In Great Britain education is compulsory for all children from 5 to 16 years of age. Before 5 some children attend Nursery Schools, while most children start their basic education in an Infant School, which is the first stage of Primary Education. From 7 to 11 they attend Junior Schools, the second stage of Primary Education. In Primary School children are taught the so-called 3R's -- reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as elementary science and information technology. They also have music, physical training and art classes.

At the age of eleven children transfer to Comprehensive Schools. These schools give general education and a wide range of academic courses leading to the public examinations taken at 16. They also provide some vocational courses.

Before the 1960s there were two main kinds of state schools in Britain: "grammar" schools and "modern" schools. The grammar schools were for the most intelligent children and the secondary modern schools were for the less intelligent children. Children were selected for secondary education by means of an examination known as "eleven-plus" which they took at the age of 11. Many people thought that this system was unfair and now more than 80% of the state secondary schools in Britain are comprehensive (which are for children of all abilities).

Along with the state schools, there are about 500 private schools in Britain that comprise about 6% of the school population. Most of these Independent or Public Schools charge fees and there are boarding schools, where the children actually live in the school.

Any child may leave school at 16 when all children take the school-leaving examinations and get a certificate of secondary education. Those who want to continue their education at a University have to stay on at school for two more years and take another exam (at an advanced level). Advanced level examination is very important, because on the results of this examination the Universities and Polytechnics choose their students, as there are no entrance examinations.

The leading universities in England are Oxford, Cambridge and London. Each University consists of a number of faculties: medicine, arts (philosophy), law, music, natural science, commerce and education. Alter three years of study, a student receives a Bachelor's degree. Some may continue their studies for two or more years to get the degrees of Master and Doctor. Besides universities, there are other types of higher educational institutions: Polytechnics and Colleges of different kinds.

Text 3. American Schooling

The American system of education differs somewhat from the systems of other countries. It has certain peculiarities of its own which are closely connected with the specific conditions of life in the New World and the history of American society. There are free, state-supported, public schools which the majority of American children attend. There are also a number of private elementary and secondary schools where a fee is charged for admission and children are accepted or rejected on the basis of an examination. These include many church-supported schools, usually Catholic, which also charge a fee. Most public schools are coeducational, that is, girls and boys study together, but a lot of the church-supported schools are for boys or girls only.

Under the United States Constitution the federal government has no power to make laws in the field of education. Thus, education remains primarily a function of the states. Each state has a Board of Education (usually 3 to 9 members elected by the public or appointed by the governor), not subject to federal control. State laws determine the age of compulsory education, the length of the school year, the way in which teachers shall be certified and many of the courses that must be taught. With so much local control there is some degree of uniformity of education provided in different parts of the USA, because state and national accrediting agencies insist that certain standards be maintained and certain things be taught.

Education is compulsory for every child from the age of 6 up to the age of 16 except in Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania where it is compulsory to the age of 17 and in Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah where children must go to school until the age of 18.

Elementary (primary) and secondary (high) schools are organized on one of two bases: eight years of elementary school and four years of secondary school, or six years of elementary, three years of junior high school and three years of senior high school .

Elementary school children in the US learn much the same things as do children of the same age in other countries. The program of studies includes English (reading, writing, spelling , grammar, composition), arithmetic (sometimes elementary algebra or plane geometry in upper grades , geography, history of the USA, and elementary natural science. Physical training, music, drawing are also taught. Some schools teach a modern language, such as French, Spanish, or German.

The junior high school is a sort of halfway between elementary and secondary school. It continues some elementary school subjects, but it also introduces courses in mathematics and science, and usually gives students their first chance to study a foreign language. It usually comprises grades seven, eight and nine, although sometimes it is only grades seven and eight.

The high school prepares young people either for work immediately after graduation or for more advanced study in a college or university. Although there are some technical, vocational and specialized high schools in the United States the typical high school is comprehensive in nature. The subjects studied in elementary school are dealt with in greater detail and in more advanced form in high school. In addition one can specialize in home economics, chemistry and physics, music, humanities, automobile mechanics, etc. High school students study 4-5 major subjects a year and classes in each of them meet for an hour a day, five days a week.

The United States have the shortest school year in the world, an average of 180 days.

An important part of high school life is what is called extracurricular activities. The student is free to join a chorus, band or school orchestra; enter the debating team, or participate in sports of all kinds as well as a variety of social activities.

The fundamental task the US faces today is the modernization of the entire school system. It is not only to provide more and better schools, but also to re-examine the contents of the education and to bring it into line with modern requirements.

publicschool-- государственная школа

Board of Education-- (местный) отдел народного образования

accrediting agencies-- учреждения, определяющие требования по аттестации знаний учащихся

junior high school-- неполная (младшая) средняя школа

senior high school-- полная (старшая) средняя школа

spelling-- правописание, орфография

grade -- класс (в школе)