Schools in the United Kingdom

FACULTY OF PSYCHOLOGY

Hello again! This is Sveta Smirnova and this time I'll tell you about my Institute and my studies.

I am very happy that I study here. It is one of the finest Republic’s higher educational institutions. Many famous peo­ple have graduated from my Institute, and not only teachers or scientists, but many outstanding writers, actors, and politicians. Studying at our Institute gives a solid background in all spheres of knowledge and prepares for practical work.

Our Institute is quite large but not very old, compare to other national institutions. It was founded in the middle of the 20^th century. It was established in 1962 and ten years later it was named after a famous Mordovian scientist M.E.Evsevyev. It became the largest Institute in the region and it gave birth to various specialities. Nowadays it is a large school where more than 6 000 students are currently enrolled. The majority are full-time students, like me, and the rest are part time-students. There are also a lot of graduate students — as­pirants and doctorants. They conduct independent research work and have pedagogical practice.

The course of study at my Institute lasts five years. There are many faculties at my Institute. Here are some of them: the faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology, History and Law, Philology and Foreign languages, the Faculty of Physical Education, Pedagogical Faculty and, of course, the faculty of Psychology, where I currently study.

Our Institute is large and we have several buildings. There are many large halls there so that students of 3-4 groups together can fit in there. And that is more than 100 people. The acoustics in such large halls is very good but sometimes it is very noisy when students chat during the lecture.

Each faculty has its own library, several computer classes, gyms, and other facilities. Many students from my group want to do their own research work in the future and these facilities will certainly help them.

There are several cafes at the University. My favourite one is situated in our building. The food there is tasty and very affordable.

There are also several dormitories or hostel buildings where students from other cities or countries live. But you know already that I don't live in a dormitory -- I live with my parents.

Vocabulary

solid background	твердая база, основание
currently	в настоящее время
to be enrolled	числиться в списках студентов
full-time students	студенты дневного отделения
part-time students	студенты заочного отделения
to conduct	проводить
course of study	курс обучения
to chat	беседовать, болтать
facilities	службы, помещения
researchwork	исследовательская работа
tasty	вкусный
affordable	доступный
afford	позволять
noisy	шумный

Exercise 1.

Describe the following. Be as specific as possible:

a) your secondary school (college);

b) the faculty of your university;

c) your favourite teacher at school.

Exercise 2.

Do you know?

1) When was your Institute established?

2) Who was its first rector?

3) Were there any famous a) scientists, engineers b) politicians c) artists among the graduates?

4) How many people are currently enrolled?

5) What is the most popular faculty in your Institute?

Exercise 3

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:

a) Larger schools are better than smaller ones.

b) It is impossible to enter the university if you haven’t attended preparatory courses.

c) The best professors are the oldest ones.

d) It is more fun to live in a dormitory or student hostel than to rent an apartment.

e) Professors always know more than students and teaching instructors.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UK

Education after 16 is voluntary in United Kingdom. Stu­dents, who live in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, must take at the age of 16 the examinations for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). In Scotland stu­dents receive the Scottish Certificate of Education. After this exam students can choose to stay in school or attend colleges of further education.

British universities are self-governing and are guaran­teed academic independence. Funding for education and re­search is provided by funding councils set up by Parliament. The number of universities jumped in 1992 when polytech­nics and some other higher education establishments were given the right to become universities. By the end of 1994, there were some 90 universities, almost half of them former polytechnics, including the Open University.

Many of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge universi­ties were founded in the 12th and 13th centuries. All other universities in Britain were founded in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Open University, based in Milton Keynes, England, was founded in 1969. It uses extension techniques of correspondence courses, television and radio programmes, and video cassettes, supported by local study centres and residential summer schools, to provide higher education op­portunities to a wide variety of people.

