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Schule > Englisch > Landeskunde > GB - England - School System > School system of Great Britain

Schoolsystem of great britain (GB)

1. general facts
2. lawful bases
3. application/ admission
4. educational system
4.1 primary schools
4.2 secondary schools
4.3 private schools and special schools
5. interesting facts

1. general facts

- educational system of GB distinguished of big variety
- by different aims and structures of various types of schools every child shall be allowed to have the possibilities of education that correspond to his talent
- uniformity and comparability of education guaranteed by examinations in the end which are similar for every student
- different class stages are not called "classes” in the UK as it is the case in America, but "years” (e.g. year 7, year 3, year 10 and so on)
- there are different classes but have only some lessons together
- mostly while periods they are mixed with other children of their age
- every class has got its own room, however they use it only for the registration in the morning
- in the UK every teacher has got its own room and remains in there and the students change the rooms depending on the lessons they have
- school starts at 9 o’clock when years gather for the assembly (which differs from school to school)
- originally they are a tradition which once was meant to be kind of a morning prayer and shall have a Christian meaning
- after the assembly the students go into their classrooms for being registrated and for other notices
- after two periods there is a break of 20 minutes and when 3^rd period ends there is a big lunchbreak which lasts 1 hour
- during this hour there are different clubs taking place, e.g. private lessons or preparations for examinations
- most of students take their time to hang around, play football and so on
- in the afternoon there are 2 periods again without a break
- school ends at 3.35 pm
- also activities outside the classes, e.g. choir and sports
- food and milk available for students (for those of poor conditions it is free of charge)
- mostly school uniform wanted (in colours of school)

2. lawful bases

- legally child is of school age when it reaches the age of 5, obligation ends when student turns 16
- besides schools which are runned by the state (and where more than 90% of students go to) private schools play an important role
- there are about 150 private schools, e.g. famous ones like Eton or Winchester
- private schools are called public schools in UK (differs from USA where public schools are public)
- school year separated in trimester
- students don’t have to pay money for school if they don’t visit a private school
- they have got the same schedule every day

3. application and admission

- parents decide for most suitable school for their child
- apply and then take place at an interview (because often too many students applying for one school) depending on aims of school are chosen

4. educational system

4.1 primary school

- divided in part 1 and part 2
- 1^st part for 7-10 year olds
- parents can also decide whether they want to give their child to nursery school for 2-5 year olds
- children educated on low level
- 2^nd part for 8-11 year olds

4.2 secondary schools

- for 12-16 year olds
- mostly called community college (if state school) even though they are no real colleges in popularest sense, e.g. in America colleges are more like universities
- those community colleges are for all the "normal” students
- they are called comprehensive schools
- there are also special schools for not so bright students and those who are difficult to bring up
- last type of ecopndary schools = grammar schools, are for very intelligent students
- have to pass a test when they want to go there
- grammar schools are similar to german gymnasium
- most students visit comprehensive schools (90%), mostly there are about 400-1000 students at one school
- sometimes separated in schools for boys and schools for girls
- after 11^th year students pass GCSE-Exam (general certificate of secondary education)
- after secondary school possibility to pass sixth form at comprehensive school or to go to sixth form college and pass a-levels at the age of 18
- a-levels (advanced levels) accords with german abitur
- students have to chose at least 3 subjects for exams
- depending on subjects, number of subjects and marks students are allowed to go to university or higher college
- at first secondary school students are not separated because of their abilities, starting from year 8 there are 4 sets:
- top set 1: very good students
- top set 2: not bad students
- top set 3: bad students
- top set 4: students who are only supposed to join the classes to gain experiences in social life

4.3 private schools and special schools

- GB famous for its class society – many schools for upper-class-children
- Here students have to pay money
- Besides private elite schools there are also such which educate on alternative bases, e.g. music schools, schools for children of foreign cultures and religious minorities
- Special schools exist in GB even though there is a lot of attention out on integration
- Those schools are rather small (per teacher less than 6 students)

5. interesting facts

- british students pass every class automatically and do not repeat it
- periods last up to 70 minutes (different)
- british students have less subjects than german students, they have every lesson 3 times a week
- one period is tutorial, that means you sit together in your tutorial groups and talk about to your tutor about problems
- britis marks are letters from A-F, where A is the best and F the worst
- pupils is rather what you call the students of primary schools, the older ones you call students

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