British Education System & British Foreign Relatio

BritishEducationSystem&BritishForeignRelationsBritishEducationSystemThepurposeoftheBritisheducationsystemisnotonlyteachchildrenliteracybutalsotosocialisechildren.Therelationshipbetweeneducationandsocialclass:classinequalitycanbeerasedorcontinuedaccordingtoeducationalpolicy./Theschooltieisaclearmarkerofsocialclass.TheinfluenceoftheChurchonschoolingisstrong:untilveryrecently,religiouseducationwastheonlysubjectwhichthestateinsistedallschoolsteachtheirpupils(othersubjectswereleftuptoschoolstodecideupon).Importantchangesinthepast:theIndustrialRevolutionmadetheBritisheducationsystemrunbythestate./WorldWarIImadeeducationsystemreconstructed.Thenewsystememphasizesequality.The1944EducationActComprehensiveschoolswereintroducedin1960s.GrammarschoolsStateschools(with“leaguetables”,parentscouldmakechoicesforkids)/publicschools(independentschools)Pre-schooleducationintheUK(TheSureStartProgrammeaimstoincreasetheavailabilityofchildcareandpre-schooleducationforthoseunder5.64%ofthreeandfouryearoldsarenowenrolledinschoolsintheUK.)NationalCurriculumin1989(NationalCurriculumcoresubjectsare:English,mathematicsandscience;WelshisacoresubjectinWelsh-speakingschools.Foundationsubjectsaredesignandtechnology;informationandcommunicationtechnology;history;geography;modernforeignlanguages;music;artanddesign;physicaleducation;religiouseducation;andcitizenship.)Full-timeeducationiscompulsoryinGreatBritainforallchildrenbetween5and16years,andbetween4and16yearsinNorthernIreland.Mostpupilsreceivefreeeducationatstateschools;andapproximately7%attendprivate,fee-payingschools,orareeducatedathome.Three-quartersofyoungpeopleintheUnitedKingdomchoosetostayinfull-timeeducationafter16,eithercontinuinginschoolorbyattendingfurthereducationcolleges.Afterfurtherstudyatschoolorfurthereducationcolleges,aboutathirdofallyoungpeopleenteruniversitiesorotherinstitutionsofhighereducation.K-12andPrimaryEducationintheUKScottishcurriculumfork-12schoolScotlandhasitsownqualificationframeworkthatisseparatefromthatinEngland,WalesandNorthernIreland.Aftersevenyearsofprimaryeducationandfouryearsofcompulsorysecondaryeducation,studentsaged15to16maytaketheScottishCertificateofEducation(SCE).TheScottishCertificateofEducationisrecognizedthroughoutBritainastheequivalenttoGCEA-levelsandisusuallytheentryqualificationforuniversity.Schoolcurriculum-England,NorthernIreland,WalesBylaw,allchildrenofcompulsoryschoolage(between5and16)mustreceiveafull-timeeducation.TheUKintroducedaNationalCurriculumin1992andstateschoolsarerequiredtoadheretoituntilstudentsreachage14.However,independentor'public'schoolsarenotobligedtodoso.Afterfiveyearsofsecondaryeducation,studentstakeexaminationsinarangeofsubjectsatthelevelofGeneralCertificateofSecondaryEducation(GCSE).TheGCSEisasingle-subjectexaminationsetandmarkedbyindependentexaminationboards.Studentsusuallytakeuptoten(thereisnoupperorlowerlimit)GCSEexaminationsindifferentsubjects,includingmathematicsandEnglishlanguage.AftertakingGCSEs,studentsmayleavesecondaryschooling;alternatively,theymaychoosetocontinuetheireducationatvocationalortechnicalcolleges,ortheymaytakeahigherlevelofsecondaryschoolexaminationsknownasAS-Levelsafteranadditionalyearofstudy.Followingtwoyearsofstudy,studentsmaytakeA-Level(shortforAdvancedLevel)examinations,whicharerequiredforuniversityentranceintheUK.Co-educationalormixedschoolsGCSEexams/GCE-A(GNVQs)Britishuniversitiesarepublicones.Onlyoneprivateuniv.istheUniversityofBuckingham.therewasanexpansioninthenumbersofuniversitiesin1960sand1992TheOpenUniv.Thereare89universityinstitutionsintheUnitedKingdomincludingtheOpenUniversity.UKuniversitiesenjoyacademicfreedom,appointtheirownstaff,admitstudentsandawardtheirowndegrees.OxfordandCambridgedatefromthe13thcenturyandtheScottishuniversitiesofStAndrews,GlasgowandAberdeendatefromthe15thcentury.WhatistheoldestUniversityinBritain?TheUniversityofOxfordwasthefirstuniversitytobeestablishedinBritain.Datingfromthe12thcentury,itisorganisedasafederationofcollegesthataregovernedbytheirownteachingstaff,knownas‘fellows’.Theoldestcollege,UniversityCollege,wasfoundedin1249.OthernotablecollegesincludeAllSouls(foundedin1438),ChristChurch(foundedin1546byCardinalWolsey)andLadyMargaretHall(foundedin1878),whichwasthefirstwomen’scollege.TodayOxfordUniversityismadeupof35separatecolleges,ofwhichtwoareforwomenstudentsonly,andtherestenrollbothmenandwomen.In1208,thefirstacademiccommunityinCambridgewasestablished.TheUniversityisalsoorganisedasafederationofcolleges;theoldest,Peterhouse,datesfrom1284.KingHenryVIIIfoundedthelargestcollege,Trinity,in1546.Scotlandalsohasanumberoflong-establisheduniversities.BytheendoftheMiddleAges,Scotlandhadfouruniversities:Edinburgh(founded1583),Glasgow(founded1450),Aberdeen(founded1494)andSt.Andrews(founded1411).TheUniversityofWaleswasfoundedin1893.ItsoldestcollegeisSt.David’sUniversityCollegeinLampeter,foundedin1822.Queen’sUniversity,Belfast,wasfoundedin1845asQueen’sCollege,Belfast,partoftheQueen’sUniversityofIreland.Itreceiveditcharterasaseparateuniversityin1908