During the 1960s there was a significant increase in the number of new universities, reflecting a fast growth in stu­dent numbers which was made possible by an expansion in grant facilities. During the 1980s, an expansion in higher education places led to another large jump in student num­bers. In the 1992-1993 academic year there were more than 1.4 million students in full— or part-time higher education in Great Britain, compared with just under 850,000 a de­cade earlier. About one quarter of young people are in high­er education in England, Wales, and Scotland; one third in Northern Ireland. About 90 per cent of students get state grants to cover tuition fees and living costs.

The size of the grant is determined by parents’ income. Since the late 1980s, however, grants have been frozen; stu­dents can apply for a student loan.

vocabulary

voluntary	добро­вольное
attend	посещать
self-governing	самоуправление
polytechnics	политехнические институты
extension techniques	технологии дистанционного образования
to reflect	отражать
Parents’ income	доход родителей
student loan	студенческий заём
funding	финансирование
significant	значительный
funding councils	советы по финансированию
to set up	основывать

add to your active vocabulary:

a) high-school dipoma — школьный аттестат

graduation ceremony –выпускной экзамен

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) – бакалавр естественных наук

Bachelor of Art (B.A.) – бакалавр естественных наук

Master of Arts (M.A.) — магистр искусств

Master of Science (M.S.) —магистр естественных наук

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) – доктор философии

Undergraduate student — студент 1-4(5) курсов

graduate student – студент 5-6 курсов

graduate school of psychology – магистратура аспирантура по специальности работотехника

b) room (lodging) and board –проживание и пропитание

Personal expenses —личные расходы

Books and supplies — книги и материалы

C) to be eligible for admission- быть подходящей кандидатурой для поступления

To enrol —зачислять

Enrollment — зачисление

tuition fee —плата за обучение

Admissions office- приемная комиссия

student services office — департамент по работе со студентами

university bursar's office - бухгалтерия университета (офис казначея)

Exercise 8.1

Translate into English:

1.В возрасте 16 лет каждый житель Великобритании обя­зан сдать экзамены на получение Сертификата о среднем образовании.

2.Экзамены продвинутого уровня являются необходимым требованием для поступления в университет.

3. Британские университеты являются полностью само­управляемыми.

4.В 1992 году политехническим институтам была предо­ставлено право стать университетами.

5.Открытый университет, широко известный своими тех­нологиями дистанционного обучения, был основан в 1969 году.

6.В 60-е годы в Соединенном королевстве наметился зна­чительный рост числа университетов.

7.Размер гранта на обучение определяется исходя из дохода родителей.

Questions for discussion:

1) Do you think that higher education should be free? Do you think that the quality of education in private universities and institutes is better because professors and teachers are paid more?

2) Do you think that the paid higher education with a system of grants is better than entry exams?

MY PLANS FOR FUTURE

Hi, there! Here is Sveta again. I am afraid this will be my last meeting with you because I need to get ready for my trip. I am leaving for Sochi tonight. Not only to enjoy our warm southern sun and to swim, in blue waters of the Black Sea, but to see my friends. Besides, I have nothing to do here anymore: I have passed all the exams successfully and I'm free till the 1^st of September.

As you might have already understood this unit is devoted to my plans for future! It would be honest to say that I don't have any yet. But still, of course, I often think about my future and my goals in life.

One of the things I would like to do in the future is to do a research in medical psychology. After I finish my Institute I want to apply for a graduate school in Moscow. Educa­tion is better there and there are more opportunities for work. I also might want to study abroad. But it is not as easy as it sounds. You have to know English well enough to pass the test of English. Then, you should always remember that education is not free in most of the countries. And it may be very expensive! Up to tens of thousands dollars a year. So, you need to find a source of finance to pay the tuition fee. And, besides, you always need some money to support yourself.

But I want you to know that I don't want to leave the country forever. I strongly believe that economy in our country will be better soon and leaving it will not make you happy. As a psychologist I understand that there are more things in life than just being not hungry and have nice clothes. But traveling and living abroad broadens your horizons and gives you food for thought.

To my mind my future profession is very important nowadays. It implies great responsibility and a lot of activities of different kind. I think being a good psychologist means to serve a model of behavior and not just give knowledge of something. I am sure our task is not only to provide pupils with information but also to prepare them for everyday life, to make them good and responsible citizens of the society.

