Education in Britain.

In Britain children start going to school when they are five and continue studying until they are sixteen or older. Many children in Britain attend nursery school from the age of about three, but these schools are not compolsory. State schools are free in Great Britain, and attendance is compulsory when children go to a primary school. Primary educatition lasts for six years. At first they attend the infant school from five to seven and then junior school until they are eleven. Morning school begins at nine o'clock and lasts for three hours, until twelve o'clock noon. Afternoon school begins at two o'clock, and lasts for two and a half hours until half-past four. School is open five days a week. On Saturdays and Sundays there are no lessons. There are holidays at Christmas, Easter and in the summer. In a primary school the first lesson of the day is usually Bible study, and the second lesson — arithmetic, both written and mental. Also they get acquainted with the classroom, desks, they mostly playand learn throught playing. They know some numbers and also how to add them.
Then pupils go to a secondary school. There children don’t play as so much as it was in infant school. There are other lessons are: mathematics, science, English language reading, writing, English literature, English history, geography, Nature study, drawing, painting, singing, woodwork, and drill (physical training), consisting of Swedish exercises or organized games. Instead of woodwork, the girls' curriculum includes needlework and cooking. The first three are called “core” subjects. Pupil takes examinations in the core subjects at the age of 7, 11 and 14. Most secondary schools teach French and some other schools – Spanish, German, Italian and Russian.
From the public and private primary schools children may go to the grammar schools, either to one of the great public schools or to a county (or municipal) school. Some famous old public schools, named in alphabetical older, arc: Charter-house, Harrow, Merchant Taylor’s', Rugby, St. Pauls', Shrewsbury, Wellington, Westminster and Winchester and others. These public schools have large endowments and like the ancient universities Oxford and Cambridge, they are almost entirely independent. Most of them have two sides: a classical side, specializing in ancient languages, history and philosophy, and a modern side, specializing in modern languages, natural science, and geography. The boys sleep in the school during the term, in houses, each house being governed by a house master. Their time is fully taken up by their lessons and their games. Every public school has extensive playing fields attached to it. The fees at these public schools ace high, much higher than those at the fee-paying grammar day schools. Moreover, at every Stale grammar school the places are free to be won by boys and girls at the primary schools. The grammar schools are for boys or for girls, or for both. They are day schools, and the hours of instruction are similar to those at primary schools, but the subjects are wider and more advanced: English (language and literature), mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry), history (English and European), geography, natural, science (chemistry and physics), ancient languages (Latin and Greek), modern languages (French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian), commercial subject: (typewriting, shorthand, book-keeping, and accounting), art, music handwork, and physical training.
Grammar schools have six classes called forms. The first ton is the lowest class, and the sixth the highest. As a rule, the school is so arranged that each form consists of three parallel classes, the first (Class A) specializing in arts (humanities), the second (Class B) in science, and the third (Class C) in commerce. But there are also: special schools for science (technical schools) and for commerce (commercial schools). After five years of secondary education, pupils may sit for the General Certificate of Education, which, implies, shows that the holder has received a general education and has reached certain standards in the various subjects. There are, indeed, three standards of levels: ordinary, advanced and school-arship. In order to gain an entrance to a university, a boy or girl must pass examinations in five subjects of which English and another language must be two and which must include either mathematics or a science. He or she must pass at least two of these five subjects at the advanced level.
Most pupils take examinations in all subject. Ordinary Levels – normally called “O”-levels. People take “O”-levels in as many subjects as they want to; some take just one or two, others take as many as nine or ten. If you get good “O”-levels results, you can stay on at school until you are 18. Here you prepare for Advanced Level Exams (“A”-level). Again, you take as many of these as you want to. Most people take two or three. Three good “A”-level exams are the entrance exams for University. But Oxford and Cambridge have special ones. Higher education begins at eighteen and usually lasts for three or four years. Students go to university, polytechnics or colleges. There are now about 80 universities. Some parents choose to send their children to private schools where they pay for there education. State education is free. More than 90% of Britain’s attend state schools.