Education

Vocabulary

Education – образование

Compulsory – обязательный

Primary school – начальная школа

Secondary school – средняя школа

Head teacher – директор школы

Curriculum – учебный план

Eleven Plus Exam – отборочный испытания школьников в возрасте 11 лет

Grammar school – государственная «классическая» школа, в программу включено изучение классических языков, готовит к поступлению в университет

Modern school – “соврeменная школа», государственная школа с практической направленностью (изучение классических языков не предусматривается)

Comprehensive school – единая государственная средняя школа общей направленности, соединяющая теоретическую и практическую подготовку

State school – государствeнная школа

Boarding school – школа-интернат

Public school – привилегированная частная школа (чаще всего – школа-интернат)

Term – семестр (триместр, учебная четверть)

Catchment area – микрорайон

GCSE – General Certificate of Secondary Education – 1) экзамен на получение аттестата об общем среднем образовании; 2) аттестат об общем среднем образовании

“A” level (Advanced Level) exam – экзамен по программе средней школы на повышенном уровне (проводится по окончании шестого класса)

Vocational subject – “практический», профессионально ориентированный предмет

College of further education – колледж дополнительного образования, повышения квалификации

School-leaver – выпускник школы

Undergraduate course – общий курс основного университетского образования

Undergraduate – студент

B.A. – Bachelor of Arts – обладатель степени бакалавра по одной из гуманитарных или математических наук в университете

B.Sc. – Bachelor of Science – обладатель степени бакалавра наук

Postgraduate degree – ученая степень выше бакалавра

Postgraduate student – аспирант

PhD – Doctor of Philosophy – ученая степень доктора философии, примерно соответствует российской степени кандидата наук

Doctor of Science – высшая ученая степень, соответствует российской степени доктора наук

Grant – 1) стипендия; 2) грант

Interview - собеседование

Task 1:

Before you read: At what age do children start school in your

country? When do they take major exams? Do you think those ages are appropriate?

1. Reading

Task 1:

Read the text and answer the questions.

1) What is the difference between Ryde College and most other British schools?

1. Ryde College has better teachers.

2. Ryde College students study earlier and more quickly.

3. Ryde College takes only the best students.

2)Find the names of two English school exams.

3) Find the English word for a university qualification.

Hothouse flowers

It’s 10 a.m. on a bright Saturday morning, but, in a classroom in Hertfordshire, a group of four-year-olds are starting what is, for them, a school day like any other. They start to tap* at their keyboards, producing a database of all their toys. Half an hour later they write up the theory that they have just put into practice. Welcome tu Ryde College, the place where you are never too young to start.

Ryde College opened in 1982 and has become famous for the precocious success of its students. Most of its pupils attend regular state primary or secondary schools during the day, and then have classes at Ryde in the evening and on Saturdays. Pupils come here to get ahead of the test. You can put a child into a “technology for toddlers*” class before it has reached its second birthday, or enter your seven-year-old for a GCSE.

100 per cent of Ryde GCSE students pass their exams, even though they cover the courses in nine months. Most secondary schools cover the same syllabus in two years. Last year the college’s successes included a six-year-old who passed a GCSE in Information technology, and a 10-year-old who passed an A-level in computing. Dr Ryde , the college’s 71-year-old founder, believes that the ethos* of the college is the right one.

“When a child is young, their brains are like sponges, they absorb everything you give them”, he says. “By the time they are in their late teens, their ability to learn has lessened*. They are the OAPs* of the academic world”.

Dr Ryde calls this method “accelerated learning”. Others call it “hothousing”. Call it what you like, but it is a growing trend in British education. These days the competition to get a child into a good school is so intense that parents are increasingly using private tutors to help their child survive the education system. Some well-off* parents even employ private tutors for their three-year-olds.

Hothousing is also a phenomenon of the state system these days. Whereas children used to start formal education at five, some now start at four, and increasing numbers of state pupils are talking GCSEs before they reach secondary school.

In a Ryde world, all children would be able to take exams when they were ready, even to start degrees at 11. Some argue that such children are being deprived of their childhood and become less well-rounded* adults as a result. Dr Ryde dismisses such criticism. “If you have a child that is gifted* in ice-skating or singing, then no one comments of those children get extra training at a young age”, he says. “So why is it wrong to give children who have a passion for learning extra education when they are ready for it?”

Task 2:

Complete the table about the usual education system in England. You can find the information in the text.

The state system Age

Begin primary school … or …

Begin secondary school 11

Start studying for GCSE exams 14 Take GSCE exams … (students can leave school at this age)

Take … exams 18

School hours: Monday to…

Approximately 9 a.m. – 3.30 p.m.

Task 3:

What is the youngest age for a student at Ryde College to:

1. start a technology class?

2. Pass a GCSE exam?

3. Pass an A-level exam?

Task 3:

Match the beginnings and the ends of the sentences.

1) Most Ryde students a. give their three-year-olds private tutors.

2) GCSE students at Ryde b. learn better than teenagers.

3) According to Dr Ryde, young children c. thinks that children who love

studying should have extra education.

4) Some rich English people d. only study for 9 months.

5) Critics of Ryde e. go to state school too.

6) Dr Ryde f. think that the pupils don’t have a real

childhood.

2. WRITING

Write a table like the one in Task 2 for your country’s education

system.

3. SPEAKING

What are the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging very young children to study and be successful? Think about:

• making the most of your abilities

• getting good qualifications

• getting a good job

• being different from other children

• free time

• stress.

WORD BANK

Ethos – fundamental principles

Get ahead of – be better than

Gifted – extremely talented

Hothousing – to intensely educate young children (as a plant in a hothouse gets intense heat)

Lessen – diminish

OAP – Old Age Pensioner

Tap – hit with the finger

Toddler – a child aged approximately 18 months – 3 years

Well-off – rich

Well-rounded – complete and varied