, they were allowed to teach degree courses. In the early 1990s most of these became universities. Their most notable feature is flexibility with regard to studying arrangements, including ‘sandwich’ courses.

32. This is one development in education in which Britain can claim to have led the world. It was started in 1969. It allows people who do not have the opportunity to be ordinary ‘students’ to study for a degree. Its courses are taught through television, radio and specially written coursebooks. Its students work with tutors, to whom they send their written work and with whom they then discuss it, either at meetings or through correspondence. In the summer, they have to attend short residential courses of about a week.