Text b College Life in England
The University of Oxford is a collection of colleges. Some of these colleges were founded hundreds of years ago. The University is only an administrative centre, which arranges lectures for all the students of the colleges, holds examinations and gives degrees. Every college has students of all kinds; it has its medical students, its engineers, its art students, etc. The tutorial system is one of the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from "all other English universities. Every student has a tutor who plans his work. Each week some students come to see him and he discusses with them the work, which they have done. This system has some advantages, but has often operated against progressive thinking in British universities because many tutors are reactionary and they try to hove a great social and political influence on their students. Other English universities called «modern» or «provincial» are located in large centres of industry. There are no tutorial systems there. These universities rely on lectures. Very few children of the working people can be found among the students of all the British universities because the cost of studies is too high. According to official reports only 3 per cent of the whole number of students at the universities are sons and daughters of the working people.
The academic year in England is divided into three terms. Terminal examinations are held at the end of the autumn, spring and the summer terms. Final examinations are taken at the end of the course of studies. If a student fails in an examination he may be allowed to take the exam again. Only two re-examinations are usually allowed. For a break of discipline a student can be fined a sum of money, for a serious offence he may be expelled from the university.
British universities usually keep to the customs of the past. At Oxford University all the students wear long black gowns and students' caps. Undergraduates try to get old gowns so that people would think that they have been at Oxford for years. Without his or her gown no student is allowed to call on a tutor, to have dinner in the college dining room or attend a lecture - where the gowns are rolled up and used as cushions.
Text C
Universities and Colleges
In 1960 there were only 23 British universities. There are now 46, of which 35 are in England, 8 in Scotland, 2 in Northern Ireland and 1 in Wales. They can be roughly divided into three groups.
Oxford and Cambridge: Scholars were studying in these ancient universities in the early thirteenth century. Since that time Oxford and Cambridge have continued to grow, but until the nineteenth century they were the only universities in England, and
they offered no places to girls.
Four universities were founded in Scotland before Scotland and England were united: St Andrews (1411), Glasgow (1450), Aberdeen (1494) and Edinburgh (1583).
The redbrick universities: In this group are listed all universities founded between 1850 and 1930, including London University. They were called "redbrick" because that was the favourite building material of the time, but they are rarely referred to as "redbrick' today.
The new universities: These were all founded after the Second World War. Some of them quickly became popular because of their modern approach to university courses.
Which university? Gareth asks questions
"My chemistry teacher wants me to try for Cambridge, Chris," Gareth said. "But I'm not sure that I'd fit in there, with all those public school boys."
"Don't be silly! Public school! Comprehensive school! What difference does it make? Anyway, you can't get a place at Oxford or Cambridge these days just because your father is rich or famous. Lei's talk to Henry Robinson. He's at Cambridge, and he didn't go to a public school."
The Robinsons were Christine's neighbours. Henry's younger sisters were both at university too. Pat, aged 20, was at a new university in an ancient cathedral town. Liz, aged 19, was at a university in a northern industrial city. Pat's university was planned in the American campus style, with halls of residence grouped around the main buildings. They had a magnificent library, comfortable common rooms and bars. The halls of residence were mixed.
"They treat us like, adults," Pat said.
Liz does not envy her sister. She and two other girls have rented cheaply a house in a poor district of the city about ten minutes' bus ride from the university. The house is awful," Liz said. "Door handles keep falling off and the cooker doesn't work properly. Once, our lights failed. Luckily, one of our neighbours is an electrician. He spent hours repairing our wiring. We have long talks with him over cups of tea, and we've learnt a lot about how people in the poorer pans of big cities live. Our street is almost a slum, but my people are so kind and friendly. The men are bitter about being unemployed, of course..."
"Our town is a lot smaller than Liz's," Par said. "It hasn't got any slums, but there are a lot of lonely old people. I spend an hour or two each week with an old lady of eighty. We just sit and talk."
"Do many students do social work of that sort?" Christine asked.
"Quite a lot."
"Why did you choose Cambridge, Henry?" Gareth asked.
"Because it's the best university for science subjects. Besides, it still helps to have an Oxford or Cambridge degree."
"They still have snob value when it comes getting a job," said Pat.
"Not nearly as much as they used to, and only in certain jobs," Henry said. "Anyway, I chose Cambridge because of its special atmosphere. I've got rooms in one of the old colleges overlooking the river. It's the college, not the university, that is the centre of our lives. It's like living in a community within a community."
There is great rivalry between colleges, especially in sport.
Study and degrees
Arts and social sciences are more popular than science subjects but the government is trying to reverse this situation. The government has provided extra money for more science teachers and more student places on science, technology and vocational courses. They believe that university education should prepare students more directly for jobs.
Although Britain has a small number of students at universities compared with many countries, the number of graduates is large. This is because students are carefully selected and only 10 per cent leave without getting a degree. So Henry is not worried about failing his examination, but he is very anxious to get a good degree. He is aiming for a first class honours degree in Chemistry because he wants a scientific job in industry.
In Henry's case everything will depend on how well he does in his "finals" at the end of his third (last) year. He finds the uncertainty a great strain. Pat, on the other hand, will not have so great a strain, for although she too will have to take a final exam, she will also get marks for the work she does during her three years at university. These marks will count towards her degree, and will play an important part in deciding whether she gets first, second or third class honours. Many universities have changed and modernised their examination systems.
