1. Vypracovala: Mgr. Silvie Reitharová
Great Britain II
Vypracovala: Mgr. Silvie Reitharová

2. The Political System of Great Britain
In every country political power can be divided into three parts
in Great Britain:
the legislative power is represented by:
the Parliament
the executive power is represented by:
the Government lead by the Prime Minister
the judicial power is represented by:
The Supreme Court

3. The PARLIAMENT The Parliament consists of three parts I) the sovereign
Today the sovereign’s role is mostly formal
II) The House of Lords
The members are called peers
They are not elected by people, they are named by the sovereign
There are hereditary and life peers
III) the House of Commons
The main law-making body of GB
The members are elected every five years

4. The GOVERNMENT
A general elections must be held every five years ( or more frequently)
The party which wins forms the Government and her leader becomes the Prime Minister
The party which is the second forms the opposition
Tony Blair has been the Prime Minister of Great Britain for the second term
The main political parties in Britain are The Conservative Party and the Labour party
Whitehall - the seat of the government

5. The Royal Family
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the official head of the country
She was born on 23rd April 1926
Her “surname” is Windsor
The name of the dynasty is not old
it used to be long and German (Saxon-Coburgh-Ghotta)
but during the World War I it was changed to English name Windsor
The Queen is a hard working lady
Every day of her life is planned in details, her life isn’t easy at all
Her biggest hobbies are dogs and horses
She also loves all her family, especially her grandchildren

6. The Queen Elizabeth has been the Queen for quite a long time
Her father King George VI died in 1952
Elizabeth was a young Princess, she was only 26 when she had to become the Queen
She was crowned in Westminster Abbey in February 1953
Her mother, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born in 1900 and died in 2002
They called her Queen Mother or simply Queen Mum and she was the most favourite member of the Royal Family
The Queen
Queen Mother

7. The Queen and her family
In 1947 Elizabeth married Prince Philip Mountbatten
They have four children
Prince Charles was born in 1948
Princess Ann was born in 1950
Prince Andrew was born in 1960
Prince Edward was born in 1964
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh
Princess Ann
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York
Prince Edward, the Duke of Wessex
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales

8. The heirs to the throne Prince Charles is the next to the throne
In 1981 he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons
Prince William, the Prince of Wales - born in 1982
Prince Henry – born in 1984
They are the next ancestors to the crown after their father
In 2005 Charles married for the second time, he married Lady Camilla Parker-Bowles
Prince William
Charles and Camilla
Prince Henry

9. The School System The school year is divided into three terms
Pupils and students have to wear uniforms
A lot of children and young people study at boarding schools where they spend most of their childhood and youth
They only come home on holidays (especially in summer)
Schools organize all parts of their students´ life.Not only the education but also their hobbies and leisure time activities

10. School attandance is compulsory at the age of 5 to 16
At the age of 5 children start their education at elemantary schools
At the age of 11 or 12 everybody starts their education at secondary school
Schools are mostly state but there are also PUBLIC schools which are private.They are often boarding and single-sexed
The most famous public shools are for example Eaton, Harrow and Ruggby

11. At the age of 16 everybody takes an exam called GCSE-general certificate of secondary education.
It is also called O-level
It is the simpliest way how to finish one´s education
However you are not quallified at all if you leave school after passing this exam!
Most students continue their studies for next two or three years and then they pass other kinds of exams, especially A- level and AS-level

12. There are several good universities in England
For studying at most of them you only need to pass A-level or AS-level and you don´t have to pass any entrance exams
Only for studying at the best universities – Oxford and Cambridge you need more
You have to be a very good student at secondary school, you have to pass AS-level very well and you have to pass some entrance exams and some entrance interviews
To get to those universities isn´t easy and to study there is very hard and expensive (if you are not able to get some kind of a scholarship)
However to be a gratuate of Oxbridge is the best recommendation for any employer in the world!