Education in England. The education system in England

The education system in England has been developing for many centuries and today it is one of the best in the world, meeting high standards of quality. The process of education was streamlined after the adoption of the first important normative legal act in this field, namely the Education Act of 1944. From this began a glorious story.

Education in England is now mandatory for all citizens of the country at the age of five to sixteen. In the structure of the educational system, two sectors are distinguished: public (free education) and private (paid training). 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

Schools in England are very diverse. School-boarding schools where pupils not only receive knowledge, but also live are widespread. Such educational institutions appeared in Britain during the early Middle Ages, mainly they opened at monasteries. And since the twelfth century the Pope has imposed a duty for all Benedictine monasteries to create charitable schools. Later, they began to charge fees for training.

Initially, in aristocratic families prevailed the conviction that it is better for children to study at home than in monastic schools, but then it became understood that, regardless of the origin, the children better get knowledge together with their peers. This opinion has become the foundation for the formation and development of privileged boarding houses, some of which function to this day and have been training and nurturing the elite of British modern society for more than a thousand years.

Classification

The education system in England includes:

1. Preschool institutions.

2. Full-cycle schools for children between the ages of three and eighteen.

3. Institutions for junior schoolchildren who are divided into Junior Schools and Primary Schools.

• Junior Schools are attended by children between the ages of seven and thirteen. They are taught a special general initial cycle of subjects, and the exam is completed, the successful surrender of which is necessary in order to enter the senior school.
• Primary Schools accept children between the ages of four and eleven. In the second and sixth years of study, SATs exams are passed - they, like in the previous case, are needed for admission to the senior school.

4. Institutions for senior students are divided into Senior Schools, Secondary School and Grammar School.

• Senior Schools are designed for children thirteen to eighteen years old. In such schools, teens first learn two years, then take GCSE exams, after which they pass a two-year training program.
• Secondary School provides an opportunity to receive education for children from eleven years of age.
• Grammar School also trains children from the age of eleven, but there are in-depth programs. In such a school you can even get a full-fledged preparation for enrolling in a higher education institution.

5. Schools for university preparation are designed for older teens at the age of sixteen to eighteen.

In addition, in the United Kingdom, schools are classified according to the gender of the students. There are separate educational institutions for boys and girls, as well as mixed schools. There are many supporters of separate education of children of different sexes, who argue their position by the fact that boys and girls develop in different ways physically and emotionally, and in case of separate education they do not have to adapt to each other.

Pre-school education in England

It can be obtained in private and public schools. Often, English children are sent to nurseries and kindergartens at the age of three to four years. Pre-school education in England continues until the child reaches the age of seven and includes training in reading, writing, writing. As a rule, the development of children takes place in a game form. In many private schools of the country there are preparatory classes for children from five years old. Upon their completion, children continue to receive primary and secondary education in the same educational institutions.

Primary School

As already mentioned, most parents give their children to school at the age of five (in preparatory classes). In general, elementary education in England begins with the age of seven and continues until the children reach eleven. After that, children move to secondary school classes, usually within the same educational institution. In this sense, education in Russia and England is not much different. In elementary school, children learn math, English, music, geography, history, art and technology of industry. Parents choose the necessary items on their own.

high school

It should be noted that education is carried out in England in English, and for children under sixteen years of age it is compulsory. Secondary schools train teens from eleven to sixteen years of age and prepare them for a general certificate of secondary education (GCSE) or a national certificate of professional qualifications (GNVQ).

Secondary education in England as one of its most important tasks is responsible for the formation of independent, confident, creative personalities. At school pupils master the general special cycle of training in different subjects, after which exams are passed. To successfully pass the exams (in seven to nine subjects), which is necessary for admission to high school, students begin to prepare for them since fourteen years.

School for University Preparation

At the end of the compulsory educational cycle, sixteen-year-old boys and girls can either go to work or continue their studies in the Sixth Form, the school where the preparation for admission to the university is being made. Those wishing to take a two-year course of A-levels, which means passing two exams: after the first year of study - AS, and after the second year of study - A2-levels. In the first year, four to five subjects are studied, and in the second year, three to four subjects. At the same time, their students choose independently from fifteen to twenty proposed options, there are no compulsory disciplines. Thus, young people define their future specialization, which in the future will devote three to five years of study in higher education.

Foreign students, as a rule, begin their education in England with a two-year course of A-levels.

Professional and higher education

Great Britain has more than six hundred private and public universities and colleges, where young people can find a profession. The educational institutions offer a variety of training programs. Passing the A-levels preparatory course gives students the opportunity to get either a professional or higher education in England. The first consists in mastering the course of professional training in the chosen specialty, and the second already includes the bachelor's, master's, doctoral degree programs, as well as MBA programs.

Tuition payment

Education in England is paid both for its citizens and for foreigners, but for the latter its cost is an order of magnitude higher. Citizens of the country have the opportunity to study in debt, and the state requires its return only if, after receiving the diploma, a person can get a job with a salary of at least 21 thousand pounds a year. Otherwise, no need to return the debt. Recently, the English parliament has not ceased to debate whether to increase or not the cost of training, and many MPs are inclined to the fact that it is necessary to increase it.

International quality assessment of educational services

International research shows that in the last decade, the quality of secondary education in England has a negative dynamic in relation to the preparation for graduate schools of universities. As for higher education, in the international rankings of higher education institutions, Great Britain traditionally stands on the second or third position.