The Private System

No one can understand the educational system in England and Wales without reference to the 'public schools' - which are independent and private. The major public schools, such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Westminster, have several hundreds of years of history. They have traditionally served a social elite and, in some cases, an intellectual elite. Oxford and Cambridge, for instance, draw almost half their undergraduates from the private schools which only about 7% of the population attend. And the top jobs in the judiciary, the civil service, the military and the Church have tended to go to those who have had this privileged upbringing – although this is changing bit by bit. However, the private school system, especially the top 'public schools', remains extremely influential in British society.

There are schools for those up to 13, generally called 'prep schools', followed by

the secondary or 'public school' at 13. Many of these are boarding schools. It was

customary for the upper classes to send their children away to school. This was in

many ways subsidised by the state since many children going to these schools would

be the children of army, navy or airforce personnel stationed abroad and their fees

would be paid by the Ministry of Defence. However, there has recently been a sharp

drop in the number of boarders. There have been cuts in the armed forces, with a

consequent drop in fees to the private sector. And many more parents wish to keep

their children at home. So many of the boarding schools are now recruiting from

abroad, especially the Far East (and Russia!) to fill their places.

The most significant subsidy, however, has been through the 'assisted places scheme' which enabled some parents who otherwise would not be able to afford it to send their children to private schools. However, the first thing that the Labour government did when elected in 1997 was to abolish this scheme.

The distinction, however, between public (state) and private or independent can become increasingly blurred. For example, there is the growing dependence of the maintained (or state) sector on private means – on donations from parents for essential goods such as books, equipment and even teachers; on sponsorship by industry, and on selling services such as renting sporting facilities and premises.

There is much evidence of schools dependent on donations and covenant schemes.

And it is clear that, as schools move towards control of their own budgets, they will be expected to improve their resources through external funding.

However, the position may best be understood not so much between 'public' and 'private', since, with 'the private' being subsidised publicly and 'the public' being subsidised privately, the boundaries between the two in terms of funding become blurred. Rather may the position best be seen in terms of the degree of independence from government control, or of readiness to compete in the market conditions that once affected only the private sector but now provide the framework for all. The point is that one cannot understand the educational system in England and Wales without appreciating the role of those often very rich and influential schools which remain financially independent of government and to which many influential people send their children (about 7% of the secondary school population).

Ex. 1. Compare the situation in private section in Britain with the situation in Kazakhstan. Are there any common tendencies? What is different?

Ex. 2. Give free translation of the passage below.

В настоящее время реформы идут полным. Суть их заключается в том, что даже такое богатое государство, как Великобритания, не может обеспечить бесплатного высшего образования для всех при все возрастающем количестве студентов, преподавателей и университетов. Предлагается в течение двух лет ввести дифференцированную, зависящую от доходов родителей, плату за университетское образование.

Эти планы, конечно же, не вызвали прилива благодарности лейбористскому правительству, породили острые споры по всей стране и в стане самих лейбористов, где немало людей, получивших высшее образование благодаря его общедоступности. В то же время необходимо подчеркнуть, что нововведения не должны коснуться наименее обеспеченных слоев населения. Более того, все студенты будут иметь возможность получать специальные льготные займы с отсрочкой выплат на весьма продолжительное время – его, как полагает автор реформы, у которого дети студенческого возраста, должно хватить, чтобы человек успел прочно встать на ноги и начал прилично зарабатывать.

Однако идея платного образования, при всем понимании его неизбежности, воспринимается общественным мнением как отход «новых лейбористов» от высоких идеалов старой лейбористской партии.

Существует еще чисто прагматический аспект критики политики

правительства. Его оппоненты утверждают, что правительство проводит реформу слишком быстрыми темпами, и скорость принятия решений не

дает возможности сформулировать альтернативные подходы к решению

этой по-настоящему назревшей проблеме.

Ex. 3. Comment on the following quotations.

1. "You can learn from anyone even your enemy." (Ovid)

2. "It is better to learn late than never." (Publilius Syrus)

3. "To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge." (Benjamin Disraeli)

4. "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." (Robert Frost)

5. “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”

(Chinese Proverb)

6. "In the Western tradition, we have focused on teaching as a skill and

forgotten what Socrates knew: teaching is a gift, learning is a skill." (Peter Drucker)

7. “You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” (Clay P. Bedford)

8. “A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of

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