I am a very practical person. So I think about the employment opportunities in my field. It is still difficult to find well paid job in psychology. Most of people still don't realize the importance of psychology and hire them just because of a fashion.

But you can always start your own business and have your private practice. You only need a license and a working experience. Private psychologists and psychoanalysists are very popular and well-paid abroad!

And, like I wrote in one of the first units, I want to help people with their problems.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Institute gives very good background knowledge of subject. But this knowledge is too general. Most graduates are only theoretically prepared for work. We don't have many practical course and those we have are very weak. The only opportunity t work somewhere is during the summer vacation. But of course one wants to rest a little after a whole year of studies and hard exam session. That is what is called a dilemma.

See you in September!

Vocabulary

besides	кроме того
to do a research	проводить исследование
successfully	успешно
to apply	подавать заявление
to devote	посвящать
graduate school	аспирантура
to sound	звучать
source of finance	источник финансирования
tuition fee	плата за обучение
to broaden	расширять
horizon	горизонт
food for thought	пища для ума
employment opportunities	возможности для работы
to realize	отдавать отчет, понимать
to hire	нанимать
fashion	мода
private practice	частная практика
well-paid	хорошо оплачиваемый
general	общий
dilemma	дилемма

ADD TO YOUR ACTIVE VOCABULARY

prestigious job (work) -престижная работа

experienced worker – опытный работник

well-paid job – высокооплачиваемая работа

to be hired for a job – быть нанятым

employee – наемный рабочий

Employer - наймодатель

to look for a new job(work, position) – искать новую работу

Entrepreneur, businessman - предприниматель

state-employed – государственный служащий

to apply for a new job – претендовать на какую-то должность

white-collar worker – «белый воротничок», работник умственного труда

application for a position of – заявление на какую-либо должность

blue-collar worker - «синий воротничок», работник физического труда

Resume - резюме

C.V. (curriculum vitae) – резюме автобиография

Skilled worker – квалифицированный работник

to be fired – быть уволенным

unskilled worker – неквалифицированный рабочий

to retire – уходить на пенсию

to be unemployed — быть безработным

The United Kingdom (the UK)

The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was formed by the un­ion of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, but Southern Ireland broke away in 1921. The official name of the country is often abbreviated to the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain, England or the UK.

Its area is 244,046 square kilometers (94,201 square miles). The capital of the UK is London. The country is located in the north west of Europe. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the North Sea. The main rivers of the UK are the Thames, the Tees, the Tweed, the Trent. The geographical position has made the United Kingdom a com­mercial and maritime power,

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and it is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales became an English principality in 1284, Scotland and England were officially joined as Great Britain in 1707. Each of the four parts of the UK consists of counties.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the official name of the country?

2. What other names are used for the name of the country?

3. How large is the UK?

4. What is the capital of the UK? What can you say about this city?

5. What are the main rivers in the country?

6. What can you say about its administrative and political system?

Unit 4 Industry and agriculture of the UK

In the past English industrial prosperity rested on a few important products, such as textiles, coal and heavy machinery. Now the UK has a great variety of industries, for example: heavy and light industry, chemical, aircraft, electrical, automobile and many other industries. The United Kingdom is considered one of the world's major manufacturing nations. Now high technology industries are more developed than heavy engineering. Heavy engineering and other traditional industries have experienced a certain decline.

Certain areas are traditionally noted for various types of industries. For instance, Newcastle is famous for coal industry, the county of Lancashire for its textile industry. The Midlands, or the central counties of England, are famous for the production of machinery, coal, motor cars and chemicals. In recent times regional industrial distinctions have become less clear as more and more new factories are built in the different parts of the country.

Speaking about the cities of the United Kingdom the first mention should be made of London, the capital of the UK. It is a big port on the River Thames, a major commercial, industrial centre.

Leeds is a centre of clothing industry producing woolen articles. Glasgow is a major port on the River Clyde where shipbuilding industry is developed. Liverpool on the River Mersey is a flour milling and engineering centre. Birmingham is an iron and steel centre. Manchester is famous for textiles manufacturing.

