Английский язык. Александрова Г.А. - 83 стр.

                     Conversational topic Education
                              Education in Britain
                                         Text 1
        British education has many different faces, but one goal. Its aim is
to realise the potential of all, for the good of the individual and society as
a whole.
        Compulsory primary education begins at the age of 5 in England,
Wales and Scotland, and 4 in Northern Ireland. Around half of 3-and 4-
year olds in Britain receive nursery education, and many other children
attend preschool playgroups, mostly organised by parents.
        Children usually start their school career in an infant school and
move to a junior school or department at age 7. In some parts of the coun-
try, though, children begin at a first school at age 5, and move on to a
middle school at age 8, 9, or 10. Primary schools vary in size and location,
some having as few as two teachers and others as many as 30.
        At the age of 11 most children go to a comprehensive school where
they stay until they are 16. In the past children went to different types of
secondary schools, but in most parts of the country everybody now goes
to a comprehensive. In Britain most children of compulsory secondary
school age (11 to 16) receive free education financed from public funds.
        Some parents, who do not want their children to go to a comprehen-
sive pay to send them to a private school. The most expensive and presti-
gious private schools are actually called public school.
        At 7 and 11 years old (and at secondary school, at 14 and 16), teach-
ers measure children’s progress in each subject against attainment targets.
In English, for instance, there are five basic targets: speaking and listen-
ing; reading; writing; spelling; and handwriting. For each target, there are
ten levels of attainment. For example, in order to achieve attainment level
2 in writing, a child should, amongst other things, be able to structure
sequences of real or imagined events coherently in chronological accounts
- this could be in an account of a family occasion, or in a practical mathe-
matics task, or in an adventure story.
        At the age of 16 children take their examinations. Most take Gener-
al Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) qualifications. Ordinary
Levels - normally called just «O» Levels. Children take «O» Levels in as

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