Oxbridge: Education in the UK
Read the quotations about education and discuss them with your partner.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Nelson Mandela
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
Aristotle
Education is the movement from darkness to light.
Allan Bloom
Adopted from http://www.brainyquote.com/
1. Why do we need education?
2. What levels of education can a person have?
3. Do you think it is important to have a university education?
Look through the table and find out what the peculiarities are there between Russian and British school systems.
| Age | Stage of education | Type of school | Activity |
| 2-5 | preschool | Nursery | games with some other learning |
| 5/6 12/13 | Primary | infant junior | basic reading, writing, art, arithmetic |
| 12/13- 16/18 | secondary | comprehensive or grammar | wide range of subjects in art and science and technical areas |
| 18 + | Higher | college or polytechnic or university | degrees/ diplomas in specialized academic areas |
Read the text and complete the gaps with the given words.
state, break up, compulsory, academic, secondary, nursery school, primary, graduate, terms, private, degree, co-educational.
When children are two or three years old, they sometimes go to a _____, where they learn simple games and songs. Their first real school is called a _____school. In Britain children start this school at the age of five. The ____year in Britain begins in September and is divided into three ____. Schools ____ for summer holiday in July. _____ education begins at the age of about eleven, and most schools at this level are ___, which means boys and girls study together in the same class. In Britain education is ____ from five to 16 years of age, but many children choose to remain at school for another two or three years after 16 and take higher exams. Most children go to ____schools, which are maintained by the government or local education authorities, but some children go to _____schools, which can be very expensive. University courses normally last three years and then students ____. Which means they receive their ____.
What school is it?
1. Pupils show a preference for academic subjects.
2. Pupils read, write, do sums, play. They spend a lot of time outdoors.
3. These schools offer commercial or technical courses.
4. Boys and girls are interested in working with their hands.
5. They learn some trade at these schools. These schools usually combine all types of secondary education.
Grammar schools - __, primary schools - __, comprehensive schools - __, technical schools - __, modern schools - __.
Place the following statements under the correct heading.
| The UK system | Russian system |
1. Children ages 6-7/17 attend school
2. Pupils do not wear school uniforms
3. Pupils have a lunch at school free of charge
4. School discipline is not very strict
5. Summer vacations from June to August
6. Education is divided into 4 stages
7. Children ages 5-16/18 attend school
8. Pupils have to wear school uniforms to school
9. Pupils eat a hot lunch at school
10. Pupils have exams at the ages of 7, 11, 13 and 16
11. There are state and private schools in the country
12. School discipline is very strict.
Higher education
