Pre-school Education | Schools | Primary Schools | Eleven-Plus Examination | Secondary Schools | Grammar Schools | Secondary Modern Schools | Technical Secondary Schools | Comprehensive Schools | Direct Grant Schools | Independent Schools | College Life in England | Some University Customs

Pre-school Education
Some nursery schools and nursery classes are provided for children from the age of 2 to 5 years. However, the care of the under-fives has been greatly neglected, and there is a desperate shortage of suitable provision for this age group. In many localities mothers are taking action themselves, organizing petitions and campaigning the local authorities for better provision for the under-fives.

Schools
During the nineteenth century despite intense opposition from the ruling class, the beginning of some form of education for the workers' children was achieved. Public money was spent on education for the first time in 1833. As a result of nearly a century of struggle, the 1870 Act finally laid the basis for the provision of public primary education. In 1902, an Act passed authorizing the establishment of state secondary schools, though only for a small percentage of children. The 1944 Education Act passed following a tremendous campaign by progressive people of all sections, for free secondary education for all. Although this was what the Act promised, there remains a great difference between the two main types of secondary schools: state secondary schools and public schools.

Education in England is compulsory from five to fifteen years of age.

Primary Schools
The first school is the infant school, for children between five and seven. At this stage the children become acquainted with the Reading, Writing and Arithmetic in the form of games. The emphasis is on learning through experience and much of the time is devoted to playing, drawing, painting and music. The infant school lays only the foundation in reading, writing and arithmetic and tries to create an interesting beginning to these complicated learning processes which are dealt within a more systematic way in the next stage.

The Junior school is for children aged seven to eleven. Most Junior schools (although some Infant schools, too) carry out a policy of streaming, that is to say the children are divided into an A-stream, of the cleverest, a B-stream, of the next in ability, then comes a C-stream – which is the lowest in most schools. Those in favour of streaming say that it is essential in order to secure the maximum number of passes in the secondary Section Examination, known as the "Eleven-Plus", which is generally put forward as the main task of the Junior school. Primary schools have changed greatly in recent years under the influence of new theories about children development and new ideas about what they should learn. A typical classroom, no longer has rows of desks facing the teacher, instead the room is divided into "areas" for particular activities, where the children can work alone or in groups under the guidance of the teacher.

Eleven-Plus Examination
The examination at the age of eleven is conducted by the local authorities and usually consists of three papers, one in English, one in arithmetic and an Intelligence Test, the latter is thought to play the main role. The examiners think that they can ascertain the child's Intelligence Quotient, or I.Q. Only about twenty-five per cent of children are successful and win places at the Grammar school, from which they may proceed to the University. The other seventy-five per cent of children tend to be regarded as "unsuccessful" in that and they can only go to a secondary modern school. The general level of education in these schools is low, they prepare pupils for non-professional occupations (as the future unskilled workers).

This system of allocating children to different types of secondary school at the age of eleven and the selection methods have caused much criticism and in some city schools the I.Q. test is no longer necessary.

There are also wide regional differences in the provision of grammar school places. Some areas have more places than others in relation to the population. Far worse than the regional differences are the social ones. The survey showed that middle-class children have a far higher chances of getting to grammar school – 54 per cent of upper middle-class children got places, compared with 11 per cent of lower manual working-class ones.

Secondary Schools
State secondary schools fall into 3 main types: secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive. Until recently children were selected at about eleven to go to secondary modern or grammar schools.

The grammar school provided a traditional literary and scientific education up to the age of eighteen, it gives pupils the more academic education, and prepares them for entry to universities.

The secondary modern school provides a general education, including much instruction of a practical sort, up to the age of fifteen only, when the children leave school to go to work.

Another type of secondary school, the Technical school, providing technical education up to the age of eighteen, was established by the Educational Act of 1944, but as yet there are very few schools of this type.

Grammar Schools
A child who wins a place at this school, through the results of the 11-plus examination is expected to remain at school at least until the age of sixteen, and take the General Certificate of Education (GCE).

For many pupils the GCE examination at ordinary level (O-level) marks the end of their school career, they may follow some white-collar profession. The GCE is the minimum qualification required by most employers for better office jobs, perhaps leading to administrative position. A small number of pupils remain at school for another two years (i.e. until eighteen years) and sit for the GCE advanced level (A-level), which is required by most universities and colleges of education (training colleges for teachers).

The grammar school tries to copy the public school in many aspects and in the general atmosphere it tries to create. Masters and mistresses wear academic gowns and mortar-boards. The pupils are divided into Houses, which are fictitious groupings, used for competitive sports and matches against one another and inner subordination among the pupils. The pupils also wear uniform with the school badge.

