Read the excerpt below. Discuss how it compares with the situation in Russia. Search the Internet for further information.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 802.

The British educational system has much in common with the European system, e.g.:

ö There are three main stages of schooling:

1) primary school (infant schools are for children between the ages of 5 and 7; junior schools for those between the ages of 8 and 11);

2) secondary schools are for pupils between the ages of 11 and 18;

3) further and higher education (colleges of further education, technical colleges, colleges of higher education, universities).

ö Full-time education is compulsory for all children.

ö Compulsory education is free of charge.But parents may choose a private school and pay for educating their children. According to the statistics 93% of British pupils receive free education, the others attend independent schools financed by the fees made by their parents.

ö The academic year begins at the end of the summer.

There are two routes young people can follow after the age of 16: one is based on school and college education, whereas the other is work-based learning. About 70% of young people choose to continue in full-time education after the age of 16. Broadly speaking, they may decide in favor of further (vocational) or higher education. Vocational courses are concerned with the teaching of job-related skills, while the higher education sector provides a great variety of courses up to degree and postgraduate degree level, as well as carries out research. As for the government its major objective is to increase the number of students who enter into higher education: it is assumed that the more young people study at degree level, the more likely the nation will succeed economically.

The British academic year at university is divided into three terms, roughly eight to ten weeks each. The British students have their vacations at Christmas (one month), at Easter (one month), and in summer (three or four months). The courses are “full-time” which really means full-time, i.e. the students are not supposed to take a job during term time.

Students studying for the first degree are called undergraduates. At the end of the third year undergraduates sit for their examinations to take the bachelor's degree. The students engaged in the study of history, languages, economics and law (arts subjects) take Bachelor of Arts (BA). Students studying medicine, dentistry, technology or agriculture (pure or applied sciences) get Bachelor of Science (BSc). When students are awarded the degree, they are known as graduates. Those who get their Bachelor degree can apply to take a further degree course. It involves a mixture of exam courses and research.

There exist two types of postgraduate courses:

1) the Master's Degree (MA or MSc). It takes one or two years;

2) the higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). It takes two or three years. Funding for postgraduate courses is so limited that even students who obtain first class degrees may be unable to get a grant. As a result a great number of postgraduates have heavy bank loans or are working to pay their way to higher education.