2. Courts and crimes

All criminal cases start in the magistrates’ courts. The minor or less important cases stay there, with the magistrates deciding on guilt or innocence and then sentencing the criminal. Serious cases are referred by the magistrates to the Crown court – this is called “committal”.

In committals the magistrates hear the evidence and decide whether there is a case to answer. Crown court judges have power to sentence more heavily than magistrates.

On committal the accused is either released (‘bailed”) by the magistrates, or held in prison until the trial, if the police think there is a danger he might disappear or threaten prosecution witnesses.

Whether the case is committed to the Crown court depends on the seriousness of the crime. The most minor cases, such as motoring offences, are known as summary offences, and they are always dealt with by magistrates. The most serious crimes such as murder and armed robbery are called indictable offences, and they are always committed to the Crown court.

Sometimes it is the accused who decides where to be tried, but he should listen carefully to the advice of his lawyer. He may decide that he stands a better chance of being acquitted by a sympathetic jury than by a panel of stern magistrates, but he runs the risk of a higher sentence from a Crown court judge if the jury finds him guilty.

Sentencing

The most common sentences are fines, prison and probation. Probation is used with more minor offences. A person on probation must report to a local police station at regular intervals, which restricts his or her movement.

Magistrates and judges may also pass suspended sentences. This means that the person will not serve the sentence unless he or she commits another crime. A sentence of community service means that the convicted person has to spend several hours a week doing useful work in his locality.

Appealing

People who have been convicted can appeal if their lawyer can either show that the trial was wrongly conducted or produce new evidence. Appeal can also be made against the severity of a sentence. Appeals from a magistrates’ court are to the Crown Court and then up through the courts system to the Judicial Chamber of the House of Lords, the highest court in the country. From there, appeal is to the European Court of Justice.

The Appeals System in England and Wales

The diagram shows the courts in order of importance, with arrows representing the appeals system.

Criminal Courts in England and Wales

House of Lords

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Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

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Crown Court

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Magistrates’ Court

Lecture 7

THE SYSTEM OF SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION (PART 1)

Plan

1. General Idea about the School System

2. The Comprehensive, Selective and Private Systems of Education.

3. Examinations

4. School Year

1. GENERAL IDEA ABOUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

British education has many different faces, but one goal. Its aim is to realize the potential of all, for the good of the individual and the country.

In Britain education is compulsory from the age of five (4 in Northern Ireland) to sixteen (in the US, children must go to school from the age of 5 or 6 to between the ages of 14 or 16, depending on the law in the state where they live). The majority of secondary schools continue to provide education until the age of 18.

In some parts of the UK, the local government in nursery schools and nursery classes provides pre-school education for children aged 2-3 and 5 (in the US parents have to pay for nursery education).

There is usually a move from primary to secondary school at about the age of eleven because there is no statutory age at which pupils change from primary to secondary school. Depending on the policy of the Local Education Authority, children may go directly to the upper school – usually called the comprehensive school – at the age of 11. Alternatively, they may go to the middle school for three or four years before going to the upper school.

Under the Education Reform Act of 1988 the Department of Education and Science maintains overall control although local education authorities and head teachers have considerable powers in planning and administration. Plans were introduced for more centralized control, including a compulsory National Curriculum for all schools. It lists in detail the subjects that all children must study. According to the National Curriculum three subjects are made compulsory – English, mathematics, and science. Such foundation subjects as technology (including design), history, geography, music, art, physical education and a modern foreign language must be included in the curricula of all pupils. Passage from one academic year to the next is automatic. Children are tested at the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16 to see if they have reached a particular level of achievement in those subjects. The National Curriculum does not apply in Scotland, where each school decides what subjects it will teach. Some British schools have prayers and religious teaching (US public schools are not allowed to include prayers or to teach particular religious beliefs. Some people want schools to be able to do this, and it is a subject that is often discussed by politicians).

Until the 1960s most children took an examination at the end of primary school (the Eleven Plus): those who passed went to grammar schools while those who did not went to secondary modern schools. A few areas still select at the age of eleven, but about 90% of secondary schools in Britain are now comprehensive, taking children of all abilities from their local area.

The Education Reform Act aims to give parents a wider choice of schools for their children. Most parents choose to send their children to free state schools (=public schools in the US) financed from public funds but an increasing number of secondary pupils attend fee-paying independent schools outside the state system. Many of these are boarding schools, which provide accommodation for pupils during term time. Many independent boarding schools are confusingly called public schools in England and Wales. Schools in Britain have three terms a year, each with a short half-term break in the middle, and longer holidays at Christmas and Easter and in summer.

Under recent government reforms, science and technology are assuming ever-increasing importance in the school curriculum. Pupils spend a substantial amount of time carrying out practical tasks.

Information technology is widely used in schools, so that pupils become familiar with the new technologies and are able to use them as a way of enhancing learning.

Children from different ethnic and religious backgrounds attend the same schools.