The system of education and the oldest universities of Great Britain

The aim of education in general is to develop to the full the talents of both children and adults for their own benefit and that of society as a whole. The educational system of Great Britain has developed for over a hundred years. It is a complicated system with wide variations between one part of the country and another. All children and young people between the ages of 5 and 16 in England, Scotland and Wales, and 4 and 16 in Northern Ireland, must, by law, receive full-time education.

The education service: The Department of Education and Science (DES) It is concerned with the formation of national policies for education. And it is responsible for the maintenance of minimum national standard of education Local Education Authorities (LEAs) They are charged with the provision and day-to-day running of the schools and colleges in their areas and the recruitment and payment of the teachers who work in them. Schools The choice of text- books and timetable are usually left to the headmaster. The content and method of teaching is decided by the individual teacher. Her Majestys Inspectorate He gives professional advice

The Nursery school The infant school The Junior school The Primary School Eleven-Plus Examination Secondary Schools Universities Colleges The General Certificate of Education, "Advanced" level 3 types: The grammar School The secondary modern the Technical school The comprehensive school

The Nursery schools A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of three and five, staffed by qualified teachers and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare. The infant school 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 Junior school The Junior school is for children aged seven to eleven. Towards the end of their fourth year in the junior school, a certain percentage of English schoolchildren still have to write their 11+ Examinations

Secondary Schools Comprehensive school Comprehensive schools admit children of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary education for all or most of the children in a district. 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. 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. 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.

State and Public schools Fettes College Eton school The great majority of children (about 9 million) attend Britains 30,500 state schools. No tuition fees are payable in any of them. A further 600,000 go to 2,500 private schools, often referred to as the independent sector where the parents have to pay for their children

Higher education in England has several branches: colleges 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. Higher education

THe university of Oxford The university of Oxford located in the city of Oxford is one of the oldest and most highly revered Universities in Europe. It grew out of efforts begun by King Alfred the Great in 872 to encourage education and establish schools throughout his territory. Today Oxford University is comprised of thirty-nine colleges. and six permanent private halls, together with that of the University's libraries and museums, gives the city its unique character More than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of over 18,000. There have been many famous people who have studied at Oxford University and they include John Locke, Adam Smith, Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde, J. R. Tolkien, Indira Gandhi, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, All in all, Oxford has produced four British and at least eight foreign kings, 47 Nobel prize-winners, 25 British Prime Ministers, 28 foreign presidents and prime ministers.

University of Cambridge The start of the University is generally taken as 1209, when some masters and students arrived in Cambridge after fleeing from rioting in Oxford. The University at present has more than 16,500 full-time students. There have been many famous people who have studied at Oxford University and they include Lord Byron, Charles Darwin, Vladimir Nabokov. The great Russian scientist Pavlov came to Cambridge to receive the degree of the Honorary Doctor of Cambridge. All in all, Cambridge has produced 80 Nobel-prize winners (33 more than Oxford and the highest number of any university worldwide), 13 British Prime Ministers.

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