Education is a subject about which many British people care
deeply. Most believe that the state should provide education free of charge and
to a high standard. At election time, politicians who promise to spend more on
education are popular with voters. Recently, there has been a lot of debate
about students having to pay their own fees at university, as well as well as
their living expenses. Some people are afraid that poorer students will not
receive enough financial help and will be discouraged from going on to higher
education.
In Britain, education is decentralized. Apart from schools
which are supported and publicly maintained, there are also the so-called
“public schools” which are independent and which charge high fees for studying.
Education in Britain is obligatory between the ages of five and fifteen. At the
age of five, children go to Infant School. At the age of eleven children take
the so-called “eleven plus” examination, determining which type of secondary
school they will attend. However, this early selection has been strongly
criticized and that is why many comprehensive schools have been set up, to
exclude this stressful examination. There are three types of secondary schools
in Britain. Children may go to grammar schools, secondary modern schools and
secondary technical schools. Only about 25 per-cent of the pupils attend
grammar schools. They provide education of an academic type and many students
go on to university upon graduation. More children go to secondary modern schools
which give a general but also more practical education. Many pupils leave
school at the age of fifteen but others stay on until they are sixteen. Most
grammar school children stay at school until the age of seventeen or eighteen.
Upon leaving, pupils may take an examination for the General Certificate of
Education.