Three-quarters of the United Kingdom's land is dedicated to agriculture. About two per cent of the population of the United Kingdom is engaged in agriculture, but the yields of English farms and pastures are very high. Wheat, barley, oats and potatoes are the most important crops grown. Sheep, cattle and pigs are the most numerous types of livestock. Sheep is a source of both wool for textile industry and mutton for food industry. Mutton is the best liked English meat.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What industries were developed in Great Britain some years ago?

2. The United Kingdom is considered one of the world's major manufacturing nations, isn’t it?

3. What is developing now?

4. What are certain areas noted for and why?

5. What is London (Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham) famous for?

6. How many people are engaged into agriculture?

Give a short summary of the text.

Unit 4 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometers. The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has a sea-boarder with Russia.

The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is more than 270 million.

If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska.

America's largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and deepest in the USA.

The climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part is continental. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.

Though mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made up from nearly all races and nations, including Chinese and Native Americans.

The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington and others.

The United States is a federal union of 50 states, each of which has its own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington, DC. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the President, the legislative, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial. The Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic, though there's hardly any difference between their political lines.

Vocabulary Bank

to occupy	занимать
to stretch	простираться
to include	включать в себя
total area	общая площадь
to have a border	иметь границу
to border	граничить
to be made up of	состоять из
to be located	располагаться
to be situated	быть расположенным
to blow	дуть
government	правительство
branches of power	отрасли власти
the executive power	исполнительная власть
the legislative power	законодательная власть
the judicial power	судебная власть
to consist of	состоять из

EXERCISES:

1. Write down the Russian equivalents:

The United States of America; the southern part; the total area; it borders on Canada; made up of; a special federal area; the population; lowlands and mountains; bring typhoons; a federal union; the executive power; the legislative power; the judicial power.

2. Form comparative and superlative degrees of these adjectives:

Deep, developed, heavy, famous, recent, sweet, old, short, important, natural, cold, long, large, difficult, good, bad, late.

3. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the shorter names for the United States of America?

2. What two countries does it border on?

3. What is the total area of the country?

4. How many states does it consist of?

5. What can you say about the surface and the climate of the USA?

6. What are the longest rivers in America?

7. What is the capital of the country?

8. What states are familiar to you?

9. Who is the head of the executive power of the country?

10. What are the main political parties in the country?

3. Insert the correct preposition:

The United States … America;

It consists … 50 states;

The District … Columbia is governed … Congress;

It is located … the north … the States;

The USA borders … Mexico.

4. Using some additional information complete the table and write down the names of the states and their capitals:

state	capital	capital	state
New York		Boston
Alaska		Helena
California		Albany
Hawaii		Bismarck
Texas		Columbus
Washington		Salem

5. Sum up what the text says about:

The geographic position of the USA; the administrative structure of the USA

ECONOMY OF THE USA.

The United States of America is a highly developed industrialized country. Shipbuilding, electronics, automobile industry, aircraft industry, space research are highly developed in the States.

Each region of the United States has characteristics of its own due to the differences in climate, landscape and geographical position.

Great Lakes, Atlantic Coast, Pennsylvania, New Jersy are the biggest industrial regions of the country.

The United States has a lot of mineral deposits or resources such as coal, gold, silver, copper, lead and zink. The south, especially Texas is rich in oil. The coalfields of Pennsylvania are rich in coal. There are plenty of coal mines.

Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska is the richest farming region of America and it is known as the Corn Belt. The land is fertile and well watered. They grow most corn and wheat there. Many livestock are also raised here.

There is a lot fruit raising area. For example, California oranges, grapefruit, lemons, as well as other fruits, wines and vegetables are shipped all over the States and to other parts of the world. The most important crops grown in the States are also tobacco, soy-beans, peanuts, grapes and many others.