Pat chose her university because of its progressive ideas on education and its broader and more varied courses. Many of the new universities are experimenting with new subjects.
"I'm doing comparative literature," she said. At the moment I'm comparing English, French and Russian novels. We write papers on our work, and then about ten of us meet with our professor and read them and discuss them his "seminar" system is common in the new universities.
"It works, because we get on well with the professor and lecturers," said Pat. "Some of them aren't much older than us and they don't mind at all if we disagree with them."
"You're lucky," Liz said. "We never open our mouths. We're a dull lot, but then so are most of our lecturers. Besides, the course hasn't changed for the last twenty-five years. I think students ought to have a hand in the planning and reorganisation of their programmes of study."
"Wouldn't work!" said Henry. "Far too many different opinions!"
Henry, like Liz, is critical of some of his professors and lecturers who are more interested in their research projects than in helping him in his studies. But he attends lectures given by some of the most distinguished scholars in the country.
The most important person in Henry's academic life is his supervisor. Every week, alone or with one other student, he has tutorials with his supervisor, who is an approachable man and is always ready to discuss with him anything connected with his work.
"Don't most other universities have some sort of tutorial system these days?" asked Gareth.
"Probably," Henry answered. "But Oxford and Cambridge aren't the best place for every subject."
"No, they're not," Pat went on. "I'm sure most employers are more interested in the kind of degree you have than where it comes from."
Henry, Pat and Liz all have a high opinion of the teaching and of the friendly relations between students and staff at their universities. The student -lecturer ratio at British universities is among the best in the world - 8:1.
In 1968 114,289 students were admitted to universities. In 1978 more than twice as many were admitted. By the 1980s universities were no longer expanding so rapidly, but accommodation remains a problem.
Most universities have hostels or rooms, but not enough for everyone. So all the rest have to find somewhere to live in the neighbouring town. Very few students choose universities near their home.
Who pays?
Mr Robinson, who is a manager in a small department store, cannot afford to pay for his children's education at university. Since they were all able to get the necessary «A» level at school, each of them receives a grant from the local council. This covers most of their fees and living expenses during term rime. Mr Robinson has to pay the rest. If Charles Blakeney's daughter went to university, however, she would receive no grant. The size of the LEA grant depends on the size of the parents' income.
At present these grants do not have to be repaid to the government but the Conservative Party have discussed the possibility of replacing grants with loans.
Text D
Other Colleges for Further Education
Polytechnics: These could be called the "comprehensives of further education", where students can study for diplomas or even degrees, or else just continue their education in the subjects of their choice. The polytechnics offer full-time or part-time courses for students of all ages (usually over 18). There are thirty polytechnics in England and Wales, and fourteen similar colleges in Scotland. They all have the status of universities.
Other kinds of colleges: There are specialist colleges such as the Agricultural Colleges, Colleges of Art and Music, the National Colleges for advanced technical studies for industry. There are also a large number of local colleges of farther education, technical colleges and colleges of commerce, all of which take part-time as well as full-time students and offer them a very wide choice of subjects.
Graduation ceremony at Cambridge The University of East Anglia, one of the most popular new universities
Adult education: Courses for adults at these colleges may be vocational (concerning a person's job) or recreational (purely for pleasure). These courses are provided by the local councils, or by a body called the Workers' Educational Association (WEA). Sometimes lecturers from a neighbouring university give a series of lectures.
Courses in pottery (making vases, pots, ornaments), woodwork, car maintenance, modern languages and cookery, are usually well attended.
Most villages and small towns have clubs and societies of all kinds, and their secretaries invite experts to come and talk to them. Some of these lecturers have a nation-wide reputation.
Altogether, there are several million full-time and part-time students at polytechnics, LEA colleges and evening institutes — their ages ranging between sixteen and eighty!
Part-time education: Every young worker who joins the Blakeney firm spends one day a week — with pay — at a technical college or college of further education. They take courses in their particular skill and work for a diploma.
"You get better work out of an educated worker," Charles says. "Besides, firms which offer further education of this sort attract a better kind of worker. I've got a promising young mechanic studying for an engineering degree at a polytechnic."
There is no law which forces employers to send their young workers to these colleges, but employers have to pay a "Further Education Tax" whether they take advantage of the system or not. Herbert Perkins considers the tax to be unfair.
"What are you grumbling about, Herbert?" said Charles. "If you sent your workers to classes you'd get your money back in the form of a generous training grant. That's the whole idea of the tax. It's meant to encourage old reactionaries like you to be progressive!"
"It's a waste of time and public money," replied Herbert. "If my workers want to better themselves they should go to evening classes in their spare time — as I did."
Text E
The Youth Training Scheme
The majority of young people do not continue their education beyond the age of 16. Most of those who leave school at 16 or 17 cannot find a job either, so about half a million each year join the Youth Training Scheme. The scheme was set up in 1983. The trainees get work experience in local firms as well as training and they also get a small weekly wage. Some trainees find the training and work experience helps them to get a real job at the end but others feel that it is just a way of keeping young people occupied. "It provides cheap labour for industry", the scheme's critics say. "And it reduces the unemployment figures artificially."
Text F