Educational System

Public education in Great Britain consists of primary, secondary and further education. Primary and secondary education is compulsory for all children. Further education is voluntary. The primary school includes nursery school (age 2-5), infant school (age 5-7) and junior school (age 7-11).

English children must go to school when they are 5. First they go to infant school, where they learn to read, write and count.

At the age of 7 they go to junior schools until they are 11 years old. Their school subjects are English, arithmetic, history, geography, music, art, religious instruction and so on. They study 5 years there. Then they have to take exams and after that go to a secondary school.

The full secondary school age ranges from 11 to 18. There are different types of secondary schools. Among them are the secondary technical schools. It is not specialized one. It teaches many general subjects.

The grammar school offers a full theoretical secondary education including foreign languages. Students can choose the subjects they wish to study. Children can get the General Certificate of Education at the ordinary level after 5 years of study. They also can obtain it at the advanced level if they study 2 or 3 years more, which allows to enter the university.

The comprehensive schools combine in one school the courses of all types of secondary schools.

There are many non-state schools in Britain and you must pay (high fees) to study there.

Among them are private schools in the UK, separate for boys and girls. The biggest and the most important of them are public schools. They train young people for political, diplomatic, military or religious service.

Less than ten percent of the UK school age population attends independent fee-paying schools. Many prominent independent schools, often founded hundreds of years ago, are known as public schools of which Eton, Harrow and Rugby are three of the better known.

After finishing secondary school it is possible to enter institute or university to get the higher education. You can get the bachelor degree or the master’s degree there.

Vocabulary notes

bachelor - бакалавр

comprehensive school - общеобразовательная школа; единая, комплексная школа

compulsory education — обязательное обучение

fee - плата за обучение (в школе, университете и т.д.)

grammar school - средняя школа; классы с 5 по 8 средней школы

infant school - дошкольное учреждение; детский сад; ясли

junior school - младшие классы (средней школы)

master – магистр

nursery school - детский сад

primary school - начальная школа

public school - привилегированное частное учебное заведение для мальчиков (в Англии); (бесплатная) средняя школа (в США и Шотландии)