Vocabulary:
At school - ve škole, the school building - školní budova, the headmaster's - ředitelna, the staff room - sborovna, the secretary's office - sekretariát, a gymnasium - tělocvična, a hall - aula, a dinning hall - jídelna, a corridor - chodba, a basic school - základní škola, a comprehensive school - všeobecná škola, a grammar school - střední škola, a commercial (business) academy - obchodní akademie,
a notice board - nástěnka, a blackboard - tabule, a desk - lavice, headmaster - ředitel, classmate, a schoolmate - spolužák, a lesson - hodina, subjects(předměty) physical education - tělesná výchova, maths, languages, biology, history, geography, arts and music, chemistry, physics, pay attention - dávat pozor, disturb - vyrušovat, final examination, school-leaving examination - závěrečná zkouška, to graduate from university - promovat
System of education in Great Britain
Children under 5 years attend Nursery schools. These schools are optional (volitelný).
All children between the ages of 5 and 16 must receive full-time education in England and Wales. Boys and girls are taught together at most schools. At secondary level most pupils - at the age of 11-can go to comprehensive (všeobec.), secondary technical schools or grammar schools. The majority of children (80%) attend comprehensive schools. Grammar schools are selective (výběrový) - so children must pass an examination (zkouška) to enter them. Majority of parents send their children to state schools, because these schools are unpaid. But there are private schools, too. It is for example Eton, Harrow, Rugby etc. These schools are usually very expensive, but they often offer scholarships (stipendium) to gifted children from poor families.
Secondary schools in Scotland are called public schools. It means that they are open to everyone. Children move from primary to secondary schools at 12, not 11 as in England.
The National Curriculum (osnova) is based on 3 core (hlavní) subjects: English, mathematics and science together with 7 other subjects: history, geography, music, art, physical education, technology and a modern foreign language. It has been done in this way, because earlier many pupils tended to drop important subjects like science, technology and foreign languages and specialize too early.
And in Wales, the Welsh language has to be taught as a forth core subject in Welsh-speaking schools. At the age of 16 pupils pass the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The compulsory subjects are English, mathematics and science. Than about two thirds (2/3) of pupils leave school and get jobs. At the age of 18 students pass the A-level exam, it's a standard examination for entrance to university. There is new exam called Advanced Supplementary (AS), which enables (umožnit) to increase (zvýšit) the number of subjects studied.
Higher education covers (zaujímá) all post-schools courses above GCSE A level. Britain has 47 universities, including Open University. The Open University uses television, radio, correspondence courses and summer schools and it is often for older students, who couldn't go to university in the past, but it's only part-time and fee-paid. The most famous and the oldest universities in Britain are Oxford and Cambridge, often called the Oxbridge colleges. They were built in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Scottish universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were built in the 14th and 15th centuries; the other universities were founded in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1858 the University of Cambridge established UNCLES (the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate). Today are these examinations recognized (uznávané) throughout the world. In CZ they are promoted (podporovaný) by the British Council, which helps with teaching and learning English for foreign students and teachers.
Full-time university first degree courses usually last three or four years (except veterinary and medical courses that last 5 years). The main qualifications are Bachelor of Arts (B. A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) etc. It's usual that for example student of foreign language spends a year in a country where that language is spoken or in industrial location to gen practical experience. Some students continue to study for Masters Degrees (M.A., M.Sc., M.Phil.) and this usually last 1 or 2 years of full-time study. A minority of students go on further for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Education in the USA
In USA there are two sort of schools too. Public, which are free and private schools. In american education students aren´t evaluated by marks but by grades from A to F. A is the best and F is the worst. The youngest children from 3 to 6 go to pre-schools. 6 years old children start to go to elementary school. This school lasts from the first grade until the fifth grade. The children in this school learn to read, write, history, arts, music and so on there.
Secondary schools are called High schools. You can start studying there when you are 11.Secondary schools in USA have got worse level then the Czech schools. The school leaving qualification is usually the High School Diploma.This exam isn´t compulsory. Students take this exam when they are 18. Another examination in America is SAT ( Scholastic Aptitude Test), which can be taken in Mathematic and English. After SAT students can enter a university or a college. In USA there are lots of well-know universities, for example Hardvard, Yale, Princeton and so on. These universities are very expensive. Students in USA don´t get money from their parents so they have to start working when they want to study.
