Unit 4,Education in Britain,Contrasts with American Education,Most British schools are funded投资 by the central government, with local governments providing supplemental 补足的funding. England and Wales have a national curriculum课程 of core 核心courses for students 5 to 16 years old, and schools are inspected 检查by the Office for Standards in Education.,National Curriculum课程,National Curriculum has made it compulsory必修 for three core核心 subjectsEnglish, mathematics and science and seven other foundation subjectstechnology (including design), history, geography, music, art, physical education and a modern foreign languageto be included in the curricula of all pupils.,Contrasts with American Education,National tests at the ages of 7, 11, and 14 assess评估 students progress. Schools must provide religious 严谨的education and daily collective 集体worship for all pupils, although parents can withdraw their children from these.Fewer people go on to higher education in Britain.,Education Before Age 16,Full-time school begins at age 5 in Great Britain and at age 4 in Northern Ireland. In addition, about half of 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled招收 in specialized nursery 托儿所schools or in nursery classes at primary schools.,Education Before Age 16,Many parents send their children to state schools.,State School,comprehensive school It is a large state secondary中级的 school for children of all abilities from a single district, providing a wide comprehensive range of education.,About 90% of all secondary school students attend a comprehensive school.In comprehensive schools, students study a wide variety of subjects at first. After two or three years they may study only those they like best.,State School,Secondary modern school It provides vocational职业的 education rather preparation for university entrance. A more general and technical and less academic education is offered in secondary modern school. Of all school children of secondary school age, about 5% attend such school.,Education Before Age 16,Only 7 percent of British students attend private schools.,Private Boarding School,The most famous private boarding schools Britain are Eton College, Harrow School, Rugby School, and Winchester School. These famous private schools, founded during the Middle Ages, are theoretically 理论上open to the public, but in reality are attended by those who can afford the fees.,Many of Britains leaders have attended these private schools, which cater 满足to the wealthy and influential有影响力的but also offer some scholarships to gifted poorer children. Only a small percentage of the population can attend these ancient and highly prestigious声望很高的 schools.,Eton College伊顿公学,Education Beyond Age 16,At the age of 16, prior预先 to leaving school, students are tested in various subjects to earn a General Certificate证书 of Secondary Education (GCSE).If they wish to go on to higher education at a university, they take Advanced Level examinations, commonly known as “A” Levels.,About a third of British students leave school as soon as possible after turning 16, usually taking lower-level jobs in the workforce劳动力. Those who stay in school past the age of 16 may pursue either further education or higher education.,Further education is largely vocational, as is adult education. About 3.5 million people were enrolled in further education programs in 1995. Students may also stay in school until age 18 to prepare for higher education.,Types of Schools,UniversityPolytechnicOpen University,University,Britain has more than 90 universities. The foremost universities are the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The term Oxbridge is used to refer to both schools as a single entity,实体 much as Americans would use the term Ivy League.London has its own great schools, the enormous University of London and its world-famous college, the London School of Economics.,Universities in Britain enjoy complete academic freedom, choosing their own staff and deciding which students to admit, what and how to teach, and which degree to award.,Polytechnic,Polytechnics are schools dedicated专注的 to the sciences and applied technology.Polytechnics offer a range of courses, some of them vocational or technical, at or below the bachelors文理学士degree level.An education act in 1992 changed the status of these colleges to universities.,Open University,Open university was founded in 1969 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.It offers extension courses taught through correspondence通信, television and radio programs, and videocassettes盒式磁带.,It also sponsors赞助local study centers for students meeting their tutors when they have problems and residential summer schools.The purpose of the Open University is to reach people who may not ordinarily be qualified有资格的 for university study.,