There are a lot of large and modern cities, but a great proportion of the country consists of open land dotted with farm-houses and small towns. The usual average town, in any part of the United States, has its Main Street with the same types of stores selling the same products. Many American residential areas tend to have a similar look. As to big cities their centres or downtowns look very much alike. Downtown is the cluster of skyscrapers imitations of New York giants.

New York City is the first biggest city of the States. Its population is more than twelve million people, suburbs included. It is a financial and advertising business centre. It is also a biggest seaport of the Hudson River. Industry of consumer goods is also developed here.

Chicago with a population of more than three and a half million is the second largest city in the USA. It deals in wheat and other grains, cattle meat processing and manufacturing.

The big cities are New Orleans, a cotton industry centre, Los Angeles with Hollywood, Philadelphia, a shipping commercial centre, Detroit, a world's leading motor car producer and many others.

Vocabulary Bank.

space	космос, пространство
research	исследование
space research	космическое исследование
due to	вследствие, из-за
climate	климат
landscape	ландшафт
coast	берег
Atlantic coast	Атлантическое побережье
mineral deposits/ resources	запасы полезных ископаемых
gold	золото
silver	серебро
copper	медь
lead	свинец
zink	цинк
rich	богатый
to be rich in smth	быть богатым чем-либо
plenty of	много
mine	шахта, рудник
to mine	добывать руду
mining (industry)	добывающая промышленность
corn	кукуруза
pop-corn	поп-корн
belt	пояс
The Corn Belt	Кукурузный пояс
fertile	плодородный, изобильный
fertility	плодородие, изобилие
to water	снабжать влагой, поливать, орошать
water	вода
well watered	хорошо орошаемый
to raise	выращивать
to raise livestock	выращивать домашний скот
vegetable	овощ, растительный
to ship	отправлять, отгружать
to dot	усеивать
to be dotted with smth	быть усеянным чем-либо
average	среднее число, средний
store	магазин
to tend	иметь тенденцию
to look like	выглядеть одинаково
downtown	деловая часть города
cluster	скопление, концентрация
skyscraper	небоскреб
giant	гигант
suburb	пригород
to include	включать
to advertise	рекламировать
advertisement (ad)	реклама
consumer goods	потребительские товары
to deal in smth	иметь дело с чем-либо
to deal with smb	иметь дело с кем-либо
to refine	очищать, повышать качество
oil refining centre refinery	нефтеперерабатывающий центр
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)	Национальное управление по аэронавтике и исследованиям космического пространства
cotton	хлопок, хлопчатобумажный

Exercises:

1. Explain the usage of the articles and translate the sentences into Russian:

1. The US has a lot of mineral deposits.

1. The south is rich in oil.

2. Illinois is one of the richest farming regions of America.

3. There is a lot of fruit raising area.

4. California is one of the biggest grapes raising areas.

5. The most important crops grown in the States are tobacco, soybeans, grapes.

2. Use the nouns in the right form (singular or plural):

1. The population of New York City is more than eight million (people).

2. Chicago with a (population) of more than three and a half million is the second largest (city) in the US.

2. Chicago deals in wheat and other (grain).

3. Other big (city) are Huston, New Orleans and Los Angeles.

4. Huston is an oil refining and NASA space research (centre).

5. By the way, (Englishman) spell the name of the city as Houston.

6. Its (population) is about 1.213.000 (people).

3. Form the words as in the example:

to process meat – meat processing

to process milk

to produce cars

to refine oil

to raise livestock

to grow grains

to build ships

to build machines

to build bridges

4. Translate into Russian paying attention to the words in italics:

A highly developed industrialized country

Fruit raising area

An advertising business centre

The second largest city

Cattle meat processing

A cotton industry centre

A shipping commercial centre

A world leading motor car producer

NASA space research centre

A flour milling centre

5. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Благодаря различиям в климате, природе и географическом положении каждый регион США имеет свои специфические черты.

2. Земли здесь плодородны и хорошо орошаемы.

3. Выращивают в основном кукурузу и пшеницу.

4. Также разводят много скота.

5. Большие площади заняты фруктовыми садами.

6. Фрукты и овощи Калифорнии вывозят в другие штаты и страны.