Secondary Modern Schools
The general level of education in these schools is low, concentrating for the most part on practical work. Boys are instructed in metal-work and wood-work and girls in domestic science and cooking. In most of these schools there is no language teaching whatsoever.

The children leave this school at the age of fifteen with no certificate or written evidence of their studies.

Technical Secondary Schools
These schools should not be confused with "technical colleges". They are mainly for students not undergoing full-time courses of instruction. The technical secondary schools provide teaching up to eighteen years of age and of course concentrate on practical subjects, such as commerce, industry and agriculture.

Children in other secondary schools may be transferred to them at the age of thirteen. These schools receive pupils mainly from secondary modern schools. This type of school does not provide a real grounding in the kind of technique necessary for serious higher technological study.

Comprehensive Schools
A new development in secondary education is the Comprehensive school, providing all types of secondary education, for all children in a district, irrespective of their supposed intelligence.

In the nineteen-sixties the national government tried to make all secondary schools comprehensive. Many areas of England have now adopted this system and no longer have "selection". The ruthless division of all but a privileged stream of rich children into two castes at the age of eleven increased the inequalities between rich and poor. The comprehensive system aims to develop the gifts of all children to the full, to reveal those who often remain unsuspected under the old system, and to raise the standards of all children.

These non-selective schools are usually very large. In London there are very few grammar schools and secondary modern schools left now. Nearly all the schools have been reorganized into comprehensive schools, but there have been many angry complaints from parents. Many headmasters are tired of hearing the complaints. People often compare comprehensive schools with grammar schools. This is not really fair because a comprehensive school cannot choose its pupils – It cannot be selective.

Direct Grant Schools
These schools are completely independent of local authorities but receive a grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Education. They mostly provide education of the grammar school type and include some schools of ancient foundation.

Independent Schools
For the upper classes, the 11-plus examination and other forms of selection do not exist. There is a complete, fee-paying system of education, quite separate from the state one, for those who can afford to pay. The terms "primary" and "secondary" are not applied to the independent schools. The transfer from the lower to the higher grade is at thirteen and not eleven. The principal schools for boys (boys and girls above eight are usually educated separately in independent schools) of over thirteen are called public schools and those for younger boys - preparatory schools (colloquially "prep"). Preparatory schools prepare young gentlemen up to the age of thirteen, when they are eligible for the public schools. Many public schools in England date from the sixteenth century, some are even older. At first they gave a basically religious education, later branching out into mathematics, philosophy and some limited natural science. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, these schools had become the private preserve of the aristocracy and then of the wealthy, commercial and industrial families - the ruling class, in fact.

Most of these schools are for boys. Although the public schools are not numerically important, they exert a tremendous influence on the social structure of Great Britain. Nearly all the men holding leading positions in the Government, the armed forces, the judiciary, the commercial world and the Established Church were educated at public schools.

Eton and Harrow are the best known of the public schools. Most of the public schools are boarding schools. Some of the newer schools do take day-boys also.

Only the richest families can afford to send their sons to these schools, but even then it is not always possible to get their children accepted because of the long waiting list. Some parents put their children's name down for a particular school at birth, often choosing "Father's School".

The public schools today retain their religious, classical and academic bias. Much attention is paid to sport especially cricket and rugby. "The Battle of Waterloo", the English like to say, "was won on the playing fields of Eton".

Though teaching is arranged centrally, the boys live in separate houses. A typical house has about fifty boys, and they are all under the care of the housemaster and his wife. The house appoints its prefects and House Captain. This "house" and "prefect" system has been adopted by the secondary grammar schools.

"Fagging" is a well-known public school custom, in which the younger boys act as fags, or servants of the older boys, and is preserved as a form of disciplinary training.

For girls there are also some preparatory and public schools, which are similar to the boys' institutions. Fewer girls are sent to boarding schools and so there are many more day schools for the girls. Such schools are commonly called High Schools. However, the title "High School" is not restricted to schools of this type, some schools controlled by the local education authorities are also entitled "High Schools". The term "High School" in England has no definite meaning, and there is no single category of schools which can be called "High Schools", as in the USA.

College Life in England
Higher education in England has several branches: colleges of education that mostly prepare students to be teachers, polytechnics that usually prepare students for some kind of career, and universities.

Virtually all higher education is selective, usually depending on how well a student does in GCE, "A" level (the General Certificate of Education, "Advanced" level) taken at about 18.

The word university (Latin - universitas) like the word college (Latin - collegium) meant originally a society of people with a common employment; it was only later that it came to be associated with scholarship.

Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest university towns in England. The University of Oxford is a collection of colleges. Some of these colleges were founded hundreds of years ago. "The University" is only an administrative centre which arranges lectures for all the students of the colleges, holds examinations and gives degrees.

