College Life in England

Higher education in England has several branches: colleges of education that mostly prepare students to be teachers, polytechnics that usually prepare students for some kind of career, and universities.

Virtually all higher education is selective, usually depending on how well a student does in GCE, "A" level (the General Certificate of Education, "Advanced" level) taken at about 18.

The word university (Latin — universitas) like the word college (Latin — collegium) meant originally a society of people with a common employment; it was only later that it came to be associated with scholarship.

Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest university towns in England. The University of Oxford is a collection of colleges. Some of these colleges were founded hundreds years ago. "The University" is only an administrative centre which arranges lectures for all the students, holds examinations and gives degrees.

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 and acts as a parent to the student away from home. He gives advice and helps in time of need. Each week some students come to see their tutor and he discusses with them the work which they have done. The Tutorial system has some advantages, but has often operated against progressive thinking in British universities because many tutors are reactionary and they try to have a great social and political influence on their students.

Beside a tutor there is the Dean, who is in charge of the discipline among the 300 students inside College. Last, there are the Directors of Studies and their assistants, the Supervisors.

Discipline out of College is the responsibility of two Dons appointed by the University, called Proctors. Each evening a Proctor with two assistants, called "Bulldogs", in full morning dress and top hats, wanders about the town keeping an eye on the students' behavior. If he sees a student disobeying the regulation that he must wear a cap and gown (a custom from the time when students were clergymen) he will come up to him and say, "Are you a member of the University, sir?" and if the student runs away in an attempt to escape, then the Bulldogs chase him, and they catch him (they are chosen, it is said, because they are good runners), and fine him 6 shillings 8 pence.

At Cambridge to each student's room there is a manservant who with a woman servant, known as a "Bedder", keeps it clean and attends to the needs of the students living there. These men are known as "Gyps" and take a great interest in their "gentlemen".

The academic year in England is divided into three terms, which usually run from the beginning of October to the middle of December, from the middle of January to the end of March and from the middle of April to the end of June or the beginning of July.

Each term is crowded with activity and the vacations between the terms — a month at Christmas, a month at Easter, and three of four months in summer — are mainly periods of private study.

Terminal examinations are held at the end of the autumn, spring and 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.

A person studying for a degree at a British university is called an undergraduate; one who has taken a degree is called a graduate.

At Cambridge a degree examination is called Tripos. In the past, when the student went for his degree examination it took him some time to show his knowledge of three subjects (Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric). So he was allowed to bring a small stool or "Tripos" to sit on, and to this day the degree examinations at Cambridge are called "Tripos" examinations.

The first degree at a university is B. A. or B. Sc. which stands for Bachelor of Arts, or of Science. M. A. or M. Sc. denotes Master of Arts, or of Science. One can become a B. A. after three years of hard studying, and an M. A. at the end of five years.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

Other English universities called "modern", "redbrick" or "provincial" are situated in large centers of industry. There are no tutorial systems here. 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.

England needs educated leaders and is doing her best to produce them. Seventeen thousand students graduate every year.

The Oxford and Cambridge graduates come chiefly from upper or lower middle class background. Only 9 per cent are the sons and daughters of manual workers. They are for the most part, solidly conservative in politics, steady church-goers. Professionalism is their goal. They all want to make money.

Some famous people who studied in Oxford:

Kings: Richard Leonhard, Henry V, Charles 1, Edward VII, Edward VIII, Naruhito and Masako, Olav V.

Writers: T.E. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Persy Shelley, C.S. Lewis, Graham Greene, Milton, Henry James, Lewis Carroll, Jonathan Swift.

Politicians: Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Brutto, Indira Gandhi.

Thinkers: Erasmus, Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Walter Raleigh, William Penn, Cecil Rhodes.

Entertainers: Kris Kristofferson, Dudley Moore, Michael Paling, Rowan Atkinson, John Schlesinger.

Exercise 38. Choose three or more facts or ideas you liked from the article about the Oxford and Cambridge Universities and give your comments.

Exercise 39. Note all advantages and disadvantages of studding at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.