7. Значительная часть территории – это равнина с большим количеством ферм и маленьких городов.

6. Match the cities and their main characteristics, and make sentences of your own:

New York	The first biggest city of the States
New Orleans	The second largest city
Detroit	An oil refining and space research centre
Huston	A cotton industry centre
Chicago	Hollywood
Los Angeles	A shipping commercial centre
Philadelphia	The world’s leader in car producing

7. Sum up what the text says about:

The look of a modern big city and its downtown

The look of a town and its Main Street

Mineral resources f the country

The Corn Belt

The state of California

ABOUT MYSELF.

My name is Sveta Smirnova. I am 19 years old. I am a first-year student of the Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute. I was born in Saransk, so it is my native town.

First of all I want to tell you a few words about my family. I have a mother, a father, an elder sister and a grandmother.

My mother is a doctor. Her hospital is not far from our house. It's good that it doesn't take her long to get to her work. She is a good-looking woman of about 40.

My father is a financier. He is very busy. He is a nice man. My father is lively with humour. My parents have been married for twenty-two years. They have much in common. My parents are hard-working people. My mother keeps house and takes care of my father and me. She is very clever with her hands. She is very practical. My father and I try to help her with the housework. As for me I wash the dishes, go shopping and tidy our flat.

My grandmother is a pensioner. She lives with us and helps us to run the house. My grandmother is fond of knitting.

My sister Helen is married and has a family of her own. She works as a book-keeper for a joint venture company.

Now a few words about myself. I am rather sociable and easy to deal with. I have a lot of friends with whom we discuss many things. I am very emotional, it's impossible for me to be always calm. I envy people who are patient and never lose their temper.

I love animals very much. My cat Basil often lies on my knees when I am at home. I would like to have a dog too, but my parents are against it. I can't say that I have any hobby, but I am fond of listening to classical music, though most of my friends prefer pop-music or rock-n-roll. My dream is to be a good financier. I think that I take after my father. I hope that my dream will come true.

Schools in the United Kingdom

Education in the United Kingdom is compulsory from the age of five to sixteen. Children under five go either to nursery schools, or to playgroups. Both types of pre-primary educational establishments are non-state; the difference is that a child spends the whole day in a nursery school, while he or she can stay in a playgroup only for some hours a day. Anyway, the main aim of such kind of establishments is to make the children ready for primary schools. Children play, draw, modelling from clay and learn to work together.

Compulsory education for all children begins at the age of five. There are 35,000 state schools in Britain. All of them are the responsi­bility of the Local Educational Authorities (LEA). The LEA caters for l he curriculum and exams in each region; they also appoint head teach­ers and held assessment tests at schools.

Primary school is for children from five to eleven. At first the studies are more like playing than working; English teachers say that this is the host way for children to get used to school. Probably they are right: children learn better when they play. Lessons usually last from nine in the morning till four or five in the afternoon with a long break at the lunchtime.

At the age of eleven pupils go to comprehensive schools. Childrenusually wear a uniform; it is different in different schools. They study Maths, English, Arts, English Literature, Geography, one or two foreign languages, usually French, Italian or German, PE (Physical Education), IT (Information Technology), Religion, Science, Biology, Sex Education and other subjects.

At the end of their studies they take General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations (GCSE) 0-level, and then they either leave school and start working or continue their studies at school or at college fortwo more years. This is called the sixth form at school or the sixth form college, and the students take only the subjects they need for entering the university of their choice.

At the age of eighteen they take GCSE A-level. They usually take three or four A-levels. There are no entrance exams to universities, so the students can enter a university or a college on the results of their A-level examinations.

Speaking about education in the UK it is necessary to say that there is a great difference between state education and private education. State schools are free, and about ninety per cent of all children attend them. Private or public schools are very expensive. These are usually boarding schools, where children stay while they study, coming home only on vacations. These schools are for children between thirteen andeighteen. Before entering a public school children are usually educatedat home. State schools are usually mixed, while private schools are typically single-sex, with a few exceptions.

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