The Tutorial system is one of the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from all other English universities. Every student has a tutor who plans his work and acts as a parent to the student away from home. Me gives advice and helps in time of need. Each week some students come to see their tutor and he discusses with them the work which they have done. The Tutorial system has some advantages, but has often operated against progressive thinking in British universities because many tutors are reactionary and they try to have a great social and political influence on their students.

Beside a tutor there is the Dean, who is in charge of the discipline among the 300 students inside College. Last, there are the Directors of Studies and their assistants, the Supervisors.

Discipline out of College is the responsibility of two Dons appointed by the University, called Proctors. Each evening a Proctor with two assistants, called "Bulldogs", in full morning dress and top hats, wanders about the town keeping an eye on the students' behaviour. If he sees a student disobeying the regulation that he must wear a cap and gown (a custom from the time when students were clergymen) he will come up to him and say, "Are you a member of the University, sir?" and if ihe student runs away in an attempt to escape, then the Bulldogs chase him, and they catch him (they are chosen, it is said, because they are good runners), and fine him 6 shillings 8 pence.

At Cambridge to each student's room there is a manservant who with a woman servant, known as a "Bedder", keeps it clean and attends to the needs of the students living there. These men are known as "Gyps" and take a great interest in their "gentlemen".

The academic year in England is divided into three terms, which usually run from the beginning of October to the middle of December, from the middle of January to the end of March and from the middle of April to the end of June or the beginning of July.

Each term is crowded with activity and the vacations between the terms - a month at Christmas, a month at Easter, and three of four months in summer - are mainly periods of private study.

Terminal examinations are held at the end of the autumn, spring and summer terms. Final examinations are taken at the end of the course of studies. If a student fails in an examination he may be allowed to take the exam again. Only two re-examinations are usually allowed. For a break of discipline a student can be fined a sum of money, for a serious offence he may be expelled from the university.

A person studying for a degree at a British university is called an undergraduate, one who has taken a degree is called a graduate.

At Cambridge a degree examination is called Tripos. In the past, when the student went for his degree examination it took him some time to show his knowledge of three subjects (Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric). So he was allowed to bring a small stool or "Tripos" to sit on, and to this day the degree examinations at Cambridge are called "Tripos" examinations.

The first degree at a university is B. A. or B. Sc. which stands for Bachelor of Arts, or of Science. M. A. or M. Sc. denotes Master of Arts, or of Science. One can become a B. A. after three years of hard studying, and an M. A. at the end of five years.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

Other English universities called "modern", "red-brick" or "provincial" are situated in large centres of industry. There are no tutorial systems here. These universities rely on lectures.

Very few children of the working people can be found among the students of all the British universities because the cost of studies is too high.

England needs educated leaders and is doing her best to produce them. Seventeen thousand students graduate every year.

The Oxford and Cambridge graduates come chiefly from upper or lower middle class background. Only 9 per cent are the sons and daughters of manual workers.

They are for the most part, solidly conservative in politics, steady church-goers. Professionalism is their goal. They all want to make money.

Some University Customs
British universities usually keep to the customs of the past. At Oxford University, for example, all the students wear long black gowns and students' caps - mortarboards. Without his or her gown no student is allowed to call on a tutor, to have dinner in the college dining-hall or to attend a lecture – where the gowns are rolled up and used as cushions.

It is interesting to know that in the past especially in the 14th century there were a great number of quarrels between townsmen and students, so-called "Town and Gown" battles.

The University was anxious to be independent of the Town, and the Town was anxious for authority over the new student population. The biggest quarrel broke out in 1354 which turned into a three day fight during which many students were killed.

A story is told from generation to generation at Oxford University, it is a story of an old custom which is kept up to now. Every Christmas day a roast boar head is carried with great ceremony to the table at which the tutors sit. The story of this custom goes back to the early years of the 16th century and celebrates the fight between a student of the college and a wild boar near the college. The student killed the boar by thrusting down its throat a copy of Aristotle which he was reading at that time, saying as he did so, "That's Greek!"

At some Cambridge Colleges there is a curious custom in relation to dining in hall. It is known as "sconcing". If a student should come late to dinner or not be correctly dressed, or if he should break one of the little unwritten laws of behaviour, then the senior student present may order him to be "sconced". The Butler brings in a large silver cup, known as "Sconce Cup", filled with beer which he places in front of the offender who must drink it in one attempt without taking the cup from his lips (it holds two and a half pints). If he succeeds, then the senior student pays for it, if not, the cup is passed round the table at the expense of the student who has been "sconced". No one seems to know the origin of the custom, but one can notice there is a sporting side to this rather odd punishment.

Е. Р. Ліндер, "Чи знаєте ви?"